"The Raven" is told in the first person by an anonymous, untrustworthy speaker. He is bereaved by the loss of his love, Lenore, and his mental state deteriorates throughout the poem. The last line of the poem provides proof that she was indeed beautiful: "Lenore was beautiful, endless stories were her name." It's possible that the raven is the mind-deranged speaker himself, but this isn't clear from the poem. We can also assume that he isn't trustworthy since he tells a series of lies in the course of the poem. For example, he says that he has seen "her" on numerous occasions even though we never find out who or what "she" is. He also claims to have flown over "many lands", which doesn't make much sense since ravens don't have wings. Finally, he says that she has promised to wait for him beyond the grave even though there are no graveside vows in Irish tradition. In conclusion, the raven is unreliable because it tells lies about Lenore being dead when she isn't, and it claims to have done things it couldn't have done. However, it may be that the poet is only using this as a metaphor for how crazy the speaker is becoming due to losing Lenore. Alternatively, it is possible that she is still alive waiting for him beyond the grave.