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“Lenore” is structured as a dialogue between two parties: a man named Guy de Vere, who has recently lost his fiancée, and a chorus, which represents the community to which Guy de Vere belongs. Their dialogue is antagonistic, resulting in an argumentative structure of point and counterpoint. In the first stanza, the chorus wonders why Guy de Vere hasn’t grieved for Lenore, and they urge him to perform funerary rites. Guy de Vere responds angrily in the shorter second stanza, accusing the chorus of having caused Lenore’s death. The chorus admits to their sins, but they still insist on the need to sing a “Sabbath song” (line 13). In the poem’s final stanza, Guy de Vere again refuses the chorus’s advice, claiming that a funeral dirge would only confuse Lenore and strand her spirit in the liminal space between life and death. Instead, he will sing a song of jubilation that will help her on her way. Guy de Vere has the last word, and he seems resolute in his decision. Nevertheless, a question remains: Does he refuse to perform funerary rites because it would prevent Lenore from moving on, or does he refuse because he can’t move on?

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