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The tone of “Lenore” is equivocal and uncertain. To understand why, the reader must pay close attention to the ambiguity that results from the poem’s dialogic form. Poe structured “Lenore” as a conversation between a bereaved fiancé named Guy de Vere and a chorus of townspeople. The relationship between these two speakers is clearly contentious. The chorus worries that Guy de Vere hasn’t properly grieved for his lost love. Meanwhile, Guy de Vere lashes out at the chorus and refuses to adopt the solemnity appropriate for a funerary occasion. Because the reader has no additional context outside of the conversation Poe presents, we can’t know for sure which side to side with more. Furthermore, even though the poem ends with Guy de Vere resolutely claiming that he’ll sing Lenore a song of jubilant praise, it isn’t clear what will happen next. If the chorus is correct that Guy de Vere hasn’t properly grieved his dead fiancée, then it’s possible that his grief will catch up with him and send him into a downward emotional spiral. In the end, then, and despite the obvious contentiousness between the two speakers, the poem has an overall tone characterized by ambiguity and uncertainty.

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