But, most do not speak of the possible physical handicap possessed by the man. In verse twelve of the poem, Poe describes the man as "smiling, Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird". This phrase could possibly mean that the man was confined to a wheelchair. Although the word "stood" is used often throughout the poem, it is never used in the context of standing up or walking. This could possibly mean he was simply standing up to the Raven, or maybe his countenance was that of someone standing up for himself, not actually standing in the literal sense. This possible infirmity along with his deep sorrow over his lost love leaves the man in an increasingly sad and depressed state of mind.
After understanding the state of mind of the man, it is easier to see the depths to which his depression has taken him. As the man "pondered, weak and weary", he hears a visitor at his chamber door, or bedroom door. When he opens the door, Poe states that "the darkness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore!"" After seeing no one at the door and hearing the name of his lost love whispered, the emotions of his loss overwhelm him as Poe states, "Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;-"Tis the wind and nothing more!" Here Poe conveys how the very thought of his lost love excites him to the point that he tries to explain it away as merely the wind just to calm himself down. Then, after hearing "something at my window lattice;" the Raven flies into the room and perches itself upon the "bust of Pallas just above my chamber door". Pallas, according to the Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, is Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. This is symbolic in that the man, while conversing with the Raven, unknowingly likens him to a mythical being. Verse nine of Poe's poem states, "For we cannot help agreeing that no sublunary being Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door".