In this excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven," what does the biblical reference to the healing ā€œbalm in Gileadā€ signify?

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!ā€”prophet still, if bird or devil!ā€”
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchantedā€”
On this home by Horror hauntedā€”tell me truly, I imploreā€”
Is thereā€”is there balm in Gilead?ā€”tell meā€”tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

the speakerā€™s desire to cure the raven of its inability to say anything other than ā€œnevermoreā€
the speakerā€™s desire to cure himself from the pain caused by Lenoreā€™s death
the speakerā€™s desire to bring Lenore back to life
the speakerā€™s desire to cure himself from his mental illness and hallucinations

Respuesta :

the speakerā€™s desire to cure himself from the pain caused by Lenoreā€™s death
B. The speakerā€™s desire to cure himself from the pain caused by Lenoreā€™s death

TheĀ balm in Gilead is a resign that was said to be used for medicinal purposes. It was also said to be very good at helping pain. So, based on this passage we can infer that the speaker wishes to use the resign to help cure the pain of Lenore's untimely death.

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