Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe
Literal
Stanza-by-Stanza
- A long time ago, in a kingdom near a sea was a women named Annabel Lee. She loved the speaker and the speaker loved her.
- They met when they were children. Their love was a very rare and powerful one. The angels of heaven were jealous of the love between the two.
- The angels were the cause for the death of Annabel Lee. They summoned a cold wind and "chilled" (killed) her. A royal family member came and took Annabel away from the speaker and shut her in a tomb.
- Everyone knew the reason Annabel Lee was killed was because of the powerful bond between the speaker and Annabel. The angels were jealous of the bond and killed her.
- Though Annabel is dead, the two still love each other. Their love is so strong, it transcends life, death and time. Regardless of being sent to heaven or to hell, the two will forever love each other.
- Annabel may have died but the speaker still feels her love. The moon casts dreams of Annabel and the stars look down on the speaker with Annabel's eyes. Every night, the speaker lies down in the tomb of Annabel, his darling, life and bride.
Situation
The poem is somber in emotion. The speaker is a man who lost the love of his life due to the jealousy of the angels. The speaker is the lover of Annabel Lee. He is speaking to the reader directly. There is no reason to distrust the speaker because in a figurative sense, love is pure. He is spilling his emotions to the reader. No matter what the true story is, the reader can trust that what the speaker is saying is truly his thoughts. The speaker's attitude changes from bliss to sorrow. The speaker mentions words and phrases like "love" and "kingdom by the sea" to signal a blissful attitude. Towards the middle of the poem, the speaker begins to use such as "killing, sepulchre, envying" which portray a sorrowful attitude.
Structure
Language
Musical Devices
Works Cited
N, A. Dead Rose. Digital image. Afalconn. Wordpress, 4 June 2012. Web. 6 Mar. 2015.