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A literary analysis of annabel lee by poe
What influences the reader from the "Annabel Lee
Literary criticism on annabel lee
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There is a difference between loving someone and being in love. Loving your family or loving a friend is an example of one type of love. It is a type of love when you care about the person a lot and have an emotional attachment. Loving your wife, husband, boyfriend or girlfriend are examples of being in love. This type of love is stronger because you have a passionate desire for the person and or deeper affection for them. To either love someone or be in love the emotion is powerful and can make a person feel and do many wild things. In the poem “Annabel Lee” written by Edgar Allen Poe explains his love for his dead wife, Annabel Lee. Edgar Allen Poe uses symbolism, repetition, and fairytale like words in his poem to convey those feelings. Although Annabel has already passed away he holds on to their love and reminisces.
Poe uses a lot of symbolism in his poem to create some hidden messages for the readers. In his poem the narrator repeats the phrase “kingdom by the sea” (2). It is obvious that the kingdom represents his home. The kingdom was a place that he and Annabel resided and shared their strong love for one another. When he says “kingdom by the sea” (2) it is not literal. There is not an actual kingdom or castle of any kind. The narrator no longer calls his home as a “kingdom by the sea” after his wife died. This further reinforces the idea that it is only a kingdom when she is alive. Annabel is what makes his home a kingdom. The “kingdom by the sea” could also be a fantasy of his, not an actual place. Another example of symbols in his poem was when the narrator said “I was a child and she was a child, / In this kingdom by the sea,” (7, 8). According to Bradford A. Booth, Booth believed that Annabel Lee was referenced to...
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...her to make his poem as a whole, which gives a dramatic and effective emotion that Poe wanted to convey.
Work Cited
Booth, A. Bradford. “The Identity of Annabel Lee” College English Oct. 1945: 17-19 7.1. JSTOR. Web. 5 June 2010.
Johnson, Jeannine. "Overview of 'Annabel Lee'." Poetry for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. 9. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 4 June 2010.
Le Guin, Ursula K. “Annabel Lee.” Literature: An introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 11th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 250-949. Print. 5 June 2010
Zayed, Georges. "The Symbolism of the Poems." The Genius of Edgar Allan Poe. Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman Publishing, 1985. 127-136. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Lynn M. Zott. 117. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 5 June 2010.
Source #3: Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 9th. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005.
“Symbolism.” Dictionary of World Literature: Criticism - Forms - Technique. Ed. Joseph T. Shipley. New York: Philosophical Library, 1943. 564-9.
Writing is a mirror of one's personality. When we write, we reveal a part of ourselves. We reveal our mind. We reveal our thoughts. If it is possible to exist, then it is possible to write, because writing is thinking, and thoughts are existence. This especially holds true to the mind of Edgar Allan Poe, who through writing time and time again about his love and loss through both poetry and general prose, generates the story of his life. In these pieces, not only does he create original plots, but deep within the fabric of these plots springs a background world of Poe's own life, deeper than any allegory he produces or any poem he completes. The dark corners of Poe's mind are distinctly represented in his entire work body. Experiences, mostly negative, are displayed as signs everywhere in each of his publications. Not everything is shown straight out, sometimes you have to search for hidden meaning. Sometimes, you have to think to understand thought. Intended or not, Poe left his imprint in "Annabel Lee," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "Eldorado," all of which tell thrilling tales. Many read the bare surface of Poe's bold narratives, and not much else. There is a deeper meaning to the text which connects the dream world to reality.
Sova, Dawn B. "'Annabel Lee.'" Bloom's Literature. Ed. Facts On File, Inc. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Bloom's Literature. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
“Annabel Lee” is based on a couple in a kingdom by the sea and the girl, who’s name is Annabel Lee, dies ("Shmoop.com"). So Annabel’s partner is reminiscing about the memories he once shared Annabel. However, the partners’ tone of voice slowly changes throughout the poem from a caring and happy voice to a sad longing voice as if to say Annabel’s name would somehow bring her back ("Shmoop.com"). Throughout the poem, it is evident that the theme of the poem is that the speaker was in love with Annabel Lee. Furthermore, in line 9 it says, “But we loved with a love that was more than love” (Poe) which is basically stating the couple loved each other so much that they felt something that was more than love. The speaker uses symbols to help the reader visualize his point. Symbols such as a chilling wind, a highborn kinsman, and winged seraphs that apparently “took” Annabel Lee from him ("Shmoop.com"). The poem of “Annabel Lee” may be a tragic love story, but in the end it is a very interesting piece of literature written by Edgar Allan
Meyers, J. (1992). Edgar Allan Poe: his life and legacy. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons Frank, F. S. (1997). The Poe encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press..
Poe utilizes a gradual change in diction as the poem progresses. Initially, he begins the poem with melancholic diction when the narrator is falling asleep: “while I pondered, weak and weary,” “nodded, nearly napping,” and “of someone gently rapping” (1-4). The utilization of alliteration in these lines supply a song-like rhythm, which is soothing to the reader. This usage of diction conveys a mellow tone. Further into the poem, when the increasingly agitated narrator becomes vexed at the raven, he lashes out at the bird. Here, he states, “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore! / Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! / Leave my loneliness unbroken!--quit the bust above my door! / Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” (98-101). Here, his uses archaic words and phrases such as “thee,” “Night’s Plutonian shore,” and “thy soul hath”. This usage of unorthodox language creates a theatrical, dramatic, and climactic effect, which leads to an impassioned tone. By presenting both tones, Poe is able to show the contrast between the two. This transformation from a tone that is mellow to one of frustration and anxiety represents the spiraling downward of the narrator’s mental state.
Poe was born into a family of professional actors. He experienced death at an early age when his parent died before he was three years old. John and Frances Allan raised Poe as a foster child in Richmond. John Allan gave Poe excellent schooling opportunities. Though he never finished college, Poe became very successful by using his life experiences to write dark, twisted literature that appealed to adults ("Edgar Allan Poe"). The last of Poe’s poems to be published was “Annabel Lee.” It is thought to be inspired by his late wife Virginia (Johnson). In this poem the speaker mourns the death of his young bride, Annabel Lee. His loss encourages him to proclaim that jealous angels caused Annabel Lee’s death to separate the young couple. The speaker reveals that he has not been able to accept their separation and has been spending night after night at her tomb (Johnson). The use of figurative language further establishes the theme of jealousy. Poe uses personification of the wind to explain the death of Annabel Lee ("Overview: 'Annabel Lee'."). The “chilling” wind is what takes Annabel Lee away from the speaker (Poe Line 26). The article "Overview: 'Annabel Lee'" states, “A chilling wind emerges from the sky, and so her death is tied to heaven and the jealousy of the angels” ("Overview: 'Annabel Lee'"). Poe uses imagery to refer to the jealousy the angels have for the speaker and Annabel Lee’s love. Poe states, “The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, /Went envying her and me” (Poe Lines 21-22). This imagery that the angels are not happy in Heaven further emphasizes the extent of their jealousy. The double naming of Annabel Lee’s burial chamber is a metaphor to allow the theme of death to overshadow the theme of love. This is able to show that their love can conquer the grave and overcome the jealousy from the angels("Overview: 'Annabel
Kennedy, X. J., & Gioia, D. (2013). Literature: An introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and
What really makes the poem so powerful are the elements Poe uses. First he sets the scene, “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-…” already it’s clear that it is late at night and a man is weak and tired trying to ease his sorrow by reading old books of “forgotten lore” (DiYanni 1173). Then the poem goes on to tell that there is a tapping at his chamber door. When he opens the door he is surprised to find, “Darkness there and nothing more” (1173). He whispers into the darkness “Lenore,” hoping that his lost love had returned, but all that was heard was, “an echo [that] murmured back the word, ‘Lenore!’”(1173). Angered and perplexed, he turns back into his chamber, suddenly there is a loud tapping at the window lattice. H...
Kennedy, X. J., & Gioia, D. (2010). Literature an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama and
Kumin, Maxine. Foreword. The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. xix.
The poem “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allen Poe is a beautiful story that outlines events that happened between the speaker and his love. The story paints a mental picture of a love that is so strong that angels become jealous and take Annabel Lee away from the speaker, but even though she is gone, his love for her never ended. The story is full of imagery that leads to the central message of the story, which is love.
Edgar Allan Poe’s 1849 poem, “Annabel Lee”, explores the common themes of romance and death found in many of Poe’s works. The poem tells the story of a beautiful young maiden named Annabel Lee who resides by the sea. The maiden and the narrator of the poem are deeply in love, however the maiden falls ill and dies, leaving the narrator without his beloved Annabel Lee. Contrary to what many might expect from a poem by Poe and yet still depressing, the poem ends with the narrator accepting Annabel’s death and remains confident that they will forever be together despite her parting.
Edgar Allan Poe was able to clearly illustrate the theme, the speaker, and the setting of the poem through the use of repetition and imagery. It is unmistakable that the theme of the poem was love. Poe used an extensive amount of repetition of the word “love” throughout the poem, to convey that love is the main theme of his poem. He also used the phrase “in a kingdom by the sea” many times in order to reveal that the setting of the poem was in a kingdom by the sea. Repetition and imagery also gave clues as to who was narrating the poem. The excessive use of the word “I” and “my” indicated that Edgar Allan Poe was the