“Till death do us part” is a vow binding a husband and a wife together until one or both pass away causing death to separate them. Edgar Allan Poe’s poem ‘Annabel Lee’ is the depiction of a husband morning the parting between him and his wife due to her death. The husband and narrator of ‘Annabel Lee’ is Edgar Allan Poe himself, Annabel Lee is then Poe’s late wife Virginia who died of tuberculous in 1847 just 11 years after they married. Although Poe is commonly known for his imaginative horror poems and short stories, ‘Annabel Lee’ is an elegant poem that uses internal rhyme, repetition, and assonance to display the love he had for his wife Virginia. Poe was born in Boston to two loving parents who tragically died when he was three, which
Poe uses internal rhyme throughout the poem providing a whimsical air much like the euphoric feeling of young love that Poe and Virginia experienced (Mabbott). The internal rhymes allow for a spirited read of the poem and relates the narrators feels to the audience among the usually imagery as seen in the last stanza of the poem, “For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams/ of the beautiful Annabel Lee; and the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes/ of the beautiful Annabel Lee” (Poe). These lines also exemplify another craft element used over and over by Poe, repetition. The repeating of “the beautiful Annabel Lee” is an expression of Poe’s enchanted view of Virginia. He is repeating not only her beauty, but throughout the poem he refers to her as “my Annabel Lee”. He is showing possession of her, not in a bad way, but in a loving way that shows he held her very dear to his heart (Mabbott). Poe also uses assonance to give the same effect as given by the internal rhyming, the flow and euphoric feeling travels through the poem in its uniformity, especially in lines like, “to shut her up in a sepulcher” and “a wind blew out of a cloud by night”
Some believe that Annabel Lee was written for his wife, but others think that the love of his life, Sarah Emira Royster, that he was parted from as a youth of 18, was the true recipient for the beautiful but morbid poem. . Mr. Poe was scheduled to wed the same Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton just days before his death. “The significance of “Annabel Lee” to their relationship may, however, be reflected in the account of his desire to have it published for the first time with their wedding announcement in the local papers. Since Poe died just ten days before they would have been married, the poem was instead first printed at the end of his obituary written by Rufus Griswold in the New York Daily Tribune” (Poe Museum)
Edgar Allan Poe's view on poetry is that all poems must be a "rhythmical creation of beauty". In his eyes, melancholy and sadness is beautful. He thinks that the death of a young beautiful woman is itself full of beauty. In both "Annabel Lee" and "The Raven", Poe writes about this so-called beauty.
Fairy tales are usually associated with elegant dresses, fancy shoes, and a happily ever after for the protagonists, presenting the tale itself as if it is too good to be true, because it is. In reality people cannot have a fairy tale ending because the majority of the population has difficulty paying bills, providing for their families, and, in many cases, relationships fail. Edgar Allen Poe’s “Annabel Lee” shows readers exactly that: All Fairy Tales must be brought to an end and there is nothing that can stop this.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Poetry Foundation. Ed. Poetry Foundation. Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
A mutual understanding towards many of Poe’s works is that the loss of a lover brings about insanity, but the truth is that in Poe’s works the loss of a young lover leads to depression. This is a theme that is played out in more than one of Poe’s works, but it is most prevalent in the depressing poem Annabel Lee. The speaker is conflicted with losing what is his whole world and his childhood lover. While all is well with both him and the girl alive, an insurmountable depression takes hold once the winds blow out to carry her to the grave. This is a theme that plays out often in his works and has been observed as one of his main inspirations. Within Peter Coviello’s research, he comes to the conclusion that “Within [Poe’s] world, only very young girls, who are not yet encumbered by the revulsions of adult femininity, seem capable of providing a site for stable heterosexual male desire in Poe.” Rather than using a full fledged adult as his lover, he engineered a child into his poem so the lover does not harness the potential to mutate into a monstros...
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His parents, who were actors, died when Poe was a small child. Poe was then adopted and raised by John Allan, a tobacco exporter, and Frances Allan in Richmond, Virginia (Magill, 1640). Poe was sent to the best schools because of Allan’s job. When Poe was six years old he was sent to private school. Poe kept studying and went to the University of Virginia for one year. After one year in the University Poe quit school because Allan refused to pay his debts, and he did not have money to pay for Poe’s education. Later, Poe left Boston in 1827 where he enlisted in the army. Poe served two years in the military after he quit school. After two years in the military Poe was dismissed for neglect of duty. His foster father then disowned him permanently. He stayed very little time there because Allan, once again, refused to send Poe any money. (Hoffman, Daniel)
Poe was born into his treacherous life in 1809 on January 19th in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents, David Poe Jr and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins, worked as actors at the Placide’s Theatre. In 1811, Poe and his two siblings, William and Rosalie, were left orphaned due to their mothers death of tuberculous and their fathers abandonment. While Poe’s siblings went to pursue their lives with the family of Jane Scott MacKenzie, Poe started living with John Allen, a filthy tobacco merchant, and his wife, Frances Valentine Allen, in Richmond, Virginia (Poe Museum).
Edgar Allen Poe was born in Boston Massachusetts back in 1809 on January 19th. Even as a child Poe’s life was full of death and sorrow having had both of his parents dying when he was only three years old and the later losses he would face, Poe was born into a family as the second child of three with a set of traveling actors as parents and had two other siblings William Poe his older brother and Rosalie Poe his younger sister who after their parents death were split into different families.Poe himself was moved to Richmond, Virginia with John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan where he grew up being forced into the life of Virginia gentlemen and to be involved in business. For Poe business was never intriguing it was actually the opposite there were a few (early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business) Instead of Allan’ idea for Poe’s life Poe himself wanted to be a poet like Lord Byron who had been a childhood hero to him. In this way Poe could have succeeded even at an early age, by the age of thirteen Poe had written so many poems that he could have made a book, but he was refused by Allan after Poe’s headmaster had advised against it. (In 1826 Poe left his home in Richmond and went to the University of Virginia where he excelled in his study’s but came across the problem of not having even a third of what he needed to attend the school for the year.
As the reading above indicates, Poe grieved continuously throughout his life for his sainted “Lenore”. He wrote numerous poems before and after the death of Virginia Clemm to her. “Annabel Lee” was actually written before the death of Virginia as a token of his undying love for her.
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to parents who were itinerant actors (Edgar Allan Poe). His father David Poe Jr. either died or vanished in 1810 and his mother Elizabeth Hopkins Poe died in 1811, leaving Edgar and two other siblings to fend for themselves. Edgar was taken into the home of a Richmond, Virginia tobacco merchant named John Allan while the others were cared for by different foster parents (Allen). Poe started his education in Richmond and rapidly developed his skills in writing and reading. By the age of five Poe could readily recite passages of English poetry. Even at a young age Poe showed a natural talent for writing. One of his teachers in Richmond said: “While the other boys wrote mere mechanical verses, Poe wrote genuine poetry; the boy was a born poet,” (Allen).
Starting in the first stanza we see that Annabel Lee is referred to specifically as a maiden. Maidens are unmarried women, and the word is often associated with virginity. From this we can conclude that Poe wants to emphasize Annabel Lee’s purity. The word choice in “maiden” lets the reader know early on that this poem is not about lust, but rather love and the genuine connection that comes with it. In the third stanza, as previously discussed, Poe goes out of his way to emphasize that both the narrator and Annabel Lee were children. However, the word choice of “child” is interesting because it is ambiguous whether it is literal or not. By choosing to portray the two lovers as children, Poe once again enforces the themes of purity, innocence, and virginity that children and maidens have in common. Poe wants the reader to understand that there is no sin between the two lovers, only an undying love. Knowing this it is now easy to see why Poe asserts that the angels would be jealous of their love, as the angels would believe only such a pure love should be reserved for God. Continuing to analyze the theme of holiness and purity, even more interesting details can be found in the word choice of sepulchre. A sepulchre is simply a tomb, however the word sepulchre itself is more often associated with religious
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809 to Actors David and Elizabeth Arnold Poe. David and Eliza had three children together, William Henry, Edgar and a sister named Rosalie Poe (Hutchisson, 5). Edgar Allan’s parents died when he was young and he was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, even though they never formally adopted him. His other two brothers went on to live with other family members. John Allan was a very successful merchant, which aloud Edgar to be able to grow up in good surroundings and be able to attend good schools. (Hutchisson, 7)
Edgar Allen Poe’s alliteration and repetition of words support the poem’s flow and musicality. Poe begins with the alliteration of the m sound in “merriment” and “melody” (3). The soft m sound, also known as a liquid consonant, helps to keep a quick and continuous pace for the poem. Similarly, the alliteration of the s sounds in sledges, silver, stars, and seem, emphasize the calming sounds of the bells (1-2, 6-7). The s sound helps express the soothing and comforting effects of the bells, essentially contributing to the merry tone of the poem. Furthermore, the alliteration of t...
Poems have really intricate meanings that can be portrayed in many different ways. They can be used to express feelings and emotions towards someone or something. Poems can be about love, hate, nature, or anything in particular. The poem “Annabel Lee,” by Edgar Allan Poe is a romantic poem, written during the Romanticism period. The poem is about the narrator, a young man, who is dealing with the tragic loss of his fair maiden, whom he fell in love with at a young age. The love between the couple is described as very childlike and innocent. Their love for each other is extremely passionate, for that reason, the angels became jealous and killed Annabel Lee. Although his wife passed away, the narrator does not want to give up on their love and
Edgar Allen Poe was born in Boston Massachusetts in the early nineteenth century. It is well known that Poe endured a difficult life, and tragedy began at an early age. At three years old, he witnessed his mother’s death (Bloom). Then, he was taken into custody of the Allen family who remained his benefactors until he attended the University of Virginia. However, Poe did not remain at the university past 1826 because his foster father would not pay off a debt that Poe had, and he also would not pay tuition (bloom). From the University, Poe traveled back to Massachusetts where he joined the army. It was in the army in 1827 that Poe published his first work, called Tamerlane and Other Poems under anonymous (Merriman). Not long after his first publication, tragedy struck again. His foster mother died in 1829, the same year his second book was published. It was only two years later that Poe met his future wife while living with his aunt and his brother. Henry, his brother, died of tuberculosis just like their mother did soon after Poe moved in (Merriman). The next few years, Poe published several works and became an editor at th...