“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”
In "Annabel Lee", a young man is mourning the death of a beautiful young lady. Even though the woman had died quite some time ago, the man is still in melancholy. He misses her terribly and constantly thinks of how she was she was tragically taken from him by the angels who were jealous of their love, and by her family who didn't think the he himself was capable of bringing her to her final resting place. He loved Annabel Lee more than anyother human can love another. The following quote tells the reader how much he loves her and shows that he would do anything for her, even if that means sleeping by her tomb, each and every night. "And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side of my darling, my life and my bride, in her sepulchre there by the sea, in her tomb by the side of the sea."
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.
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...
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Poetry Foundation. Ed. Poetry Foundation. Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
The poem opened up with a fairy tale line and right off the bat you had the idea that it was going to be about the narrator sharing his love. Not to mention, it was a poem of rhyming to help make the reader feel a type of way. This poem was written after the death of his beloved wife, Virginia Clemm (the woman who married him at the age of thirteen) so it is most likely based off of her and the love that he had for her. Love is the main theme in the poem and the love that Annabel Lee and the narrator shared starting in their childhood. In the poem, Poe demonstrates that even after Annabel’s death that their love was too strong to be destroyed by the angels or demons. Just about everything that he sees reminds him of Annabel, the stars, moon and he lies by her tomb at night by the sea. Loving her wasn’t complicated at all for him, even when he was known to struggle with relationships throughout his whole life. Even though she is dead, he makes us believe that he can still see her bright eyes and that they will soon meet again in the future. The one line that caught my eye the most about their love is this, “But our love it was stronger by far than the love of those who were older than we—“ (Poe). Their love was said to be so strong that even the older and wiser people couldn’t understand the strength of their love. The main purpose of this poem was to show all of the outsiders that there was nothing that could ever come in-between their love, no matter if she was dead or alive. Their souls will forever be united until the day that they will meet
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)
“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
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.
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).
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 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 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).
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.
Stanza five paints a picture that their love was stronger than anybody’s ever was on land or sea, and that nobody can take the writer away from his love: this is supported by the speaker making the statement “ but our love was stronger by far than the love of those who were older than we” (Poe 609), and “ neither the angels in heaven above, nor the demons down under the sea, can ever dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee” (Poe 610). The last stanza is very grim when it states “I lie down by the side of my darling… In the sepulchre there by the sea” (Poe 610). It paints a gross picture that the speaker loved Annabel Lee so much that he was willing to lay next to the body of her dead corpse, not letting death take her away from him. The imagery in the last two stanzas support the message of the
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...