Edgar Allen Poe revolutionized the world of American literature, leaving his mark as one of the greatest American writers of all time. His name is linked and well known for his dark, mysterious and twisted tales, for a man who’s lived in darkness will also write about darkness. However, his poem “Annabel Lee” exhibits a softer side, writing of love and the eternal connection of a young man and woman through life’s changes. Many have claimed that this poem was personal, not of fiction like many of his others and comes directly from his own heart. To grasp the concept behind this poem and the personal connection he had with it, one must start at the very beginning. Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809 and orphaned just three short years later (….). Shortly after he was taken in by a wealthy tobacco merchant named John Allan and his wife Frances in Richmond, Virginia (…). Allan had inspiring dreams of educating Poe in the world of business like himself but failed to realize the determination he had to reach his own aspiring dreams of writing (….). He attended the University of Virginia with very little money and support from his estranged father figure Allan (…). He lived in poverty, attempting to gamble his way out of the debts he had accrued which only made it worse (…). Poe is no stranger to heartache, discovering only after shortly returning home from the University of Virginia that fiancée Elmira Royster was betrothed to another (…). With the love of his life gone and the rocky relationship with his guardian John Allan he had nothing to hold him back so he set out to follow his dream of becoming a poet and tame his longing desire for adventure (….). Despite the heartbreak and the feeling of abandonment he bounced back f... ... middle of paper ... ...highborn kinsmen” as the main interference between him and his love (..). It directly represents societies attempt to hold them asunder. It could refer to when Poe left New York with Virginia before her demise due to the accusations that were going around. Poe uses “Angels” and “Seraphs” who are reckoned to be holy and innocent as the villains he blames for her death (…). The word “sepulcher” refers to her burial chamber. The narrator states, “To shut her up in her sepulcher” because Poe wants it to appear as more of a prison, which could too be like the cottage where Virginia spent her last days (…). Yet, he also avers, “In her sepulcher there by the sea –In her tomb by the sounding sea” to show she’s deceased and as a path to ease into the frigid reality of her death (…). The “sea” is utilized as a symbol to express the loneliness and misery the speaker feels.
Edgar Allen Poe was born in 1809 to two actors. His father and older brother were both alcoholics. When he was two years old, his father abandoned he and his mother. His mother, being unable to support them both, sent him to live with John and Frances Allen. She died not long after that. The Allen’s gave Poe a good life, but never legally adopted him, which led to him feeling like an outcast. Poe was bullied in school for being the child of actors, which fed into his feeling of not belonging. Poe was later sent to college, and planned to marry Sarah Elmira Royster as soon as he graduated. He eventually had to leave college due to debt, and returned home where he discovered that Sarah was engaged to another man. He then joined West Point Academy for a short time, but did not like it and soon dropped out. After that, Poe moved from job to job until he eventually married his 13 year old cousin, Virginia. Six years later, Virginia fell ill with tuberculosis and died. Poe’s depression deepened, and he later tried to kill ...
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.
Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809 to the parent of Elizabeth Arnold Poe (maiden name Hopkins) and her husband David Poe, Jr. Elizabeth, commonly referred to as Eliza, and David met while working together at Mr. Placide’s Theatre Company out of Boston. The decided to get married while on tour in 1806, and together had three children-William Henry Leonard, Edgar, and their little sister Rosalie (Edgar Allan Poe Par. 12). Shortly after the birth of Rose, the couple parted. It is a common belief that Mr. Poe was an alcoholic and chose the dri...
Many describe Edgar Allan Poe’s life as a mire tragedy that produced a genius. Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19 of 1809 in Boston Massachusetts. Poe was described as a handsome or an attractive man; “Poe, himself, is a very good looking fellow” (Simms qtd. in The Poe Log). His clothing was described as simple and black; “He dressed always in black, and with faultless taste and simplicity” (Weiss). He had pale color skin with a good complexion. His hair color was as dark black as a raven’s wing. When he was three years old his biological parents, David and Elizabeth Poe past away. David and Elizabeth Poe had three children Henry, Edgar, and Rosalie. When his parents died he was adopted by his step mother and father the Allan’s; they were tobacco exporters of London. Poe lived a luxurious childhood, going to good academic schools, even moving with his family to London, and continued his studies at a boarding school. When he was a teenager they moved back to US, because the Allan’s tobacco company was failing. He continued his high school career at local private academies. There he had a huge crush on a school friend’s mother. The mother die and Poe took it personally. After he was all grown ...
Edgar Allen Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother and father where both actors, David and Elizabeth Arnold. They had financial difficulties, which soon caused the father to abandon the family. Poe's mother soon had another child; however, she was having physical conditions causing her death on December 8, 1811. Becoming orphans, both Poe and his sister were split up in family friend’s houses. Poe went to live with the Allan's. As Poe grew up he started having problems with his John Allan, his foster father, which caused future problems. Poe's first step to start a career was attending the University of Virginia in 1826. "Allan failed to provide Poe with enough money for necessities such as furniture and books and Poe soon ran up a tremendous gambling debt and began drinking, despite his very low tolerance for alcohol" (Loveday 2). After a time he moved to Boston, "The Great Literature Capital." What was helping Poe start of his career, where the big hopes of one day becoming a writer despite the harsh life he had since he was little. Poe's work has had an impact on literature. Throughout his most famous pieces of literature, "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Raven," and "The Cast of Amontillado," we see common factors that influenced these types of works through his plots and characters. "Madness, alienation, and mankind's long love affair with morbidity were the his subjects, and he didn't mind admitting to being more to being more than half in love with easeful death, to mangle a line from his favorite poet, Tennyson," (Allen 2).
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809. He was born to two poor actors, David Poe and Elizabeth Arnold Poe. David Poe was born to a good Baltimore family. He was known as a heavy drinker, and soon after Edgar was born, left his mother and Edgar’s two other siblings. Elizabeth was thought to be charming and talented, but she died an early death. She died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-four. Edgar was only three years old. The death of his mother ruined Edgar for the rest of his life. Edgar’s brother, WIlliam Henry Leonard Poe, also came to be a poet, but he had a n early demise. His sister, Rosalie Poe, grew up to teach penmanship. Edgar and his siblings were separated from each other after the death of their parents).Shortly after, Edgar was taken in by John and Frances Allan. John was a successful tobacco merchant. Edgar moved to England with the Allans and went to school in England from 1815 to 1820. Edgar and David did not see eye to eye at all. John wanted Edgar to be a businessman and a Virginian gentleman, but Edgar aspired to become a writer. By the time Edgar began college at the University of Virginia in 1826, he barely communicated or received support from the Allans. Edgar was a wonderful student but a terrible gambler. He soon accumulated a considerable amount of debt because John sent him to university with a measly amount of money. He did not have enough for expenses which led him to gambling. He was so poor and desperate that he burned his furniture to keep warm. Humiliated, he returned home to Richmond to discover that his fiancée, Elmira Royster, was engaged to another man. His stay at the Allan mansion was cut very short because of the increasing tension b...
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)
Edgar Allan Poe, born January 19, 1809, was an American poet, widely known for his literature and his belonging toward Romanticism. Born in Boston, he was soon orphaned after the abandonment of his father and death of mother between 1810-1811. In 1827, Poe released his first book, “Tamerlane and Other Poems”. This was not the only one, however, for he released several other books before the death of his older brother in 1831. After his brother’s death, Poe made the decision to become a writer.
Edgar Allan Poe is a Boston born native to Massachusetts. An orphan by age two, Poe was separated from his two siblings, William Henry and Rosalie, and sent to live with John and Fanny Allan. Poe’s young life was ordinary. At the age of 6, Poe and the Allan family moved to England for John’s expanding business. Poe was separated from his new family to attend schools in Scotland and Chelsea, England. He was unhappy and bitter about being abandoned in his later years. The Allan’s business failed and their debt increased to an unimaginable level. The Allan family and Poe returned to America in 1820. After the death of John Allan’s uncle, the inheritance was able to soothe their debt. As a teen, Poe attended Clarke Academy which is where he began his love of poetry and literature. Poe went on to excel in athletics and academics, all the while never being legally adopted by his guardians. Poe attended the University of Virginia in Charleston and ran into his own debt. His relationship with John became increasingly difficult and eventually came to physical confrontation after the death of Fanny, Poe’s beloved maternal figure. Poe left in 1827 to join the army. In 1830 he began at West Point Military Academy, only to be court martialed a year later. Upon leaving West Point, Poe left to live with his extended family in Baltimore Maryland. This family consisted of his aunt Maria, and two cousins Henry and Virginia. During his time of staying with his aunt “Muddy” and his two cousins, Poe lost his old guardian John Allan and also his oldest brother Henry. In 1835 he began working for the Southern Literary Messenger. His first short story, "Metzengerstein" was published in 1836. In May of that year, Poe and his 14 year old cousin Virginia Cl...
First one needs to know some background information on Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was born in Boston, Massachutes, to David Poe and Elizabeth Arnold. He lost both his father, who abandoned the family, and his mother, who died of tuberculosis, at a very young age. He was taken in by John Allan, a wealthy business man. As Poe aged, he and his father relationship became very strained. In 1826, while attending the University of Virginia, Poe and his father had a falling out over his supposed drinking and his gambling debts. In 1827, Poe enlisted in the U.S. Army. After two years of service, his father helped him get accepted into West Point Military Academy. It was only a few months before Poe was expelled from school and disowned by his father. In 1832 he moved to Baltimore to live with his aunt, Mrs. Clemm, and Cousin Virginia. Four years later Poe and his young cousin were married. She soon became very sick and suffered from repeated illness until she died in 1847.
Edgar Allen Poe was a talented poet, who wrote many poems and books. Poe was born on January 19th 1809 in Boston Massachusetts(biography.com). He passed away on October 7th 1849, after being found unconscious in Baltimore, Maryland (poetryfoundation.org). When Poe was only a year old both his parents split up, and because of that he never really knew his father(biography.com). Also his mother passed away when he was only 3, so he had little to no memory of her(biography.com). After his mother’s death Poe had to live with a tobacco merchant and his wife(biography.com). He lived in Richmond, Virginia until he decided to leave to attend the University Of Virginia(biography.com). His adoptive father,John Allan, who he lived with when his mother passed, never gave him enough money to pay for all the costs of college(biography.com).Therefore Poe turned to gambling to cover the cost(biography.com). Poe was a very broken individual that had been through an enormous amount of problems(biography.com). When he came back home one time he discovered t...
For Poe, the hyperbole of his life was that his father abandoned him and that his mother died when he was just two years old. As Poe lived with the wealthy John and Frances Allan, he knew them as his parents, although their relationship was not biological. He held a close bond with Frances but not John (The Biography, 2015). In Poe’s late teenage years, the Allan’s only provided Poe with a third of the money he required to continue his college education, leaving him in debt and forcing him to drop out of school in less than a year (Poe Stories, 2005). In The Raven it is evident in the second stanza that the narrator is feeling quite lonely, that he no longer has anyone there for him, this is perpendicular to Poe as he was virtually abandoned by the family that nurtured him for practically his whole life. The stressed feelings of abandonment heightened by the trochaic octameter and hyperbole creates a defined association between Poe’s individual feelings of abandonment from his younger years, which may have been reminiscent to the imminent loss of his wife
The diction of “Annabel Lee” helps create the impression of a fairy tale-like love story. With words such as “maiden” (line 3), “kingdom” (line 8), “beautiful” (line 16), “high-born kinsmen” (line 17), Poe paints a picture of a whimsical, fantastic love story when, in reality, Annabel Lee dies in her girlhood. This is wherein lies the irony: the glamorization of the persona’s love of Annabel Lee
The explication was an opinion thought and also details about this poem. I found out that poems have a lot of meanings once you annotate it and break it down. “Annabel Lee” was an interesting poem that had brought out my attention. Although poems are not one of my biggest things to read or do, I enjoyed “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe.
Poe was an American poet who contributed many great pieces of literature to our society. His works illustrate and portray a realm of both paranormal and morbid beauty. In each poem usually lies a demonic undertone, that frequently summed up to a type of conclusion that can in one way or another pertain to h is life’s reminiscences. A common choice of topic for Poe was his love for his wife Virginia, who tragically died of tuberculosis. His poems that revolve around her, more often then not, contain a tone of sadness, loneliness, and despair. In both "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee" he makes reference to her as the long lost Lenore. Whether it was a way for him to idolize, or recollect on his memories of her he always seemed to do it in a haunting and surreal way.