"The death of a beautiful women is unquestionably the most poetic topic." This quote, stated by Poe, reflects the author’s dark and twisted perspective on life. Poe’s tragic life influenced his writing; making death the reason Poe wrote. Substance abuse, the denial of death, and self-destruction, made Poe one of America's most beloved and well-known writers. The poem "Annabel Lee" best exemplifies the author's dark past with love, death, and drug abuse.
Due to Edgar past, love influenced his writing drastically. The painful death of Poe's wife and cousin, inspired him to write "Annabel Lee". "In a kingdom by the sea" Poe describes the kingdom to be lonely and mysterious, but Poe also mentions Virginia being in the kingdom and filling it with pure love. Annabel Lee is known to be gentle, kind and persistent in love, throughout the poem, Annabel Lee's love has no complex emotion that may be dark or complicated. In the poem, "But we loved with a love that was more than love" this expression shows Poe's everlasting love for young Virginia. “ I was a child and she was a child” Edgar describes the huge age difference. Age was not a problem for young Virginia and Edgar, the age difference was fourteen years, but that did not stop the relationship, Virginia became Mrs. Poe May 16, 1836. “ Of my darling, my darling, my life and bride” another line of Poe expressing love for little Virginia. The poem “ Annabel Lee” was written two years before Virginia died, it was due to a tragic diagnose of Tuberculosis, which is what Poe’s mother and brother also died of. The era “Annabel Lee” was written during a time of Romance but since Edgar always had a dark twisting life, Poe tried to mix love and passion with mystery and darkness. Edgar and V...
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...e on throughout the years while Edgar is still considered to be one of the most talented writers. Edgar’s life experiences with love reflected upon Poe’s writing and fascination with death made Poe’s work all the better. Substance abuse, the denial of death, and self-destruction is what made Poe the die but also influenced most of Poe’s writing.
Work Cited
The Biography of Edgar Allan Poe. "The Biography of Edgar Allan Poe." poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
WiseGeek. Conjecture, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
"15 Facts on Edgar Allan Poe." N.p., n.d. Web.
"Poe's Poetry Summary and Analysis." Poe's Poetry Study Guide : Summary and Analysis of "Annabel Lee" N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Edgar Allan Poe was inarguably one of the most well known American poets. His criticisms, stories, and poems far out lived the man, but not his reputation. Even today any search of the poet Edgar Allan Poe will bring up facts that are dark, disputable, disgusting, and at times tragic. Mr. Poe wrote words of love, despair, anger, and mystery. He wrote what he knew best and he left behind a legacy that is unique, riveting, and thought provoking, even today. The question is did Edgar Allan Poe deserve the scathing final review that was his obituary? Are his beautiful and disturbing words the ravings of a mad man? It is generally accepted that he suffered from alcoholism and that was the reason of his death. However, his reputation was such that
Poe was likely influenced by the death of his wife, his gloomy childhood, and Tuberculosis. To begin, Poe may have been influenced by his wife’s death to write “Annabel Lee.” First, Poe loved his wife Virginia very much and they lived a good life. Similarly, the narrator in “Annabel Lee” was in love with Annabel and they were very happy together. In addition, Poe’s wife Virginia died of Tuberculosis at a young age. Likewise, Annabel died at a very young age by “the wind chilling her.” Therefore, the death of Virginia, Poe’s wife, influenced him to write “Annabel Lee.”
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.
Annnabel Lee is a poem of two lovers, in their own world, living a perfect life. This poem reflects Poe 's own pain, in which Annabel Lee dies, and her lover is heartbroken.
Giordano, Robert. "A short biography of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)." 27 June 2005. 5 April
Introduced by tragedies early in his life, Edgar Allan Poe became one of the most successful writers, poets, and storytellers to ever live. Edgar Allan Poe had the intelligence to do anything he wanted to do, however, the pain of losing his loved ones always seemed to drive him towards a pen and paper. His emotions never failed to show through his writings, which helped the story line touch the readers. Poe became very close to several different women but each would die shortly after he came to love them. This only pushed him to write more emotionally. Poe had a natural talent for putting his real life experiences into a fictional story and making it seem as if it were really happening.
Edgar Allan Poe was not your typical poet. He had a very depressing life, and that has influenced the majority of his works. He was in the military, had his wife die prematurely, and had the constant struggles of life crashing down on him. Edgar Allan Poe was a great writer who used mystery and lost love as popular themes to intrigue many readers to pose questions regarding death and romance. His parents supported him, allowing him to be educated, but that would eventually lead to failure.
The life of Edgar Allan Poe, was stuffed with tragedies that all affected his art. From the very start of his writing career, he adored writing poems for the ladies in his life. When he reached adulthood and came to the realization of how harsh life could be, his writing grew to be darker and more disturbing, possibly as a result of his intense experimenting with opium and alcohol. His stories continue to be some of the most frightening stories ever composed, because of this, some have considered this to be the reason behind these themes. Many historians and literature enthusiasts have presumed his volatile love life as the source while others have credited it to his substance abuse. The influence of his one-of-a-kind writing is more than likely a combination of both theories; but the main factor is the death of many of his loved ones and the abuse which he endured. This, not surprisingly, darkened his perspective considerably.
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 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...
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
Redfield, J. S. "The Genius of Poe." Foreword. The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. A.C. Armstrong & Son. New York: A.C. Armstrong & Son., 1884. xv-xxvi. EPUB file.
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 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.
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.