Table of Contents
Introduction
Annabel Lee is a poem printed by Edgar Allan Poe. The poem was Poe’s last work and reflected his true life circumstances, consequently confirming the fact that his works were mostly about his own experiences (Poe 1). The poem refers to woman in Poe’s life, who most probably was in reminiscence of Virginia Clemm (Poe 1). Poe married his wife at 13 years of age and who passed on in 1847 before she turned 25 years. The poem was published in 1849 (Poe & Barger 96-7).
Plot
The poem is about a beautiful and painful memory of long lost love (Poe 2). The persona knew Annabel Lee many years ago when she was only a girl; when they both lived in the kingdom by the sea (Poe). The narrator stresses that even though they were only children, they were sincerely in love that even the angels noticed and were envious. The narrator also blames the angels for killing his girlfriend, because apparently a wind came down from the clouds, which made Annabel Lee sick and eventually killed her (Poe 3).
-
0
Preparing Orders
-
0
Active Writers
-
0%
Positive Feedback
-
0
Support Agents
Later, her relatives came and took her body away from the persona and buried in a tomb. The speaker adds that his adoration for Annabel was not just teenage crush and even death was not going to separate them. He adds that even the angels or the devils could not separate them (Poe). He could still see her universally in the stars and in his dreams. He still loved her so much that every night he goes and lies with her in her tomb (Poe 3).
Themes
Eternal Love
This is the major theme in the entire poem. The persona explains that Annabel Lee passed on because the cherubs were resentful of their love since it was burly. He also states that the love between them was so burly that no one could take apart their spirits, not even death. Even after the death, their love remains alive and eternal, because their souls remain united (Sova 23-25).
Mortality
The narrator is obsessed with how and why Annabel Lee died and even blames others for it. He says in the poem that the reason Annabel died was because the angels were envious of the strong love they had. Consequently, the angels slaughtered her by distressing her. “In the sepulcher there by the sea” (Poe).
Family
The persona points out that since he loved Annabel Lee, he married her and they were a family, as he calls her his bride. He also talks about her lover’s family; when her relatives came and took her body away in order to bury in the mausoleum after her death (Poe).
The Character Analysis
Persona - He is a gentleman of more emotional response who eulogizes a juvenile woman he adored. Annabel Lee was a gorgeous young woman treasured by the narrator (Poe). Annabel’s birth was decent as stanza one advocates that her relatives were noble. She probably characterizes Poe’s spouse who passed away at a youthful age. The Seraphs were a part of the uppermost array of cherubs surrounding the throne of the supernatural being (Poe & Barger 96-7). The Seraphs were resentful of the feeling affection between Annabel Lee and the speaker so as to cause her death. Annabel Lee’s relatives; they are referred to as noble people. They are the ones who carried away Annabel’s body and entombed it (Poe).
Styles
The poet uses rhythm, repetition and rhyme in the poem in order to produce synchronization of reverberations, which emphasize the lovely synchronization of the persona’s correlation with his darling. Repetition with rhyme; the poet replicates the sound of long ‘e’. For instance, in stanza one, the second line ends by “sea”, fourth line by “lee” and sixth line by “me”. Stanza two and three repeats the “sea”, “lee” and “me” pattern. An instance of inner rhyme arises in stanza four the preceding line.
Repetition with rhyme; the poet uses rhythmic patterns in the poem to emphasize the ascending and descending of the waves (Poe). Alliteration is the recurrence of consonant reverberations to improve the tempo of the poem. For instance, in stanza two there is repetition of the “w” and “l” sounds. The poet has also used alliteration to produce pleasant sound prototype, for example, the winds came from the cloud at night.
Save up to
25%!
We offer 10% more words per page than other websites, so actually you got 1 FREE page with every 10 ordered pages.
Together with 15% first order discount you get 25% OFF!
The poet has also used metaphors; light and darkness images occur through out the poem (Poe 7). The poet meant that the territory near the maritime is a brilliant and jovial position in which the sun burnishes on the two infantile lovers. Sarcastically, in a different sphere of stunning light in heaven, the cherubs are full of resentment of the juvenile lovers (Poe). A chilly breeze was sent at night by the seraphs that slaughtered Annabel. The persona further explains that he remained in a dominion of luminosity for Annabel’s soul and his soul. Light Imagery has also been emphasized in the final stanza when he states that the moon could not ray without providing him dreams; meaning his darling became the stars and the moon brightening downward on the narrator from the funereal night sky (Sova 23-25).
Word of choice; the poet has carefully chosen the words of the poem to suggest a fantasy or a fairytale mood. “It was many and many a year ago”, this echoes the traditional fairy story aperture once upon a time. The word “kingdom” emphasizes a never-never land, “maiden” suggests politeness and romance and “child” suggests innocence. “Sepulchre” in stanza three refers to Annabel Lee’s burial chamber (Poe & Barger 96-7). In the seventh line of stanza six “tomb” has been used to refer to Annabel Lee’s resting place (Poe & Barger 96-7).
VIP services
Get
extended REVISION 2.00 USD
Get SMS NOTIFICATIONS 3.00 USD
Get an order
Proofread by editor 3.99 USD
Get an order prepared
by Top 30 writers 4.8 USD
Get a full
PDF plagiarism report 5.99 USD
Get
VIP Support 9.99 USD
VIP SERVICES
PACKAGE
WITH 20% DISCOUNT 23.82 USD
The Poem’s Explication Theory Application
Poe is one of the first Americans who write about criticism, theory of composition and principle of creative art (Poe). He was the first to put down a consistence set of principle about what he thought was acceptable and redundant in art.
In Annabel Lee, the poet has evoked a feeling of sympathy from his circulation (Sova 23-25). He brings out the themes of the poem through personal imagery, repetition of words, rhyme and rhythm. His use of personal imagery helps the reader to grapple the intense stance of loss he continues to experience long after Annabel Lee’s passing (Poe). In this literary piece, the setting imagery is imperative, because it is through setting that one gains a comprehensively better understanding of his distress. A unique insight into relationships is provided by Annabel Lee through the themes, imagery and rhythm (Poe).
Conclusion
The poem Annabel Lee was Edgar Allan Poe’s last. It is about love between two people who loved each other while still young and later got married (Poe). Their love was so strong that even made the angels envious resulting to the death of the woman. However, even after the woman’s death, their souls still remain united (Sova 23-25). The aspect of love has the tendency of people getting so much used to one another that they cannot do without each other. This is practically what happens in this piece of literature, where the love that prevails between two young people apparently reigns supreme.