Annabel Lee Analysis

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of ANNABEL LEE;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.



I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea;

But we loved with a love that was more than love-

I and my Annabel Lee;

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

Coveted her and me.



And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsman came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

In this kingdom by the sea.





The angels, not half so happy in heaven,

Went envying her and me-

Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.



But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we-

Of many far wiser than we-

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.



For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,

In the sepulchre there by the sea,

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

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I definately agree with 10-29, this is for sure about a girl he very muched loved.... not a ship...

| Posted on 2009-11-19 | by a guest

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The meaning of this poem is very controseptive. Poe has an insane twist to this poem meaning for madness and depression, but also obssesion of the natural mind. Sadness can drive you mad while obsession can bring in those certain tears.

| Posted on 2009-11-12 | by a guest

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I think this poem is a mix between obsessive and madness. in the beginning, it seems to be a sweet love story, but it then darkens, and Poe says some pretty demented and outlandish things. The really remarkable thing, I think, is that Poe's poem can be said to mean a variety of things, and all are true. Personally, I would like to think that Poe wasn't insane, because, (if you haven't read his other works, you should) it would be a waste of his brillant mind. If this is a poem to send out his grief over his wife, then I think it is fine.

| Posted on 2009-11-12 | by a guest

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Can the person who wrote the paper on Annabel Lee please post the paper. I need the meaning of the poem for a poetry reciting I'm doing in class. This is a big part of my grade. Please Help Me!

| Posted on 2009-11-10 | by a guest

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I think all answers are right answers but on things that I can't get right is this, why didn't he just name the poem after his wife, Virginia,why Annabel Lee?

| Posted on 2009-11-10 | by a guest

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the person who posted on 4-16-09 is right this is why; When we are fighting we make life cry
Whether its for life or death no matter why
When we are fighting its not life nor death everything just dies. I personally think it is about a tornado and i'm in 7th grade.

| Posted on 2009-11-02 | by a guest

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Whoever posted 7-19-09 is a damn idiot. A SHIP?!?! The poem is written about his love for his wife who died. Why the hell would he be writing about a ship??? Especially since this was the very last poem he wrote. I've been researching this poem and the life of Poe for 3 weeks for a poetry presentation for a college English 2 class.

| Posted on 2009-10-29 | by a guest

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I LOVE THIS POEM. The obvious reason for Poe writing it would be because of his great loss. The death of his wife Virginia. Poe did suffer a lot during his lifetime, and maybe he just write these poems to express his feelings.
--Sasha was here ;D

| Posted on 2009-10-28 | by a guest

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Actually your all right... An analysis of a poem is your opinion.. There is no right or wrong answer. But I believe it it about a lost love, in a very creepy way..

| Posted on 2009-10-28 | by a guest

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Actually your all right... An analysis of a poem is your opinion.. There is no right or wrong answer. But I believe it it about a lost love, in a very creepy way..

| Posted on 2009-10-28 | by a guest

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This poem is quite lovely. It talks about the memories of him thinking he would never be separated from his love, but it ends with her leaving him to go to a place where he could never reach. It's like chasing after something you could never touch or feel. that dark feeling of being so desperate and lonely.

| Posted on 2009-10-27 | by a guest

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The true story of Annabel Lee and The speaker in the poem, Edgar Allan Poe is that are both cousins and lovers. They married each other at very young age. The real name of "Annabel lee" was Virginia Clemm. Annebel died in her twenties because of the tuberculosis. And in the poem, the written cause of her death is the wind. Everyone is against the love story of Edgar and Annabel for the reason that they are cousins. But still they got married. And when Annebel died, her debris were taken by her relatives away from Edgar, But because of love, Edgar followed his wife at her tomb. "Annabel Lee" was published two days after Poe's death in 1898.

| Posted on 2009-10-19 | by a guest

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I tend to agree with whoever posted on 3/23/09, with the point that Poe was a very literal writer in his shorter poems. As such this poem is more creepy then sweet, with an absolute inference that he sleeps with the body of his "bride" night after night. Necrophilia, not so sure, but the sleeping part alone is a very Poe-esque macabre. However, I do tend to consider their love "real," but the degree to which the speaker overstates it does imply something darker.

| Posted on 2009-10-11 | by a guest

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I tend to agree with whoever posted on 3/23/09, with the point that Poe was a very literal writer in his shorter poems. As such this poem is more creepy then sweet, with an absolute inference that he sleeps with the body of his "bride" night after night. Necrophilia, not so sure, but the sleeping part alone is a very Poe-esque macabre. However, I do tend to consider their love "real," but the degree to which the speaker overstates it does imply something darker.

| Posted on 2009-10-11 | by a guest

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One of the best ... my guy mailed me this aftr a fight ... probably dats y its soundid all the more beautiful... i cn jst wish such love exist..
Mrirani

| Posted on 2009-10-10 | by a guest

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This poem is beautiful yet sad. It proves that love is so strong between a coulpe, even if one lover is dead

| Posted on 2009-09-22 | by a guest

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Everybody here seems to be seeing only the obvious. But if you look deeper, I think "Anabelle Lee" is a metaphor for a ship and this poem is actually talking about a shipwreck.

| Posted on 2009-07-19 | by a guest

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This is definitely about his young wife Virginia, who died very soon in her life.

| Posted on 2009-07-12 | by a guest

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If you are reading this a virus has been downloaded to your computer and will take effect in 3-4 days. I am just kidding. Or Am I.

| Posted on 2009-06-11 | by a guest

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If you are reading this a virus has been downloaded to your computer and will take effect in 3-4 days. I am just kidding. Or Am I.

| Posted on 2009-06-11 | by a guest

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Annabel lee has many sound devices: x hyperbole when saying that the angels in heaven were jelous of them... i mean come on!

| Posted on 2009-05-10 | by a guest

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I have used this beautiful poem to teach expressive reading for 45 years. It is easy to select key concepts to emphasize with your voice along with tonal inflections. Read it over and over, and then underline the most expressive concepts, adding pauses, facial expressions etc.
It was extremely effective with my 9th Grade English students. Well read, it could even bring tears to the
eyes of boy jocks.
Dr. Robert Conifer, Colo

| Posted on 2009-05-07 | by a guest

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this poem has so much meaning and perfectly describes the meaning of love. poe writes of a beautiful woman dying in many of his poems soley because the death of his beatiful, yopung, virgin wife, virginia.
-ashley nicole phillips

| Posted on 2009-04-29 | by a guest

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he is writing about his wife who was also his cousin named virginia. the poem was dedicated to her. u can look it up on wikipedia.

| Posted on 2009-04-22 | by a guest

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I am only in 7th grade and im soooo confused. I am not sayon any one is wrong our right. You would have to know Poe and. its deffinatly not something to foght about... think wat you think....

| Posted on 2009-04-16 | by a guest

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hii
i found alought of your opinions to be quite interesting, and i must say they have helped me out imensly.However, what is with the continual slander doesnt anyone apretiate a good opinion (thats why they call it criticism). there is no wright and wrong in this poem, and the facts quite franctly are always different. so if you cant handle the critics dont read it, but as for the rest of you there where some intersting perspectives.

| Posted on 2009-04-09 | by a guest

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For me, Annabel Lee is only a fiction, a work of art to inspire us that death cannot separate the lover and the beloved. Love for Edgar Allan Poe is boundless, just like a ring which symbolizes eternity.

| Posted on 2009-04-03 | by a guest

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For me, Annabel Lee is only a fiction, a work of art to inspire us that death cannot separate the lover and the beloved. Love for Edgar Allan Poe boundless, just like a ring which symbolizes eternity.

| Posted on 2009-04-03 | by a guest

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Annabel Lee was the last poem Poe ever wrote, and I think that he knew it was going to be his last work. Some people say that it is a dark poem, but I think that it is a beautiful poem - beautiful in that sad way. I think that Annabel Lee was his wife. Heck, I think all the women that he writes about are really his late wife, because he loved her so much that he was simply devestated about her death and kept on writing to cope. If you haven't read his other works, please, do so - they are all just as sadly beautiful and darkly sweet. And, they are terribly interesting as well.

| Posted on 2009-03-31 | by a guest

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The author Poe was apperantly adopted as a child, he married his second cousin who was 12 years younger than him, he dedicated this poem to her because she died of teburculosis this poemgives me a wierd vibe

| Posted on 2009-03-30 | by a guest

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To whomever said that Virginia died of Consumption and not tb... I would like to say that.. it's the same thing. Consumption is the word used a long time ago to name what we now call Tuberculosis.

| Posted on 2009-03-29 | by a guest

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I actually did a whole project on this one poem in school, and did a lot of research. So, here's my take on it. I don't really think that Poe wrote the poem to describe his relationship with anyone he knew. I disagree with the postings that call this a sweet poem, it is very much laced with very creepy and morbid undertones. Anyone who knows Poe's work already has noticed that he had a fascination with the macabre. Some of his other works like The Black Cat, or The Raven are much more obvious in their dark themes for example, why would this poem be any different? Anyway, Poe uses subtle but key phrases in his poetry that may tip you off to something being not quite right. Annabell Lee the poem does illustrate a very lonely vibe. Doesn't anyone else see something wrong with a love so absolutely perfect that the very angels in heaven were jealous? In fact, this state of mind comes across obsessive. Another poster mentioned that their love was so strong that it binded their souls even in death. Poe meant the poem to be taken literally at the line that states that he would lie with his love in her tomb by the sea, his bride. Everything in a poem is there for a purpose. The term bride being used in the same verse with "lie" tells me some very disturbing things about the current of the poem. When you think of bride, the term is used to conjure up images of white, weddings, and wedding nights. Poe never mentioned a marriage, or a wife. So why on earth would he call her his "bride" after her death...? Hm. Necrophelia anyone?
Anyway, there are so many interestng things about this poem, I can't really write them all, but I hope I've insipred someone to take a closer look at the darker side to this poem.

| Posted on 2009-03-23 | by a guest

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You are all wrong. This poem is not about anybody in particular. He was bored one day and decided he was going to write this poem to confuse everybody. Get your facts straight.

| Posted on 2009-03-15 | by a guest

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This poem scares me.it is dark and very lonely. dont read this poem.oh wait you already have.

| Posted on 2009-03-13 | by a guest

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Edgar has said in the poem "Annabel Lee" that their love is strong. And Poe said that the angels were jealous and "a wind blew from out of a cloud chilling my Annabel Lee" means that Annabel Lee had s possible illness or disease that killed her. This Pose's relationship with Annabel to separate. But then, the last stanza says that the angels may have killed Annabel but Edgar said that demons under sea and angels in heaven cannot split them apart. After the death, Poe dreams about Annabel and lie down next to her sepulcher or tomb..

| Posted on 2009-03-10 | by a guest

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Heylow...
Uhm...well this poem is really great, I think. But in the poem he is totally crazy about Anabel Lee, so I personally don't think that it was a descent into a depression, and I also think that he truly was in love with Annabel Lee. He also states that even after the 'jealous' angels took her, he still felt her presence because their love was so strong it could not be completely ripped out of his hands.

| Posted on 2009-03-04 | by a guest

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Hello,
Thanks for the explanations they really helped, and I too love this poem, it sounds really sweet and interesting. Poor Edgar Allan Poe though, but from his emotion came all these great poems which is amazing!

| Posted on 2009-03-01 | by a guest

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I believe this poem is in fact about his marriage to his wife Virgina, and her untimely death of tuberculosis. Poe is used to people always leaving. His mother died and his father left them, his friends mother died (who was his first crush), his steady girlfriend whom he planned on marrying left him to marry an older rich man, and he never truly felt accepted or loved. It has been said that Poe and Virginia never had intercourse because Poe didn't actually love her in that way but wanted to be with two family members whom he felt could love him as a family. Had he not married her, she would have been sent to live with other family. He did not want to be lonely anymore, and may have married partially for those purposes. The setting is romantic, but the theme is that often in life a person comes across another whom he cannot forget when they die. This poem is about Virginia, but also about all of the others who have left him in his life, and he had finally come to a breaking point.

| Posted on 2009-02-26 | by a guest

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I think this poem is the story of a Poe's descent into alcoholism/depression (and maybe even madness) after the death of his wife, Virginia. He believed that they "loved with a love that was more than love" as many young couples do. But he is unable to let her go when she dies and curses the heavens for taking her away (even goes far to say the angels were jealous). He is unable to stop thinking about her and I believe there is a certain element of lunacy towards the end.

| Posted on 2009-02-23 | by a guest

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i think he is the best poet to ever live and i love this poem and i think to use a bad word is dumb! you should take it off

| Posted on 2009-02-18 | by a guest