Annabel Lee BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

• Theme of Eternal Love: The poem explores the theme of a love that outlasts death. The speaker’s love for Annabel Lee began many years ago in a “kingdom by the sea,” and though she has died, his love for her continues to be so strong that even angels are envious.
• Death and Loss: Annabel Lee’s death is a significant part of the poem. Poe often used the theme of the death of a beautiful woman, which he considered the most poetical topic in the world. The speaker insists that their love is strong enough to transcend death, and that he can still feel her presence.
• Structure and Form: The poem consists of six stanzas, varying from six to eight lines each. The rhythm and rhyme create a lyrical quality to the poem, making it sound like a song. This is one of the reasons why it is often referred to as a ballad.
• Use of Repetition: Poe uses repetition to emphasize his ongoing love for Annabel Lee. Words and phrases such as “kingdom by the sea,” “loved,” and “Annabel Lee” are repeated throughout the poem, contributing to its rhythmic quality and reinforcing its themes.
• Symbolism: The sea is a key symbol in the poem. It is the setting for the speaker and Annabel Lee’s youthful love, and it is also where Annabel Lee is buried. The sea may symbolize vastness, depth, or eternity, resonating with the speaker’s claim of an undying love.
• Gothic Elements: Like much of Poe’s work, “Annabel Lee” incorporates elements of the Gothic genre. The poem’s dark and eerie mood, its focus on death and the afterlife, and its setting in a “kingdom by the sea” contribute to a sense of the supernatural or uncanny.
• Narrator’s Perspective: The poem is written from the first-person perspective, allowing readers to intimately experience the profound feelings of love and loss the narrator endures. This perspective imbues the poem with a deeply personal and emotional tone.
• Romantic Love: The narrator’s adoration for Annabel Lee is depicted as pure, intense, and unwavering. Their love story begins in their youth and extends beyond Annabel Lee’s death, highlighting the theme of enduring love. The narrator idealizes their love, declaring it was so strong that even celestial beings were envious.
• Death Imagery: Poe frequently uses death imagery, contributing to the morose and melancholic tone of the poem. This is evident in the description of Annabel Lee’s chilling tomb by the sea, as well as the references to her life being taken away.
• Poe’s Life Reflection: Some biographers suggest that “Annabel Lee” reflects Poe’s own experience with losing his wife, Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe, who died two years before the poem was published. This potential personal connection may have contributed to the intense emotionality of the poem.
• Hyperbolic Language: Poe’s use of hyperbole, or extreme exaggeration, emphasizes the depth and strength of the narrator’s feelings. The declaration that the angels in heaven were jealous of the lovers’ happiness and that the demons “down under the sea” can’t separate the narrator from Annabel Lee are examples of such exaggerations.
• Romanticism and Gothic Intersection: The poem is a significant example of the intersection of Romantic and Gothic literary traditions. It reflects Romantic ideals through its emphasis on intense emotion and the sublime power of love. Meanwhile, it showcases Gothic elements through its exploration of death, the supernatural, and its melancholy tone.
• Natural Elements: The repeated reference to natural elements like wind, sea, and moonlight creates an atmospheric and evocative backdrop for the narrative of love and loss, adding to the Romantic imagery in the poem.

Through its lyrical quality, emotional depth, and blend of Romantic and Gothic elements, “Annabel Lee” remains one of Poe’s most celebrated works. “Annabel Lee” is a compelling exploration of undying love and profound loss, presented through haunting imagery and rhythmic, repetitive language. Poe’s characteristic Gothic elements infuse the poem with a sense of melancholy and the supernatural.