Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” represents the ill-fated termination of Annabel Lee. The poem begins by with an introduction of Annabel Lee and the deep love a man feels for her. “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” (line 5).
In the first verse we are introduced to the pure love this man feels for Annabel Lee.
Unfortunately, we learn that he is not the only one who feels for Annabel Lee, “With a love that the winged seraphs in Heaven coveted her and me” (line 10).
The Winged Seraphs in heavens was envious of the man because they also desired Annabel Lee. The angels desire for the lovely Annabel Lee is a saying, which indicates that the death is about to happen, and that the lord and the male relatives in her family demand her presence in the heavens. “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 high-born kinsmen came and bore her away from me, to shut her up in a sepulcher, in this kingdom by the sea” (line 20).
The chilling wind, representing the angels, has come down and taken Annabel Lee.
The man unable to forget his love for Annabel Lee continues to feel for her even though she is gone. “But our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we–Of many far wiser than we–“(line 27).
The Essay on Critical Analysis of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Annabel Lee”
Edgar Allen Poe's poem “Annabel Lee” represents the unfortunate demise of Annabel Lee. The poem begins by introducing, Annabel Lee and how someone feels about her. “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” (5). This stanza exemplifies how this person feels about Annabel Lee. According to ...
Despite of her death, he expresses his love for her by caressing, holding, and loving her where she rests for eternity. “Of my darling–my darling–my life and bride, In the sepulchre there by the sea–In her tomb by the sounding sea.”(line 39).
In the final verse the man realizes there is only one way to be with the one he loves. So he lies by the tomb, by the sounding sea, hoping the same wind will take him to Annabel Lee.
This poem represents the strong love that this person has for Annabel Lee. Many people agree that Edgar Allan Poe wrote “Annabel Lee” about his wife Virginia Clemm, who died of tuberculosis two years earlier. One can clearly sense the loneliness that Poe was obviously feeling at the time he wrote this poem, represented by the basic imagery of the sea, the shore and the heavens. The jealous angels, symbolizing the world working in opposition to their love, are the dividing power that defines these borders. Nonetheless, the lover’s relationship endures all adversity, including death, and is for that reason eternal. Nothing could ever come between the two. Up to the end of the poem, the sole surviving man remains faithfully by the side of his loved one, waiting to join her.
