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Annabel Lee Close Reading
Read the poem below.
As you read, make notes in the blank space to the right of the poem about what you THINK is going on in
the poem. Provide a two sentence summary of what is happening in the poem, and how you THINK the
speaker feels.
As you read through the poem, underline or circle any words that you do not understand. Even if you
can guess the definition using context clues, mark it and write it down so that you can figure out the
definition later.
Annabel Lee
BY Edgar Allan Poe
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 wingèd 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
Poem retrieved from Poetryfoundation.org. Some questions sourced from Warren County School District
Name:_____________________
Date:______________________
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen 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 her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
Poem retrieved from Poetryfoundation.org. Some questions sourced from Warren County School District
Name:_____________________
Date:______________________
Vocabulary for Close Reading
Find the following words in the poem. Determine what part of speech each word acts as in the sentence,
and then write down the word’s definition.
Maiden –
Winged –
Seraph –
Covet –
Highborn –
Kinsmen –
Bore –
Sepulchre –
Envy –
Dissever –
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Post Close Reading Questions
Who is the speaker? It’s okay if you don’t know his name, but try to describe him.
Who is Annabel Lee, and why is she special to the speaker?
What is the “wind” that kills Annabelle Lee in the third stanza? What type of figurative language does
Poe use when he compares the cause of Annabel Lee’s death to the wind?
To whom is the phrase “highborn kinsmen” referring? Use context clues, and remember earlier lines of
the poem.
Poem retrieved from Poetryfoundation.org. Some questions sourced from Warren County School District
Name:_____________________
Date:______________________
This poem has a very specific rhyme scheme where every even-numbered line rhymes (or is at least a
near rhyme). However, this pattern is broken in the last 2 stanzas when a rhyme occurs in 2 lines that
directly follow each other. A change in the rhyme scheme indicates a change in the ideas of the poem.
Carefully reread these last 2 stanzas. Then answer this question: What is different in the last 2 stanzas
that would explain the change in the rhyme scheme?
In this poem, Poe uses several hyperboles to describe his love for Annabel Lee. Identify 2 of them and
explain what idea Poe is emphasizing in each hyperbole.
Think back to what the words “tone” and “mood” mean (check your narrative unit notes). What is the
tone or mood of the first two stanzas? What is the tone or mood of the stanzas after that? How do you
know this?
Rewrite this poem as a 1st person narrative. Put yourself into the shoes of the speaker of the poem and
write from his perspective. Write at least 1 paragraph (4-5 sentences) about how he feels about Annabel
Lee and her death.
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Poem retrieved from Poetryfoundation.org. Some questions sourced from Warren County School District