Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allen Poe
Name:
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 loveI and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs1 of heaven
Coveted2 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 kinsman3 came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre4
In this kingdom by the sea.
1
Angels
To be jealous of
2
3
family
4
crypt for a dead person
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and meYes!- 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 weOf many far wiser than weAnd neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever5 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-tide6, 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.
5
Divide
6
Night time
Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe
Love so strong that it endured beyond the grave was an ideal topic for poetry according to Edgar Allan Poe. He
wrote this beautiful lyric poem in 1847. Notice how the poet conveys his deep feelings for Annabel Lee while
telling you of her death. Notice also the lyric quality of the poem—how it might easily be set to music.
THINKING IT OVER:
1. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
2. What is one example of personification in this poem?
3. What is one example of alliteration in this poem?
4. What made life meaningful to the narrator of the poem?
5. What was the real cause of Annabel Lee’s death, according to the poet?
6. What does the poet do to deal with his pain at the loss of his love?
7. Which one of the following could you conclude from the poem?
a. The poet means to seek revenge for the death of his love.
b. The poet hates the sea because it reminds him of his love.
c. The poet will never love anyone so deeply again.
d. The poet has turned his back on heaven because he blames it for Annabel’s death
8. What would you say is the theme of this poem? Remember, theme is different than subject. What does
the author want us to learn or know?
9. What is the tone of the poem? What words/phrases from the poem create the tone?
10. What is the mood of the poem? What words/phrases from the poem create the mood?
11. This poem was written two years after Edgar Allen Poe’s wife, Virginia, died of tuberculosis. They
knew each other as children and were married when she was around 14. Many scholars argue that she is
the inspiration for this poem. If this is the case, what can you assume about their marriage based on this
poem? What evidence from the poem supports your claim?