ANNABEL LEE LITERARY ANALYSIS
It can be tough and frustrating to read a literary work. However, with the correct literary
approaches, a reader can quickly uncover hidden meanings and even obvious concepts that were
previously overlooked. When attempting to comprehend a work of literature, literary theories can
be extremely useful. A reader can effectively examine a book using biographical, feminist and
psychoanalytic analysis to identify literary themes and ideas and obtain a better knowledge of the
social and cultural systems of a particular period, as well as gain insight into an author's beliefs
and ideology.
Moreover, a reader must understand the author of a text in order to completely
comprehend it. Edgar Allan Poe is a Romantic era author from the United States. His cryptic short
stories and poems have made him famous. His life was virtually as mysterious as his writings.
On January 19, 1809, Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the second son of actors.
When his father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died the following year, his life
took a turn for the worst. Poe was orphaned, but John and Frances Allan in Richmond, Virginia,
took him in. He only lasted one semester at the University of Virginia before having to drop out
due to financial difficulties. His relationship with his foster father, John Allan, was strained due to
financial concerns. Poe served in the army in 1827 under the alias Edgar A. Perry, and while
enlisted, he published his first book of poems. Poe decided to write after failing as an officer's
cadet at West Point. He also lived in a variety of cities while working for several literary
publications and journals.
Poe married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin, in 1835. Poe's poem "The Raven"
was published in 1845 and was an instant hit. Virginia, on the other hand, died of tuberculosis a
few years later. Poe was heartbroken, and he began to drink more heavily (Poe's Life, Legacy,
and Works). Until one day, Poe was found incoherent in the streets of Baltimore in 1849, and he
was taken to the hospital. He was never able to describe his situation to doctors since he was
never coherent enough. He kept calling out for a man named "Reynolds" and was curiously
dressed in clothes that weren't his. He died a few days later, at the age of 40, of an unknown
cause. Poe's death has been attributed to a variety of causes, including alcoholism, cholera, drug
abuse, heart illness, rabies, suicide, TB, and the list goes on.
Edgar Allan Poe was well-known for his unique writing style. Because of their cryptic and
horrific nature, most of his works are classified as Dark Romanticism. Despite his distaste for
Transcendentalism and allegory, Poe's works are full of sarcasm. Physical symptoms of death,
the effects of decomposition, early burial, reanimation of the dead, and grieving were all subjects
he frequently employed. Edgar Allan Poe also authored satires, humor stories, and hoaxes in
addition to horror.
If a reader is attempting to evaluate a literary work, using feminist concepts and ideology
to critique it is a powerful tool. By exploring the economic, social, political, and psychological
dynamics buried within literature, feminist analysis theory is utilized to define and analyze the
manner in which literature portrays the story of male control in regard to females. Readers employ
this approach to pose new questions about old works. Patriarchy, the social framework that has
empowered men for much of history, has been heavily criticized. To uncover and evaluate gender
inequality and oppression, feminist theory examines literature through a new lens.
The narrator of Edgar Allan Poe's poem Annabel Lee never gives a physical description
of Annabel Lee (Poe). He exclusively uses the word "beautiful" to describe her. She did not have
any abilities worth mentioning, according to the narrator, except than her beauty. This beauty
appears to be a little too lovely to be true to the reader. It is obvious from this poetry that the
narrator was captivated with her, but why? Is it only because she was attractive? What about her
character or her aspirations? Only her attractiveness is mentioned in the poem.
"And this maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me (Poe),"
the narrator states, but when I look at it through a Feminist lens, I see things differently. Is it true
that she simply lived for him? This sounds eerily similar to patriarchal oppression-era literature.
Women were generally exclusively responsible for their children and their homes during this time.
It may sound sexist and self-centered for a man to state that his only thoughts were about him,
yet this was a common attitude at the time. Is this, however, Poe's personal opinion, or is he
simply expressing society's opinion?
The goal of Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism theory is to conduct psychoanalysis on the
creator of a tale or the characters that appear in it. We examine the author and characters to see
if they reflect any of Freud's conceptions, such as an Oedipus complex, penis envy, Freudian
slips, and other concepts, and how they influence a character's conduct and thoughts inside a
novel, using this theory. This idea can assist readers in deciphering specific themes, symbols,
behavior, and situations in a literary work.
"I was a kid and she was a child (Poe)," the narrator says in Annabel Lee, implying that
they were youthful lovers. Is the narrator talking to a young age or being young at heart? Poe
married Virginia when she was just 13 years old, therefore that statement reminds me of his own
life. Is Annabel Lee inspired by Poe's own love experience? Does he imply maturity or childish
love when he refers to himself as young?
This poem is intriguing because love has certainly damaged the narrator's life as well as
made him who he is. "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 (Poe),"
he writes, "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 (Poe)." I can't help but think this guy needs
counseling after looking about it via a psychoanalytic lens. Poe was well-known for his stories that
used death as a central topic. Could this have something to do with Poe's upbringing? His father
abandoned him and his mother died, leaving him an orphan. Poe was raised by a foster family,
but he had a rocky connection with his foster father over financial issues. Poe is left alone when
his loving wife succumbs of illness. Poe witnessed many deaths, which may have prompted him
to write stories and poetry about death.
The narrator appears insane after reading this poetry utilizing psychoanalytic theory. I'm
not sure if Poe is simply expressing his own pain, but I know I would feel so alone and hurt if my
husband died. However, Annabel Lee appears to be primarily a made-up fantasy girl, which fits
with the setting of the whole mythical realm by the sea and the fact that she's referred to as a
beautiful "maiden (Poe)." "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 (Poe)," the narrator
argues, adding to the magical notion that this story may simply be in someone's brain. Is it a
beautiful picture and symbolism or a crazed man's fantasies that he sees these "demons below
under the sea"?
I thought Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe was lovely and beautiful the first time I read it,
but after deeper analysis, I realized it has an obsessive tone that borders on frightening. As a
result, literary theories can assist readers in better comprehending a piece and its author. When
I read challenging literary works, I know I'll be thinking about numerous literary theories while I
read. It can reveal features of a text that I would have missed the first time I read it.