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Caleb Nguyen
Mrs. Klinger
English Honors 1
5/15/14

Dissecting Annabel Lee

Annabel Lee is a poem written by Edgar Allen Poe and published right after his mysterious
death. I chose this piece of poetry because, for one, it was by the famous Mr. Poe. For another,
when I first glanced at it, the poem looked like there would be a lot of things to work off of
based on the fact there looked to be a lot of deep meanings and literary devices. After
analyzing it, I am glad I chose this poem because what I had suspected was true. Not only that,
but I now understand the meaning behind the poem more now that I have more knowledge of
the unfortunate events Edgar Allen Poe dealt with. Before, I thought it was just about a sad
man who longed for his dead wife. But now I know that the man has bitterness, anger, and
sadness to deal with.
Edgar Allen Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston who both died when he was three. His
older brother of his two siblings was a poet as well, and he died at the age of twenty-four. His
sister was a teacher. He was adopted and separated from his two siblings by a man named

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Allen who was in the tobacco business in Richmond. Unhappy, he left the business and later
went into The University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Unfortunately, he was unable to pay the
debt he was in, caused by his scholarship, and attempted to get money through gambling. In
despair, he went back home to Richmond only to find his fianc married to another man.
Depressed, he traveled back to where his dead parents had lived in Boston and wrote poetry
for contests, one which he won. He helped make a newspaper gain popularity and married his
wife Virginia Clemm. Poe and his wife were very happy, but she got sick with tuberculosis which
killed her. He later wrote The Raven, making him famous enough to make a good living.
However, he died four years later on October 7, 1995 bringing him to the age of forty.
The theme of the poem is humanity against heaven. I got this from the wingd seraphs of
Heaven Coveted her and me (11-23) which in my interpretation means that the speaker
believes the heavens are to blame. Oftentimes when someone thinks its not their fault, they
blame it on someone else. This is what I think the speaker is trying to imply. The mood of the
poem is bitter because the speaker is accusing the heavens from taking Annabel Lee from him
which we know from the poem when he says, 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 (22-27). The tone of Annabel Lee is stubborn. Stubborn I got from the speakers
thoughts on regardless of the fact his loved one is dead and he still believes he can be with her.
This I got from Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee (32). I
would say this is stubbornness because the speaker is refusing to let the angels in Heaven

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above Nor the demons down under the sea (30-31) take away their souls from each other. The
setting of the poem is possibly in a large city by the sea which we can assume from the speakers
repetitive saying of in a kingdom by the sea (2, 8, 14, 20, and 25). The speaker, like said
before in the mood, is probably a stubborn man. He lost his wife and cannot seem to let go of
the past, an example being when he calls Annabel my darlingmy darlingmy life and my
bride when this cannot be possible since dead people cant be wives. The characters are the
speaker, his dead Annabel Lee, the Seraphs, the wise and old, and the demons. Annabel Lee we
learn about in line 4. Seraphs are mentioned as angels who Coveted her and me (12). Of
those who were older than we Of many far wiser than we (29-30) are used to compare
the speakers knowledge on love with theirs. And lastly the demons are mentioned as trying to
dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee(32-33).
There are many sound devices in Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe, and I will start with
alliteration. One of the alliterations I found is To shut her up in a sepulcher In this kingdom by
the sea (18-20) with the s. For assonance in the poem is And so, all the night-tide, I lie down
by the side Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride with the stressed I sound to
emphasize the sad mood of the speakers loss. Another example of assonance is "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" (35-37) with several words beginning
with b like beams, bringing, beautiful, bright, and beautiful. In the poem there is
also consonances such as And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes (37) with the end
of rise and eyes. Repetitions include Annabel Lee (4, 10, 17, 27, 34, 36, 38) and kingdom

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by the sea (2, 8, 15, 21, and 25). There are no onomatopoeias. Like sound devices, there are
also meters. ________. Included in the poem Annabel Lee is also a rhyme scheme
ababcbdaeafaaaga and so on.
There are many words that help the readers realize physical properties of the poem. A line
that helps readers understand the surroundings through sight is the several mentions of
kingdom by the sea, which leads readers see that the speakers location is near the sea.
Possibly in a majestic place, though it is remains unknown if it is a busy city by the sea or a
haven for nature since both could be considered a kingdom. Not only does kingdom by the
sea show sight, but also because one can imagine the salty air of the ocean wind that we can
taste and smell. There is no taste. When the speaker talks of when A wind blew out of a cloud,
chilling (16) we can feel being cold from the chilly wind coming out of a storm. Another
example of sight is when the speaker thinks he can feel the bright eyes which leads readers to
feel the tingly feeling of Annabel Lee watching the speaker. For touch, I personally think that I
lie down by the side lets readers feel the speaker laying down. For sound I the mentioning of
In a kingdom by the sea (2) lets readers hear the waves.
In my power point, I am trying to let students understand the speakers view of points while
educating them on different literary devices. It is important to not just assume that is a poem is
simple without carefully analyzing it like I had done. Basically I am trying to translate the true
meaning from what might otherwise be difficult to understand. Unfortunately, I felt the need to

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rush because the bell had started to ring while I was in the middle of my powerpoint, so I am
not quite satisfied at the outcome.
I learned a lot from teaching the class about Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe like literary
devices and meters. From these learning experiences I now know how to understand poetry
and understand what kind of device a line might have. Also, if I ever try to write my own piece
of poetry, I will know more about what kind of imagery to use to help readers understand more
about the physical surroundings.

Source:

http://poestories.com/biography.php
http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/edgar-allan-poe