1. “Annabel Lee”Summary
Many yearsago, there wasa kingdombythe sea.Inthis kingdomlivedayoungwomancalledAnnabel
Lee,whomthe speakersuggeststhe readermightknow.Accordingtothe narrator,Annabel Lee'sonly
everthoughtaboutthe love betweenthem.
Theywere bothchildren,buttheirlove wentwell beyondwhatlove cannormallybe.Infact,thislove
was sospecial thatthe angelsof heavenwere jealousanddesirousof it.
For that reason,backthen,Annabel Lee waskilledbywindfrom acloud.She was thentakenawayby
people the narratorcalls"highbornkinsmen,"whocouldbe the angelsorAnnabel Lee'sownfamily
members.Theyenclosedherinatomb,still withinthe same kingdom.
Retrospectively,the speakerbelievesthatthe angels,unhappyinheavenandenviousof the love
betweenhimandAnnabel Lee,causedthe windthatkilledher.
Theirlove,saysthe speaker,wasmore powerful thanthe love betweenpeopleolderandwiserthan
them.Furthermore,noangel fromheavenordemon underthe seacouldeverseparate hissoul from
Annabel Lee's.
Everytime the moonshines,itbringsthe speakerdreamsof hisbeloved.Whenthe starsrise,he can
sense hersparklingeyes.Everynightthe speakerliesdownalongsideAnnabel Lee—whomhe callshis
"life"and"bride"—inhertomb,withthe soundof the seacomingfromnearby.
“Annabel Lee” Themes
Theme Love
Love
“Annabel Lee”tellsthe storyof younglove cutshortby tragedy.Asthe speaker(oftenassumedtobe
basedon Poe himself,whoseyoungwifediedshortlybeforehe wrote thispoem) discusseshis
relationshipwiththe now-deceasedAnnabel Lee,he presentsthe love betweenthemaspure,eternal,
and all-conquering.The love betweenthe speakerandAnnabel Lee mayhave beenshort-lived, butit
remainstoopowerful tobe defeated,evenbydeath.Throughdescribingthisintenselyidealizedlove,
the poemarguesthat love isthe strongestforce onearth.
2. The speakerestablishesfromthe beginningthatthere wassomethingmagicabouthisandAnnabel
Lee'slove.The openingstanzasoundslike the beginningof afairytale,givingthe poemasupernatural
atmosphere.The firststanzaplacesthe story"manyand a yearago"—like the classic"once upona
time"—whichhelpstounderline the wayinwhichthislove isinpartdefinedbyitsabilitytosurvive
eternally.Asthe poemprogresses,the speakerbuildshiscase forthe rare powerof thislove,insisting
on hisconvictionthathissoul will neverbe separatedfromAnnabelLee's(line 32),whichagain
highlightsthe ideaof eternal survivalagainstthe odds.
In fact,thislove wasand isso powerful (accordingtothe speaker) thatitgoesbeyondthe normal limits
of howotherpeople experience love.Lines5and6 portray Annabel Lee'sentire existence asbuilt
aroundher love forthe speaker.Line 9 developsthisfurtheridea,paradoxicallysuggestingthattheir
love was"more"than love itself.Indeed,notonlydoestheirlove gobeyondotherloves,italso
transcendsthe earthlyrealm.Theirlove issopure thatevenangelsenvythe younglovers(lines21-22).
Angelsare normallymorallygoodcreatures,buthere it'sasif seeingsomethingevenmore goodthan
themselves(the lovers'extraordinarylove)makesthemjealousandevenmurderous.Thisremarkable
change showsthat thislove canalter eventhe powerfulrulesof the spiritual realm, andwhat'smore,it
conquersthe vengeful angelsthemselvesinthe end--theykillAnnabel Lee,butthe speakerstill claims
that he and Annabel Lee will be linkedforever(line 32).Throughout,the speakercontendsthatlove will
ultimatelytriumphovereverythingelse.
Thoughall thisdiscussionof love'spowerseemsbeautifulandromantic,italsohintsat a darker
possibility:attimes,the speaker'slove seemstohave overwhelmedevenhisownsanity.The speaker
has clearlybeentraumatizedbythe lossof Annabel Lee,andhisceaselessinsistence onthe supernatural
powerof theirlove can be readas a window intoatroubledorevenobsessive mind.Forexample,inthe
final stanzathe speakersaysthat he isunable toexperiencethe moon,stars,orsea withoutbeing
consumedbythoughtsof Annabel Lee.Furthermore,he claimstolie downbeside AnnabelLee'sbody
everynight--anunsettlingimage,if takenliterally.Onthe one hand,these linesare amoving
demonstrationof the speaker'sundyinglove,butonthe other,theyare a troublingpicture of howlove's
powercan actuallydestroythose whoexperience it.Thissuggestionof insanityalsocastssome doubt
on the speaker'sromanticclaims;if hismemoriesare cloudedbysome kindof madness,thenwashis
love reallyaswonderful ashe says?
Part of poem’spower,then,liesinitsresistance toa single clearinterpretation.Itisanexpressionof the
beautyof love andan examinationof the intense (andperhapstroubling) wayitcan affectpeople.
Theme Death and Grief
Deathand Grief
“Annabel Lee”takesupa commonsubjectinEdgar AllanPoe’swriting:the deathof abeautiful young
woman.It portraysthisas the most tragic deathof all—robbingthe worldof youth,beautyand
3. innocence.The tragedyof thislossismostlyexploredthroughthe portrayal of the narrator'sgrief,which
colorseveryline of the poem.The poemshowsthe waygrief attachesitself toapersonandrefusesto
letgo, an experience intensifiedhere bythe addedtragedyof alife cutshort.The poemdoesn’tmake a
clear,neatargumentaboutdeathand grief—andinaway,that’s the point.Grief isdisorientatingand
overpowering,and the poemembodiesthisfromstarttofinish.
The speakeriscompletelydefinedbythe deathof hislover.Theywere childrenwhentheymetandthe
speakerseemstohave remainedlockedinthischildhoodlove throughouthislife.Thatis,asthe poem
unfoldsline afterline,itbecomesclearthatthere'sonlyone thoughtinthe speaker'smind:"the
beautiful Annabel Lee."Thisgrief definesnotjustthe speaker'spast,buthispresentandfuture aswell.
To him,the entire worldandall of nature are nothingmore thanremindersof Annabel Lee:the chilly
atmosphere of moonbeams,starlightandthe seaare all eternallylinkedtohislover.Ashe tellsthe
reader,hissoul will never"dissever"fromAnnabel Lee's;thatis,he will be connectedtoherforever,
whichmeansthat grief will rule hisworldforever.The state of grief ispresentedasbeingjustas
unchangeable asthe state of death.That's whyeveryotherline eitherendsin"AnnabelLee"orrhymes
withhername—the speaker'smindkeepscircling backtothe trauma of losingsomeonesoyoungand
beautiful.Atplayhere,too,isthe Romanticideaof innocence.Annabel Lee'syouthandbeautymake
herpure,and herdeathboth compoundsthe poem'ssense of tragedyandpreservesherinthiseternal
youthful beauty.
Anotherkeyelementof the poemisthe wayinwhichthe narrator's grief seemstohave no possible
outlet.Whereassome grief-strickenpeople mightturntofamilyorspiritualityforsolace,the narrator
can do no suchthing.Anypossible comfortfromreligionhasbeendestroyedbythe angels'role in
Annabel Lee'sdeath—he believesthattheirjealousyandmalice killedher.Likewise,if "highborn
kinsmen"(line 17) istakento referto Annabel Lee'sfamily,the narratorhasno positive connectionwith
themeither;he mentionsonlythattheytookheraway.He alsodisparagesthe "older"and"wiser"
people inhisworld(lines28-29),sayingthattheywouldn'tunderstandthe perfectyounglove he shared
withAnnabel Lee.Inotherwords,he isentirelyisolated—suggestingperhapsthatthe painof losinga
lovedone canbe made evenworse byfeelingalone inthatpain.
The poemultimatelyseemstosuffocate underthe pressure of thisendlessgrief,withnosuggestionof a
wayout. In fact,the poem’sconclusionshowsthe speaker’senvironmentmergingwithhisgrief.The
moonand the stars existonlytobringback memoriesof AnnabelLee.The sea,too,isdefinedbyhis
grief—itsconstant“sounding”underscoringthe eternal silence of hisdeceasedlover.Inthe end,the
speakersaysthat he joinsAnnabel Lee inhertomb,andthoughit'sunclearwhetherhe doessoliterally
or onlyfiguratively(byfeelingasif he islyingthere besideher),it'snonethelesscertainthatthe speaker
isemotionallyimprisonedbyhisgrief.
