This presentation walks students thru a Close Read of Edgar Allan Poe's poem Annabel Lee. Students look at text structure, tone, and imagery. This is aligned to the Common Core Standards.

1. ANNABEL LEE
BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
Close Read

2. Quick Write
• Answer the question:
How do we interpret imagery?
To interpret imagery in a poem, think about:
-which senses the image appeals to
-what the poet is really trying to say
(literally vs. figuratively)
-what impression the words leave in your mind
To
INTERPRET
something
means to
explain it

3. Task
• Read and analyze the poem Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe. Use the Close Read
Strategy to annotate the text. Then answer
the questions.

4. Close Read Strategy
1. Listen to the poem being read to you. Be sure to
follow along.
2. Reread each stanza independently, looking for:
-words or phrases you don’t know
-words or phrases that create imagery
-any examples of figurative language
3. Write a short summary of what the author is saying
next to each stanza.
4. Pair/Share and discuss your understanding.

5. Why do we Close Read?
• When we slow down, and reread text, we
have a better chance of understanding what it
means.
• We use what we know to help us figure out
what we don’t.
• We begin to analyze the text and interpret
the author’s message, or theme.

6. Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe
• Listen to the text being read to you. Be
sure to follow along.
• Think/Write:
What is this poem about?

7. Close Read:
Break down the Text
• Number the stanzas
• Separate the stanzas, giving yourself space
to annotate and jot down your thoughts
• Create two columns. One for SAYING and
one for DOING

8. Stanza One
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.

9. Stanza Two
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 winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

10. Stanza Three
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 kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

11. Stanza Four
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.

12. Stanza Five
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.

13. Stanza Six
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.

14. After the Close Read
• What is the tone of the poem? How do you
know?
• In what ways does the imagery of the poem
help to create the tone?
• The author used many different poetic
devices. What effect do these devices
have on your understanding of the poem?

15. Reflection
• How did doing a close read of the text help
your understanding of the poem?
Edgar Allan Poe