Annabel Lee

Meet Edgar Allan Poe1809 –1849

Difficult Early Life…• Orphaned at young

age• Mother died/father

left• Taken in by John

and Frances Allan but never formally adopted

Virginia Clemm• Edgar’s cousin he

was very much in love with

• Thirteen when married to Edgar (he was 27)

• Died of tuberculosis

• Wrote famous poems, “Annabel Lee” and “The Raven” about her

His bizarre death…• Date - October 7, 1849• Forty years old• Wearing someone

else’s clothes• Found face down in

streets of Baltimore• No records or death

certificate• Probably intoxicated

(drunk)

Topics he wrote about…• Murder• Madmen• Revenge• Being buried alive• Haunted houses

Famous Poems…• “The Bells”• “Annabel Lee”• “To Helen”• “The Raven”• “Lenore”• “The Haunted

Palace”

Famous Short Stories…• “The Tell Tale

Heart”• “The Black Cat”• “The Pit and the

Pendulum”• “The Fall of the

House of Usher”• “The Premature

Burial”

Other Facts…• Was in the army• Invented detective fiction• Lived in Baltimore,

Philadelphia, and New York• Poor most of his life• Went to college for one

semester at the University of Virginia

• Had a gambling and alcohol problem

• Used a fake name “Henri Le Rennet”

• Wrote with a cat on his shoulder

F.Y.I.The N.F.L. team, the Baltimore Ravens, are named after Edgar Allan Poe

Today you will be reading “Annabel Lee”

Facts:“Annabel Lee”

was the last poem Poe wrote.

It’s about Virginia, his wife, who died.

“Annabel Lee” is a poem about eternal love.

Let’s read…

“Annabel Lee” It was many and many a year ago,In a kingdom by the sea,That a maiden there lived whom you may knowBy the name of ANNABEL LEE;And this maiden she lived with no other thoughtThan 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 love-I and my Annabel Lee;With a love that the winged seraphs of heavenCoveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,In this kingdom by the sea,A wind blew out of a cloud, chillingMy beautiful Annabel Lee;So that her highborn kinsman cameAnd bore her away from me,To shut her up in a sepulchreIn this kingdom by the sea.

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.

But our love it was stronger by far than the loveOf 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 soulOf the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreamsOf the beautiful Annabel Lee;And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyesOf the beautiful Annabel Lee;And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the sideOf my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,In the sepulchre there by the sea,In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Discussion Questions

Discussion QuestionsWhat are two prevailing themes in the poem “Annabel Lee”? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.

Answer Love: Speaker and Annabel Lee

fell in love when they were young.

Their love is challenged by Annabel Lee's death, but the speaker does not give up on her.

He continues to dream about her, believes that their souls are intertwined, and sleeps in her tomb at night.

AnswerEnvy: The angels are so

envious of the love between the speaker and Annabel Lee that they are spurred to murder Annabel Lee.

The speaker describes the degree of the angels' envy by stating that they are not even 'half as happy' as he and Annabel Lee are.

Discussion QuestionsWhat is the setting? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.

AnswerThe setting is a

fictional kingdom along the ocean shore.

This kingdom, where love ruled their hearts, remains dear to the memory of the poet after Annabel Lee dies, for his soul remains united with hers.

Discussion QuestionsWho are the characters in the poem “Annabel Lee?” Cite textual evidence to support your answer.

AnswerThe speaker is a determined man of deep sensibility who is deeply in love with the young Annabel Lee.  

AnswerAnnabel Lee is a beautiful young maiden loved by the poet. She was of noble birth, as Line 17 of Stanza 1 suggests when it says she had “highborn” relatives. Annabel Lee probably represents Poe's wife, who died at a young age.

AnswerThe seraphs are members of the highest order of angels. The seraphs are so envious of the love between the narrator and Annabel Lee that they cause Annabel’s death.

Discussion QuestionsHow does Poe use word choice to create a fairy tale atmosphere? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.

AnswerPoe chose the words

of the poem to evoke a dreamland or fairytale atmosphere.

It was many and many a year ago, for example, echoes the traditional fairytale opening of once upon a time.

AnswerThe words kingdom,

maiden, and child then lead the reader into the never-never land.

Kingdom suggesting chivalry and romance, maiden suggesting innocence, and child suggesting the wonderment of youth.

Discussion QuestionsHow does Poe use imagery if dark and light? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.

Answer Poe implies that the 

kingdom by the sea is a bright, cheerful place where the sun shines on two young lovers, the narrator and Annabel Lee

Under cover of night, the envious angels send a cold wind that kills Annabel Lee: "The wind came out of the cloud by night, / Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee."

AnswerBut the narrator says he remains in a realm of light, for his soul and the soul of Annabel Lee are one. In the last stanza, Poe emphasizes this point with light imagery:

“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.”

AnswerThus, his beloved becomes the moon and the stars shining down on him from the sepulchral night sky.   

Deep Thinking Question/EssayDo you think this poem is about true love or about scary obsession? Can someone feel both feelings at the same time, or does one cancel out the other?

Deep Thinking Question/EssayDo you get a picture in your mind of the speaker? If so, where does it come from? How do you think Poe builds his character over the course of the poem?

Deep Thinking Question/EssayIs real love possible at a young age? Do you need to be fully grown in order to really fall in love?

Deep Thinking Question/EssayDo you think the end of this poem is beautiful? Do you think its weird subject matter makes it more or less appealing?

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