For those of you who recommended I watch "The Following"... I am doing so as we speak.
Annabel Lee
By Edgar Allan Poe
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.
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 wingèd seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.
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 kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In 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 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;
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.
I'm glad you chose this poem because I really like Edgar Allen Poe. This poem is about a man thinking of his love that died, Annabel Lee. He claims that the angels came down from heaven and got Annabel sick because they were jealous of the love he shared with her. Even though she died he still loves her and sees her in the stars and in his dreams. It also says he sleeps next to her tomb stone. Freaky.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting poem. The tale it tells is really sad, but it is also somewhat mysterious though the way the speaker describes it. The rhyming helps the poem flow really well and it sort of emphasized (Annabel) Lee because alternating lines end with an ee sound (except for the last stanza, which is different). This makes Annabel Lee seem even more important to the speaker because half of the lines end with either her name or a word that rhymes with her name. At least to me, the story is not completely clear. It seems like they might've grown up together by the sea or in their own fantasy world. It made me think of Bridge to Terabithia (even though I hated that book so much and thought it was really stupid and wasn't particularly well written - it was 4th grade though, so who knows), probably because it talks about childhood, death, and what seems a bit like a fantasy world all in the same work. I really like this poem. It's much better than the last one.
ReplyDeleteAnd sorry 5th period........
DeleteYou have a four hour excuse :)
DeleteThis is one of my favorite poems. The narrator is reflecting on his love for Annabel Lee. He believes that everyone one was jealous of their love and that the angels took her away. Annabel Lee rhymes with this kingdom by the sea that is mentioned almost at the end of every stanza. It shows loyalty from the narrator because although Annabel is gone he remains loyal to their love. To the narrator the night sky reminds him of her and nothing shines without her memory.
ReplyDeleteI love this poem! The narrator refuses to forget Annabel Lee and will love her forever. This shows that it was true love. The rhythm of the poem almost makes me want to sing it.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was very sad but happy at the same time. He looses his true love and that feeling is beyond heartbreaking. I can't imagine loosing someone close to me. The only uplifting part is when the moon, stars, and sea remind him of the joys of Annabel Lee.
ReplyDeleteThis is an unhappy poem. The envy of these angels killed this dude's girl. That's unhappy.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is very sad. It seems that it is about a boy who is in love with a girl, but the girl dies. He refuses to forget about her and it adds some life to the poem. Showing that it is not only about death but the time that comes after, the sorrow and remorse.
ReplyDeleteThis poem seems as if it would be happy because of how it starts but as the poem comes to an end, it is not. It sounds like the narrator is reminiscing on an old love memory. The rhyme in this poem seems to emphasize the importance of Annabel Lee because of how the every other line ends in the "ee" sound. In a way, I get the feeling that the narrator killed Annabel Lee because he says the angels envied them as a couple so when night came, she died.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is absolutely beautiful. I love the seldom, melancholy tone the narrator is given in this poem. In the beginning the man is simply in love with her, but of course, like most poetry, his love is take from him; but, at the end of the poem there is a shift from him loving her, to being slightly obsessed: I mean he slept in her tomb. This is such a sad poem and the rhyming is really good in this poem. The "e' sound stays constantly even at the end when there is a shift in the exact way the poem rhymes. This is probably my favorite poem as of yesterday :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree this pome id beautiful but also had a creepy tone to it, especially at the end. When he says that he "I lie down by the side
DeleteOf my darling—my darling—my life and my bride" it scares me and makes me believe that he is messed up in the head. He goes and lies with a dead person in their grave I would consider that to be crazy. However the pome is also extremely sweet the narrator refuses to forget the girl he loves.
This is the most beautiful piece of poetry I have ever read. I have read other pieces by him, so expected a sad ending, but this shows a softer side to him. When comparing this to a story like the "Tell Tale Heart", it is significantly less disturbing. Instead of watching the main character spiral into insanity, we read the tragic story of two people that not even death could separate, even if heaven tried to intervene. I disagree with Paul on the comment about him sleeping next to her tomb. I think that he is now buried next to her, and sleeps peacefully with her in day and night, so it is not freaky at all. Im not typically one to wowed by words, but this has found a special place. I also found the use of an icy wind as the killing factor interesting. I do not know why, but that struck me as strange and less than god-like. It does follow the typical death of women in all great literature however, because like hanging or drowning, does not mar the body, and leaves it in a peaceful state, unlike death by sword or broach.
ReplyDeleteJosh drops the mic...
DeleteI also think this is an amazing work of literature! At first like you I thought that this was unlike the usual work of Edgar Allan Poe. The first part where it seems he could be insane is when he says that because the angels were envious of his love so they killed Annabel Lee. I would like to believe the idea that he was buried alongside Annabel Lee but that does not seem fitting to Edgar Allan Poe. So I believe that he lays down with her every night but is not dead.
DeleteGosh Josh way to make it harder for the rest of us. :/
DeleteI agree with Josh in the way that I don't think he is being creepy and laying with a dead woman, but instead he is buried next to her. The grief he feels in losing her to death causes his own death.
The rhyming in this poem also provides an almost childish tone, its playful and cutesy, until he starts getting sad. He mentions that their love was strong, and wiser than those much older than they are
I like this poem! Maybe this changed my opinion on poetry! Anyways he says "In this kingdom by the sea" and "Annabel Lee" multiple times and I really liked this. Of course, Annabel Lee is the one he loves but when he says the word SEA a lot it gives me a feeling of something big and that's where/how he lost Annabel Lee (this kingdom by the sea).
DeleteI don't know if I understood the poem in the correct way but I liked it anyways.
Oh poetry...how I love thee.
DeletePoe is just fantastic, I wish I could give him a hug, but them I'd probably be drenched in sadness as well as the unmistakable smell of death. This poem is soft like a falling rose petal that is also metal as fudge. The last stanza has a different rhyming scheme as the rest of the poem. To me, it makes the last stanza stand out to me more. The last stanza is the narrator, for lack of a better phrase, reinforcing how much he loves her by saying it doesnt matter that she cannot physically rise and be with him, all that matters is he can still feel her with him and see the happiness she gave him. Also the way the narrator uses the word soul really shows the kind of love he has for her. If he were to say heart, it wouldnt mean as much as soul. Your heart is something that dies when you die and if the narrator had used heart instead of soul, we would get the idea that he would die after she died and he would be miserable. By the narrator using the word soul, he enforces that even though her physical being isnt alive, her soul is still connected to his and death will NOT do them part.
See? THESE are the sorts of poems NORMAL English teachers give their students ;)
ReplyDeleteI think this poem is really touching. The speaker doesn't name himself, the kingdom they lived in, or any other specific places or people in the work. The speaker doesn't talk with the same highly elevated diction as we've previously seen, often repeating words and adjectives over and over again. One example of this is the epithet he gives her: "the beautiful Annabel Lee," which he uses to describe her about four times during the poem. The word "beautiful" isn't very descriptive, but the repetition of the word gets a point across. Poe might've chosen such simple diction to show how young the speaker is, and to perhaps characterize their uncomplicated, youthful love.
Don't call me normal!
DeleteThis poem has an amazing rhythm!! It has a happy tone and has a sense of hope. A man is talking about his love that has died. He remembers her throughout the poem and makes it clear that he can't forget her. The sea seems to have a special siginificance to him, hence she is buried there. The them can be, love can go to an extent. He must be crazy in love with her because no normal lover sleeps in his lovers tomb.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paul that the whole sitting with his dead girlfriend is creepy, however, I think that the whole thing is kind of sweet. It shows how much this guy cares about her and the tough times he has gone through without her. He seems to have gone a bit crazy without her and is in denial a bit that she is dead. Even though he is sitting with this dead girl, it is not the same type of creepiness and madness that we saw in "Porphyria's Lover." Here, the way the narrator tells the story, Annabel Lee seemed to be in love with him too and it is a more touching, powerful, and saddening poem.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is both happy and sad. Its very happy when they are in love and nothing can separate them, not even death. When Anabel dies he is very sad but he knows that their souls are forever connected. When Anabel dies it is sad knowing that he has lost his love but he thinks more positively and says that even though they are not physically together they still love each other and always will. When he talks about the sea, it seems like he has a special connection to it since their kingdoms are by the sea and that is where she is buried.
ReplyDeleteWhy does love hurt so much. The man is so madly in love with Annabel Lee, even death can't seperate them. True, he is being a little bit obsessed, especially at the end. There is the "e" sound that is effective during the entire poem. It gives a really eerie feeling as you read.
ReplyDeleteThis poem makes me really sad because its about a man who's love, Annabel Lee, has died and that fact that he still loves her. The rhythm of this poem is really nice and it really make the poem flow beautifully. I think its really sweet because although Annabel is dead he still is in love with her and doesn't ever plan on loosing his love for her.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was a love poem about two people whose love was inseperable, even with death. The narrator never stopped loving Annabel when she died and instead of grieving about her death he cherished the moments they had together. The love seemed genuine and mutual. The tone of the poem is happy and playful which makes the reader feel the loving relationship that they had better.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is about a guy that is describing his dead lover. It's simple and I think it mainly focuses on the rhyme of the poem to seem happy. I think that he is not dead because he shows how she is in a tomb and makes it clear that she is dead so in order for him to be dead he would describe himself similarly. every last word of f each stanza rhymed with "Lee" so it added a feeling possibly a song.
ReplyDeleteI love this poem! In middle school, students would recite this for our annual speech contests, and it never got old. I've always thought that the last stanza tells a lot about the narrator. In my opinion, he doesn't seem particularly sane. The fact that he says he lays down by the side of Annabel Lee shows that he hasn't truly accepted that fact that she's dead. However, I do agree that the narrator cares for Annabel Lee and is not willing to forget her for this reason. I thought the fact that Poe kept mentioning "the kingdom by the sea" was interesting. The repetition of this line creates very vivid image in my mind. In addition, when I think of "a sea", I think of waves that can be either violent or calm. I believe this is meant to symbolize the relationship between the narrator and Annabel Lee.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is about two young people so in love that nothing can stop them, even death. It begins as a romantic poem about their unbreakable love and quickly turns from sad to creepy. Every other line starting on the second line ends with "me," "sea," or "Lee," which seem to be the most repeated words throughout the poem. This pattern continues for the first four stanzas until it gets to the part where she dies. I don't know if the last four lines are meant to be taken literally or not, but they're saying that the speaker lies down with his beautiful (and dead) ex lover.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator seems like he is so far in love that he is obsessed with his dead lover. He cannot accept the fact that she is dead. He think everyone including the angels were jealous of their love. He will not get on with his life and live in misery because the one thing that kept him sane is gone. Knowing this is Edgar Allan Poe and Ms. Prodromo picked this poem, I could see the narrator finding his dead lover and physically lying there with her corpse. The rhythm and rhyme make the poem flow smoothly.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite interesting to note that Annabelle Lee was not killed gruesomely as some the characters in Poe's other works. Instead, Annabelle was killed by a chill. The repetition of the concept of the kingdom by the sea implies that the sea had something to do with it, since it would not be uncommon for someone to die of a cold in cold and damp conditions. It is possible that Poe was trying to emphasize the way couples choose how things end without knowing it. They chose to stay in the kingdom by the sea and because of this, Annabelle Lee dies.
ReplyDeleteIt also seems that the ending of the poem carries itself with a sense of unique finality, the kind you usually see when someone is about to knowing die. As the narrator concludes the poem, he is laying down beside the sepulcher, listening to the sound of the waves he has probably known all his life. The narrator is leaving the kingdom by the sea to join his Annabelle Lee.
I really enjoyed reading this poem. It has the perfect balance of emotions; it's sweet, yet sad at the same time. This love story is about how a man is still thinking about and loves his dead lover. I also enjoyed this because of the meter. I love the way it flows and the rhythm is beautiful. The constant use of the same words to rhyme such as "sea" and "Lee" make this poem more romantic and sweet, while the diction and plot is quite depressing.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great poem. I was lulled in too this peaceful state of mind by the rhyming. I don't find this poem to be sad at all because the narrator and Annabel have such a strong love and even thought she dies, they still can never be separated. The narrator is a tad obsessed, but not in a creepy way more of an intense caring and passionate way.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator focuses mainly on his lover "Annabel Lee." It appears that Annabel Lee is young and beautiful, although we don't very learn much of her. She portrays beauty, love and the impossible. In the 4 line, we know she is a "maiden" which fits in the theme. He also exclaims a maiden "whom you know," making her seem famous and kind of unreal. Lastly when he says "no other thought" than loving him might be fooling himself with this hyperbole.The sea is mostly mentioned throughout the play. It creates an image that hold the play. The ocean is known as being huge, lonely and cold. It symbolizes how he feels when he lost Annabel. Also, the poem forms a ABACB rhythm.
ReplyDeleteAhhh yes I am so happy right now!!! Abbey told me what poem you had posted and I did a little victory dance walking out of the PAC tonight :) What I find highly fascinating about this poem is that although it appears to be very romantic and lovely, it has a dark side to it. The opening stanzas are very positive and set up a dreamy tone with the words "kingdom" and "maiden." Phrases and words are repeated many times throughout the poem (I see this quite a bit in Poe's work) which creates an almost trance-like tone. Poe repeats the setting, "kingdom by the sea," many's a time, which maintains the mystical air. Another word that appears ever so often is love, and in this occasion, Poe does not immediately relate love to something gruesome. He goes on to speaking of how the angels covet this love he shares with Annabel Lee. To covet is not a very angelic trait, for it has a selfish, negative connotation to it, as it is to desire. And then the reader stumbles upon some instability in the narrator. He blames the angels for "chilling" his Annabel Lee out of envy for the love they share. A darker side to this strong love is revealed; the speaker's love for Annabel Lee can not be broken by heaven or "demons down under the sea" (happy imagery!). I believe the shift occurs at the beginning of the last stanza when the storytelling shifts from past to present tense. The narrator becomes consumed with his lost love Annabel Lee and sleeps by her side in the sepulchre (I had to look up this word and am now quite fond of it...it is too pretty for what it is!). I found it interesting how he immortalizes Annabel as beauty in the natural world (the moon, the stars), yet he is also attached to her physically, even post-mortem. The last line brings forth a more ominous tone, for what was once the "kingdom by the sea" is now the "sounding sea." This sensory details appeal to an image of a man laying with his dearly departed listening to the crashing waves. While I do find the love itself to be quite beautiful in the poem as Josh stated, I do see a more sinister tone to it. Some of the beauty lies not only in the love of Annabel Lee, but in the death of Annabel Lee.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is extremely sad. It is about a man looking back on his love for Annabel Lee. His love for her is so strong that even her death cannot separate them. The tone of the poem is sad and reminiscing.
ReplyDeleteSo some dude had this girl who was wifey material, but she dies. Its a shame because it was cuddle weather season. I was expecting something darker, but the poem is alright and not too hard to understand.
ReplyDeleteThis guy loves his Annabel Lee more than anything, so when she dies he is saddened by it. He doesn't say he is, but he is saying that their love was so strong that it made all the angels in heaven jealous and they killed Annabel to spite him. It isn't usual for angels to envy or covet anything mortal, so it is strange for the speaker to think that. The speaker is refusing to admit that she died of natural causes because he loved her so much that he believed it would take a supernatural being spiting him for their love.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is really sad. The narrator is obviously deeply in love with Annabel Lee. I agree with what Michelle said about the tone changing when the narrator changes "sounding sea" to "kingdom by the sea". I also find it ironic that angels killed Annabel because of envy when angels are supposed to symbolize goodness. Overall the poem was sad but beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this poem. It is a very sweet, lovely poem and it makes the reader feel sad for the author in a way. He is so madly in love with Annabel Lee and nothing could ever change that. Not even her death. Although this is a romantic poem, it still has am eerie side to it. I side that makes you seem unsure about the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is a very sad and depressing poem. The boy love a girl and then that girl dies. This poem is sad but at the same time it has a mysterious side that makes the reader think twice about the two lovers. Because of this combination of sadness and mystery it allows the reader to feel realm of emotion.
ReplyDeleteThis is a BEAUTIFUL poem. I really love the diction used and the scheme. It helped the reader go through the emotions of the speaker. This poem is both sad and happy. The love between them is expressed as strong. It is sad that Annabelle dies. I agree that it is ironic that the beautiful and innocent angels "killed her." It implies that not even heaven had the love they had.
ReplyDeleteI love this poem so much. The language is so beautiful and it helps to emphasize the Romeo and Juliet vibe of the poem. It talks about a love between the narrator and Annabel Lee that is so deeply ingrained in them that it can't be severed by anything physical or supernatural. It really takes the promise of 'til death do us part' to an entirely new level of promise that stretches beyond our plane of existence. The use of angels as Annabel Lee's "highborn kinsmen" makes me think that the narrator saw her as so pure and wonderful that she was the equivalent of an angel to him. The whole story reminds me of the myth of Alcyone and Ceyx because it's a situation of mortal love that ethereal (gods, or in this case angels) beings strike down because they're jealous of it. This is a very sad poem because Annabel Lee is killed and taken from her love despite the fact that she's done nothing wrong. However, there is a great warmth to it because of the love the two characters share, starting in their childhood. The theme of this poem is that love is a force stronger than that of death or immortal powers and just because someone you love is gone doesn't mean your love dies with them.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of repetition in this poem. The relationship between the two characters is so strong, that I can almost feel what the narrator is feeling. The use of words portray Annabel Lee to be a lovely person and that nothing can separate the two people, not even death.
ReplyDeleteThis is late but I love this poem. Even though it is about death, it creates a calm and swift mood. When it talks about him laying down by her I think she is dead and that maybe it is his time to pass as well. He wants to be next to her because they were not able to live forever together. Even if he is just laying down by her side in the tomb, it shows the passion he has to be next to her and have her to himself again. This is an amazing piece of work.
ReplyDeleteI really like the constant repetition of 'sea,' because given how romantic this poem is, the sea not only adds to the idea of the poem but really sets the tone for it as well. I mean, it wouldn't be the same if he said 'ocean,' now would it? It actually makes me feel that whatever this person, or object, is, it doesn't matter, because the tone would still have that flowing, gentle feel to it. For all we know, it could be a, guess what, BOAT!!! (Now I realize that given Edgar Allen Poe's history of not writing about boats, this isn't too likely, but it makes more sense then it would if it were a person, at least in my mind.) Anyway, the tone almost becomes the subject of the poem, and not Anabel Lee. I feel that the emotion and the connection between the two of them is what this poem is about. I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThis poem's aight. It ain't no knee-slapper, or a tissue-grabber, but it's fair and pretty well written. In class, I said it repeats a whole mess of words, and Ms. Prodromo approved. So, there you have it, this Edgar feller might need to learn some more English, and expand his knowledge of words that way he don't have to put in the only words he can remember ever time he gets a head-scratcher! Other than that the poem ain't too e'sidin cuz there be none of explosion or nothin' just a boat and a chick named Annabelly!
ReplyDeleteThe most striking part of this poem is the narrator's use of the word "soul." A soul isn't a physical trait, or some mortal feature or characteristic that passes after dying. A soul is a complete manifestation of a person. It's everything in that person. A soul is eternal in most interpretations, and so to say that nothing could separate their souls is just an example of his love for her. He's saying that his love will live on past this life forever. Not only that, but his love isn't basely purely off of some physical trait, or little crush, it's based off of her entirely. Which is why "soul" is such a powerful and perfect word to use to describe his love.
ReplyDeleteThe part of this poem that stands out the most to me is the repetition of words like "Sea" and "Annabel Lee". They help to show the reader the meaning and most important things in the poem. This poem (like other poems from Poe) has a slightly eerie undertone, but presents it in a grand, eloquent manner. (Sorry for the shortness, first time I tried to post it just deleted D: )
ReplyDeleteThis is another poem telling a simple story in a song-like way. The plots and themes of these types of poems aren't hard to think of. What does take talent is using rhyme, meter, alliteration, and repetition and making them all work well in one coherent, well-flowing poem.
ReplyDelete