Annabel Lee By Edgar Allan Poe

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Annabel LeeBy Edgar Allan Poe
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Stanza 1

• 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 LEEAnd this maiden
  she lived with no other thoughtThan to love and
  be loved by me.
• line 1 Equivalent to once upon a time giving
  the poem a fairy tale feel, which is reinforced
  by line 2. It also gives us a clue that this is a
  flashback or story. Capitalizing her name gives
  her an almost divine stature.
• The subject is revealed (Annabel Lee)

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Stanza 2

• I was a child and she was a child,In this
  kingdom by the seaBut we loved with a love that
  was more than love-I and my Annabel LeeWith a
  love that the winged seraphs of heavenCoveted
  her and me.
• Line 1 shows us that they were young, maybe not
  actually children by age, but in their naiveté
  about love and the world. And it is because of
  this love that the angels in heaven were jealous
  of the couple. By the way, winged seraphs are
  angels, and coveted is to wish for longingly (or
  to be jealous of, as this case proves to be).

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Stanza 3

• And this was the reason that, long ago,In this
  kingdom by the sea,A wind blew out of a cloud,
  chillingMy beautiful Annabel LeeSo that her
  highborn kinsman cameAnd bore her away from
  me,To shut her up in a sepulchreIn this kingdom
  by the sea.
• The speaker had put her on an extremely high
  pedestal that seemed to make her an angel, or she
  was innocent and perfect so they put her away
  where she couldnt be so and end their love.
  There is also evidence of foreshadowing as line 3
  says A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling By
  the way, a sepulchre is a chamber used as a grave.

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Stanza 4

• 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.The angels were
  jealous of their love and there is a self- insert
  in the poem that shows the reader that he is
  telling the story to someone or he is remembering
  the events and is making claims with is after so
  many years. It also shows us that it is a
  universal love story, even though Annabel Lee
  dies.

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The Time Frame Changes
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Stanza 5

• 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.
• The motif that love will go on, no matter what
  forces (be they God or Satan, as is referenced-
  Biblical allusion!!!!).

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Stanza 6

• For the moon never beams without bringing me
  dreamsOf the beautiful Annabel LeeAnd the
  stars never rise but I feel the bright eyesOf
  the beautiful Annabel LeeAnd 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.
•  
• He remembers her through personifying the moon
  that it brings him dreams, that she is watching
  over him with bright eyes. The last four lines
  tell us that he is laying down by her tomb, or
  her corpse, and he has been doing so for years as
  he calls her his life. I hope you remember what a
  sepulchre is!!!!!

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Literary Terms and Techniques that haven't
already been mentioned

• Those damn six questions
• Speaker believed to be Poe, as he wrote this
  after the death of his wife (Virginia) as it was
  written in 1849 (Virginia died in 1847)
• Subject Annabel Lee
• Tone sad, but determined to make sense of what
  happened
• Mood also sad, but very nostalgic and fairytale
  like.
• The theme is that everlasting love exists or that
  love will go on if you havent died from sleeping
  next to her corpse for years

There is a rhyme scheme that helps with the
poems rhythm Stanzas 1-4 have every other last
word rhyme (its also the same words over and
over me, sea, and Lee. Stanza 5 goes a bit off
course, having lines 2 and 3 as a couplet and
lines 5 and 7 rhyme. Stanza six is the oddest,
with lines 2- 8 having a rhyme scheme A, B, A,
B, B, A, A.
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How the Video Relates to the Poem

• The video clip relates to the poem in that it is
  a universal love story (albeit a tragic one).
  Also there are unearthly forces that take away
  the maiden (even if they are aliens) and it shows
  the Doctors determination to find her. The final
  good-bye is almost like him writing her a poem as
  it is believed that Poe had done for his dead
  wife. Also the scene on Bad Wolf Bay (where they
  are) helps because they are by the sea (a kingdom
  by the sea).