Annable Lee

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 winged 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 kinsman 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.

Notes:

Annable Lee
Lines
The poem begins in a way that is deliberately close to the typical
beginning of a fairy tale—an allusion to the genre, in a way. The first
line is like an echo of "once upon a time," and the second line brings to
mind the figure of a lone maiden locked up in a faraway kingdom--
another classic feature of fairy tales. This beginning lets the reader
know that what follows is an idealized account and involves a degree of
fantasy. But the opening lines also lure the reader into a false sense of
security—they put a sweet, simple face on what will later turn out to be
a psychologically troubling poem. That is, the fairy tale beginning sets
up the expectation of a fairy tale ending that fails to arrive—there is no
"happily ever after" here, and the contrast between this opening and
the lines to come highlights the sense of ongoing grief that colors the
entire poem.

The first four lines also establish an objective and omniscient narrative
tone. Of course, this is another a false promise—lines 5 and onward
show that the speaker is very much invested in what he's telling the
reader, and that he was directly involved in the life of Annabel Lee.

Additionally, the first four lines set up the prominent /e/ vowel sound
that continues throughout the poem. It is found here in "sea" and
"Annabel Lee," and it has a relentless quality that here starts to hint at
the obsessive state of the speaker's mind. Just as the poem keeps
returning to this sound, the speaker's thoughts keep returning to his
long-gone beloved. It's a hypnotic effect that draws the reader deeper
into the poem's psychology and the speaker's agonizing experience of
grief.

Line 3 also presents an interesting challenge to the reader. The speaker

suggests that the reader might know, or know of, Annabel Lee. This
could imply that there is a notoriety about her life and/or death. Or,
perhaps, it is the speaker's hint that this is a universal story, one that—
like a fairy tale—is common to people throughout the world.

Love
“Annabel Lee” tells the story of young love cut short by tragedy. As the
speaker (often assumed to be based on Poe himself, whose young wife
died shortly before he wrote this poem) discusses his relationship with
the now-deceased Annabel Lee, he presents the love between them as
pure, eternal, and all-conquering. The love between the speaker and
Annabel Lee may have been short-lived, but it remains too powerful to
be defeated, even by death. Through describing this intensely idealized
love, the poem argues that love is the strongest force on earth.

Death and Grief

“Annabel Lee” takes up a common subject in Edgar Allan Poe’s writing:
the death of a beautiful young woman. It portrays this as the most
tragic death of all—robbing the world of youth, beauty and innocence.
The tragedy of this loss is mostly explored through the portrayal of the
narrator's grief, which colors every line of the poem.

The natural world

Nature has multiple symbolic resonances throughout the poem. The

whole thing takes place in a "kingdom by the sea," and thus is literally
this set on the edge of the natural world—beyond kingdom is a vast
and mysterious ocean, beneath which are "demons." Annabel Lee is
notably "chilled" and ultimately "killed" by a cold wind that "came out
of the cloud by night," suggesting nature as a powerful and malevolent
force.
At the same time, however, the speaker's memories of his beloved are
spurred by moonbeams and shining stars, and he thinks of her during
"the night-tide." These elements of the natural world are thus
associated with the innocence and purity of Annabel Lee herself, and
are comforting rather than hostile.
Together, then, nature can be seen as a dualistic force—one that is at
times frightening and hostile to human existence, yet which also can be
a realm that offers comfort and peace—perhaps even a realm in which
the love between these two figures may live on.
Edgar Allan Poe
Born: January 19, 1809, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: October 7, 1849, Church Home & Hospital, Baltimore,
Maryland, United States

Spouse: Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe (m. 1836–1847)

“Annabel Lee” Vocabulary

Maiden – A maiden is a young woman, but the word can also refer to her state of
maidenhood—that is, being a virgin.

Winged seraphs – These are angels.

Coveted – To covet something is to desire it strongly. Here, it also calls to mind the ninth
Commandment from the Bible: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife."

Highborn kinsmen – This is slightly ambiguous. It could mean family members of Annabel
Lee, who are of high social class. Or it could be a reference to the angels: "highborn" because
they come from heaven, and "kinsmen" because Annabel Lee is herself angelic.

Bore – Bore in this instance just means "took" or "carried."

Sepulchre – A small room or tomb in which a dead person is laid to rest.
Envying – This means the angels were actively jealous of the speaker and Annabel Lee.
Dissever – This means to divide or separate.
Beams –Beams means "shine," but it also has a suggestion of smiling (as in the face of the
moon).

Night-tide –This means the night-time, and it also plays on the mentions of the sea.