Edgar Allan Poe

Annabel Lee
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 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 high-born 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 one 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 the sepulchre there by the sea In her tomb by the sounding sea.

"Annabel Lee" is about a beautiful, painful memory. The speaker of the poem is remembering his long-lost love, Annabel Lee. The speaker knew Annabel Lee many years ago, when she was a girl, and they both lived "in a kingdom by the sea." Even though they were only children, these two were really, seriously in love. So in love that even the angels in heaven noticed and were jealous. Maybe that was a bad thing, because our speaker blames the angels for killing his girlfriend. Apparently a wind came down from the clouds, which made Annabel Lee sick and then eventually killed her. When this happened, her relatives came and took her away from the speaker, and shut her up in a tomb. Our speaker wants us to know that his love for Annabel Lee wasn't just a teenage crush. A little thing like death isn't going to separate him from Annabel Lee. Not even angels or devils could do that. He still sees her everywhere, in his dreams and in the stars. In fact he still loves her so much (here's where it gets really weird) that he goes and lies down with her in her tomb every night.

It was many and many a year ago, (a) In a kingdom by the sea, (b) That a maiden there lived whom you may know (a) By the name of Annabel Lee; (b) And this maiden she lived with no other thought (c) Than to love and be loved by me (b) I was a child and she was a child, (a) In this kingdom by the sea; (b) But we loved with a love that was more than love- (c) I and my Annabel Lee; (b) With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven (d) Coveted her and me (b) And this was the reason that, long ago, (a) In this kingdom by the sea, (b) A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling (c) My beautiful Annabel Lee; (b) So that her highborn kinsman came (d) And bore her away from me, (b) To shut her up in a sepulcher (e) In this kingdom by the sea (b)

The angels, not half so happy in heaven, (a) Went envying her and me- (b) Yes!- that was the reason (c) (as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea) (b) That the wind came out of the cloud by night, (d) Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee. (b)

But our love it was stronger by far than the love (a) Of those who were older than we- (b) Of many far wiser than we- (b) And neither the angels in heaven above, (a) Nor the demons down under the sea, (b) Can ever dissever my soul from the soul (c) Of the beautiful Annabel Lee (b)
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams (a) Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; (b) And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes (c) Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; (b) And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side (d) Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride, (d) In the sepulchre there by the sea, (b) In her tomb by the sounding sea. (b)

It was many and many a year ago, (11) In a kingdom by the sea, (7) That a maiden there lived whom you may know (10) By the name of Annabel Lee; (8) And this maiden she lived with no other thought (11) Than to love and be loved by me. (6) She was a child and I was a child, (9) In this kingdom by the sea, (7) But we loved with a love that was more than love (11) I and my Annabel Lee (7) With a love that the winged seraphs of Heaven (11) Coveted her and me. (6) And this was the reason that, long ago, (10) In this kingdom by the sea, (7) A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling (9) My beautiful Annabel Lee; (8) So that her highborn kinsman came (8) And bore her away from me, (7) To shut her up in a sepulchre (9) In this kingdom by the sea. (7)

The angels, not half so happy in heaven, (11) Went envying her and me (7) Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know, (10) In this kingdom by the sea (7) That the wind came out of the cloud by night, (10) Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee. (10) But our love it was stronger by far than the love (12) Of those who were older than we (8) Of many far wiser than we (8) And neither the angels in heaven above, (11) Nor the demons down under the sea, (9) Can ever dissever my soul from the soul (11) Of the beautiful Annabel Lee. (9) For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams (12) Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; (9) And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes (12) Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; (9) And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side (12) Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride, (12) In the sepulchre there by the sea, (9) In her tomb by the sounding sea. (8)

The poem talks about the forbidden love between the author and his lover Annabel. It also talks about love being able to conquer everything, even death.

Kingdom Tyranny, Cruelty

Sea - Power

Highborn Kinsmen Angel of Death, Older People

Sepulchre tomb, grave

Angel Enemies, Bad guys Wind Cause of Death, Disease Annabel Lee Authors wife