An Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee
In life, as in death, Edgar Allan Poe evoked a feeling of sympathy from his readership. Those who knew him well considered him deep, mysterious and contemplative; thus, coupled with the copious tragedies he suffered throughout his life, especially the loss of his first wife Virginia, it is easy to understand how the author brings out the theme of Annabel Lee through personal/setting imagery, repetition of words and rhythm/rhyme. Annabel Lee honors the memory of Poe's deceased wife, Virginia. Throughout the poem, his use of personal imagery helps the reader to grasp the intense feelings of loss he continues to experience long after her passing. The setting imagery
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The only way he knew of to somewhat ease his pain was to put it into words; as such, Annabel Lee became the expression of his very soul. Its rhyme and rhythm encompassed a great many emotions, feelings, and desires that ranged from one spectrum to the other. Personal imagery helped to represent the author's rage, love, happiness, sorrow and despair, while the repetition of words served as an avenue for the author to release the inner struggles that could not be set free through any other means than verse. Truly, Annabel Lee was a catharsis to Poe's ailing heart. Almost without exception, all of Poe's literary works have a theme - Annabel Lee is no different in this manner. Without a theme, the poet would have no primary objective for the poem. One way to ascertain the theme is to question what the author was trying to relate to the reader.
By doing so, the answer may appear as obvious as the words that comprise the piece; yet others may escape immediate recognition, which would require further contemplation as to what the author is truly attempting to express.
A relevant phrase in poetry that relates to the overall concept of theme is that of the human condition, which refers -- quite logically -- to the definition of being human. Analyzing Poe's poem, one finds that the human condition is a regular consideration, in that humanity is constantly in question: Is Man strong or weak, good or evil, redeemed or condemned,
Edgar Allan Poe has a way with the pen that immediately alerts the reader that he or she is reading his work. Upon initial study of “Annabel Lee,” the reader will judge it a typical Poe because it laments the death of a young woman, a theme pervasive not only throughout Poe’s work but also throughout his life. However, this poem reads less as a tribute to a real woman and more as a representation of a martyr dying for a holy love. Poe uses religious allusion to frame his subject in this manner. Poe also uses alliteration, internal rhyme, and repetition in order to further contribute to the effects established through his religious allusions.
It was Reinhold Niebuhr who said “Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” The concept is that love is something magical and strong that can always however be lost; you have the power to choose what to gain from the experience. Basically when love is separated or broken you and only you can either decide to dwell on the sadness, or accept it and move on completely because of the reality that bad things can and will happen to everyone. In these two poems the theme shared is love and/or love after one has parted ways whether in life or in death; the difference however is how the authors portray the meaning of love and their lives after the love one is gone. In “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe the main character has becomes completely lost in anguish and cannot seem to move on, whereas in “A valediction; Forbidding Mourning” by John Donne the narrator is accepting of the goodbye because he knows that spiritually they and their love will always be together. The contrasting events that take place are the tragic events after their loved ones being lost, which shows the difference in personalities from authors Poe and Donne and how they view love after a separation.
Edgar Allan Poe remains today one of the most unique figures in American literary history. Critics have likened him to both Leonardo Da Vinci and the "Jingle Man" ; either the keystone of American literature or simply a writer of fashionable entertainment. As a person and a writer, Poe is also a collection of contradictions. One thing is for certain, few people have left a more lasting impression in the minds of readers than Poe. Subsequent authors have never been able to improve upon the style which Poe created and mastered. Poe's tales have transcended generations of American readers and lasted through many shifts in literary thinking. One of the few things that is as strange and unique as Poe's
What was the mystery of Edgar Allan Poe? Why was he so special? He was special because he helped change poetry by giving it different focuses. Through looking at Edgar Allan Poe's life, we will understand what motivated him to write what he did, what the meaning was behind these works, and how this changed poetry.
Between the two poems by Edgar Allen Poem, I chose the poem "Annabel Lee". He described their love like no other, a romantic love tale incomparable to others love. Mr. Poe’s love for Annabel is harmless and selfless, one love that many others desire to have. Love is almighty powerful and true love is hard to find. Edgar Allen Poe described his feelings very poetically, rhyming every line with dark and mysterious phrases, leaving others at the tip of their toes... His tone is dark but inspirational. Beginning and ending "Annabel Lee" is an exquisite and bittersweet poem. His poem ended in such sadness, envied by others of love so great and powerful. His tone is dark but inspirational. Edgar Allen Poe’s poem is read as genuine love, hard to
Edgar Allan Poe is well known for his poetry. Edgar Allan Poe was not only a world renowned poet, but he is also known as being a writer of short stories, as well as known for being a critic. Edgar Allan Poe has many literary works; quite possibly the most famous one being The Raven. Some of Edgar Allan Poe’s other famous works include The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, and Annabel Lee. Edgar Allan Poe is also known as being a Romanticist, due to the fact that he was an author during the Romantic period. Edgar Allan Poe was born to actors Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins and David Poe. However, young Edgar Allan Poe’s parents passed away when he was almost three years old. Poe was then fortunate enough to be taken in by John and Frances Allan.
The power of love can overcome any obstacle that may get in the way. Edgar Allen Poe’s “Annabel Lee” explores the idea of idealism of love from Poe’s perspective viewpoint. The poem tells of two lovers whom have been together since childhood. The way they felt towards each other was so strong that even the angels were jealous. They killed the young maiden out of envy of not being able to possess the feelings that of which the lovers have. However, the love of the two young ones was unbreakable. By using idealism, foreshadowing, rhyme, and repetition Edgar Allan Poe produces a commentary on everlasting love.
Edgar Allan Poe is writer of his feelings. Each of Poe's writings is packed with his thoughts good or bad. As the readers try to understand the author's thoughts and or feelings, is why we might try to uncover a author's past life. For an example in Poe's early stages of becoming a writer he married his wife Virginia only to lose her of tuberculosis. When while reading Annabell Lee in class the readers made a lengthy connection throughout the story. Also the readers came to the conclusions that the story “Annabell Lee” sounds very much like Poe's real life problems with his wife dying so suddenly, just as it is describes in Annabell Lee. So should a reader get more in depth with the author's biography, or just keep us wondering?
"Annabell Lee": whew, this ballad initiates off looking homogeneous to a pleasant, calm Fireside lyric, possibly about a sovereign and princess in a Kingdom by the Sea—however that ain't where it comes full circle up! Poe indited the sonnet about Virginia and his grieving of her passing. Until around 1870 sentimentalism affected each legitimate kind of American indited work. As an American adjustment of the sentimentalism, an insightful essentialness kenned as reflective theory caused in (starting to come to pass) England. Like sentimentalism contemplative rationality surrendered both, Eighteenth-century rationale and set up religion which for the visionaries hailed the Puritan tradition solidly. They were affected by sentimentalism, solidly
Within Edgar Allan Poe’s poem Annabel Lee, he shows us another fine example of death. Although this time instead of murder it is a sudden death of a loved one from the narrator’s childhood. And throughout this poem the first stanza starts out by informing the reader that there was once a lady named Annabel Lee who lived in a kingdom that was by the sea, and that she had loved the narrator. He continues in the second stanza by adding that while they were in love they were both children and with the lines “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.” (Poe, 930) The idea of them having a love so pure and so innocent that even the Angels of Heaven could be jealous of it was given. Although, the narrator continues in the third and fourth stanzas stating that this jealousy is the reason Annabel Lee had caught ill one night and was then brought to her grave by the sea. The narrator continues in the last two stanzas, five and six, to tell of how their love was stronger than those older and wider than them. He also goes on to say
Do you visualize a story when you are reading? Some readers view the story they are reading and some don’t. Some authors are good at using words that will make you visualize where your main character looks like or where the setting is. Take Edgar Allen Poe for example. He’s a creepy, twisted man so he wrote creepy, twisted stories. This could be because of his experiences throughout his life or that is just what he likes. ZZ Packer on the other hand writes normal stories. There is nothing dark or twisted about her. Each of these authors gives you a different visualization in each of their stories.
Throughout the many works that Edgar Allan Poe has written in his lifetime, whether the work is a poem, novel, analysis, or critique, Poe has incorporated many reoccurring themes that define him as a writer.
Though an innumerable amount of interpretations of any given text might be drawn from a variety of perspectives, a structuralist analysis of two of Poe’s works help place their symbols within a theme related to myth and heroism.
A virtuoso of suspense and horror, Edgar Allan Poe is known for his Gothic writing style. His style is created through his use of punctuation, sentence structure, word choice, tone, and figurative language. Punctuation-wise; dashes, exclamation marks, semicolons, and commas are a favorite of Poe. His sentences vary greatly; their structures are influenced by punctuation. Much of his word choice set the tone of his works. Figurative language colors his writings with description. Such is observed in the similarities between two of his most well-known short stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
Edgar Allan Poe is one American author whose name is known to almost everyone. Edgar is known for his elegant poems and for being a tough critic of refined tastes, but also for being the first master of the short story form, especially tales of mystery. He has a talent of having an extraordinary hold upon the readers imagination and not letting lose. Many advents of Edgar’s life has probably led to the strange, but successful and renowned pieces of American literature.