An exceptional poem can move the reader to a new consciousness. It becomes more than words pieced together to make a rhyme, and evokes true emotion that is palpable. One of the most influential authors that contributed to this experience was Edgar Allan Poe. His work is almost immediately recognizable due to his common motif that is both melancholy and mysterious. Much of his writing concerns love and loss, such as in his poem “Annabel Lee.” The essence of this work is endless love and the death of a beautiful young girl. It is thought by many that most of his literature mirrors his actual life, which was riddled with heartbreak and sorrow. It is evident from the mood and setting of his writing that he dealt with a lot of …show more content…
Poe eventually married his thirteen-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm. She proved to be the great love of his life, but she too, unfortunately, died of tuberculosis at the young age of twenty-five. He struggled with alcoholism and opiate abuse, along with a rocky writing career in which he never received the accolades he deserved while living. After his death he became one of the most acclaimed short story writers and poets in history. His writing could be viewed as eerie and disturbing, but one thing is certain, he definitely stood out with his distinct style. One author wrote: The enigma of Poe's survival clearly is explained by his universality … I published a review ¬essay that emphasized both Poe's hysterical badness and his inescapability… Letters poured in, many questioning my motives, and at least two radio programs accommodated outraged lovers of Poe, some of them quite passionate at denouncing me. Poe can write as badly as anyone in the language, but it makes little difference. Legions of many regions (not just the South) charge fiercely in his favor, with quasi-religious zeal. The cultural effect and influence of Poe transcend his aesthetic inadequacies. (Bloom 9-10). Although all did not necessarily praise Poe’s writing, he has certainly remained one of the most notorious writers in history. In reference to Poe’s poetry, most recall “The Raven”, however
Edgar Allan Poe once said, “With me, poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion.” When stressed, writing was his coping mechanism, and through observation, many grasp how much death encompassed Poe. Although not appreciated during his era, he revolutionized mystery with mesmerizing story plots that yield suspense, but also makes readers question his stability. Most importantly, unlike those famous during his lifetime who are now forgotten, Poe’s legacy will live on forever. Moreover, throughout life, Poe experienced catastrophe, and because of this, writing became his creative outlet.
“Mr. Poe could not possibly send forth a book without some marks of his genius, and mixed up with the dross we find much sterling ore.” — (From a review of Poe’s Tales, September 6, 1845.) In 1845, Poe, 27, and Virginia, 13, married, and were happy for a time. In 1842, Virginia ruptured a blood vessel; the first sign of the ill health that plagued her short life. Poe turned to alcohol to cope with her illness and the stress of his dying wife. Two years later, Virginia died of tuberculosis, and Poe’s own death would follow shortly two years after that.
The life of Edgar Allan Poe is not a tale of ease. Poe’s life was full of personal and fiscal disaster. These disasters help to mold some of the most ominous and intellectually challenging poetry ever written. For the short duration of Poe’s life, he was seen as a literary critic rather than an author. To the modern generation his unbeknown status seems bafflingly inconceivable, considering his now acclaimed publications. Edgar Allan Poe’s writing was very much dictated by his life. The mournful tone of Edgar Allan Poe’s life created his literature; death and all his friends narrated Poe’s life. Edgar Allan Poe shows his life’s constant despair through his poetry and short story writings.
Neither of his first two collections attracted much attention. "Poe married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemn. She burst a blood vessel in 1842, and remained a virtual worthless until her death from tuberculosis five years later" (online-literature, pg. 2). He addressed the famous poem "Annabel Lee" to her in 1849. In 1836, he received an editorship at The Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. Around this time, Edgar began using drugs and dinking very heavily. He even showed up at events drunk. Still, he was writing incredible stories and poems. Poe received a large amount of recognition, not only for his poetry and fiction, but as an exceptional literary critic. He also achieved popular success, especially following the publication of his poem "The Raven." Edgar had fallen for Merrie next and she died of brain cancer. After a period in which he was involved in various romantic affairs, Poe planned to remarry, but in late September, 1849 he arrived in Baltimore for reasons unknown. "Poe suffered from bouts of depression and madness, and he attempted suicide in 1848" (online-literature, pg. 2). In early October he was discovered nearly unconscious in a Baltimore gutter. Edgar was taken to Washington College Hospital. Some say that Poe called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before he died. He died on early in the morning of October 7, 1849. He was buried in the yard of Baltimore's Wesminster Presbyterian Church. People said that his
“Annabel Lee,” is a poem composed by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe’s tragic love story begins in a kingdom by the sea. It describes a powerful love that was stopped too soon. The death of a beautiful woman, Annabel Lee, has left her lover mourning her death. Edgar Allan Poe uses archetypes to create a tone of anguish.
In life, as in death, Edgar Allan Poe evoked a feeling of sympathy from his
A great poem shocks us into another order of perception. It points beyond language to something still more essential. It ushers us into an experience so moving and true that we feel at ease. In bad or indifferent poetry, words are all there is. Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” is a great poem, not because it is popular or it is classic, but because of its underlining message. “Annabel Lee” is a poem of death, love, and beauty. It captures the narrator’s interpretation of these three ideas through his feelings and thoughts for one woman. The narrator, Edgar Allan Poe, becomes infatuated at a young age with the character in the poem, Annabel Lee. Even after she passes away, his love for her only increases and only becomes
Edgar Allan Poe was and is undoubtedly one of the greatest influences on American literature. His life consisted of tragedy and heartbreak, but even as Poe’s world spiraled down around him, he produced some of the greatest works of poetry and short stories that had ever been created. These works redefined the way prose and poetry alike were composed and analyzed. Unfortunately, much of the truth about Edgar Allan Poe’s life has been blurred and changed, leaving many questions as to what events affected and influenced one of history’s greatest authors.
Usually, fairy tales are in connection to big and illustrious happy endings. But in Edgar Allan Poe’s case, it is evident that they do not exist, for his stories more often than not bear a grotesque demeanor. His life was surrounded by death. All of the women in his life died young, including his mother, sister, and wife. By the age of three, he had experienced what most would not experience until nearly the middle or end of their lives. Living in such an atmosphere allowed Poe to reach deep into his emotions when writing. Edgar Allan Poe was known for his macabre metaphors. These metaphors challenged the reader to endeavor themselves into his simple words; coming to find the gothic elements portrayed. He most commonly portrayed love and death in his poems. Poe is even credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. Edgar Allan Poe utilizes symbolism and portrays an envious love tale, ending in tragedy to expose the speaker’s emotional state in the poem “Annabel Lee.”
The poem, “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe, has a dark and eerie tone. This poem is so sullen and creepy because the narrator’s wife, Annabel Lee, was killed by the heinous, chilling winds that were dispatched by the angels. Her husband, who became a widower, wrote the poem beside Annabel Lee, who was dead in her tomb. This has a very dark and glum toon, which causes the reader to jump into a somber mood. The text states in a dreadful and shocking tone “that the wind came out of the cloud by night/chilling and killing my Annabel Lee” (Poe 25-26). The poem “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)” by E E Cummings, is a very powerful poem about love. It is mainly about a man who knows that his life is complete because he has his love by his side. Cummings uses passionate and warm hearted words to make the reader incorporate and feel an emotional mood towards the poem. In a spiritual and loving tone it states that “i want, no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)” (Cummings 6-7). Each one of the poems are unique in their own way, but both have completely divergent feelings and tones to them. “Annabel Lee” has a dark, gloomy, and cold tone that makes the reader feel a sense of loneliness. Poe sets a sorrowful and mournful
Edgar Allan Poe in this poem “Annabel Lee” written in 1849, and first published shortly after his death in Sartain’s Union Magazine, is a story of true love and great loss where a man loves a woman so deeply and is devastated when she dies but holds on to that love even after death. No one really knows whom exactly Poe wrote this poem about, whether or not it was actually inspired by someone he truly loved due to his death right after he wrote it. There are many candidates that people believe it could have been, one of the more suspected would be Poe’s wife Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe. Annabel Lee is set in a kingdom by the sea as the poem reads. The tone of the poem can be described as very dark,
“With me, poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion.” Edgar Allan Poe was a famous poet, known for his dark and depressing themes. Not only was he well-known as a writer, but he was the first American to try and make a living off of his works. Poe’s most famous poem “Annabel Lee” captures his talent for writing and the dark and alluring themes that he is most known for.
Happily N’Ever After “Annabel Lee” was the last complete poem of Edgar Allan Poe, published sometime after his mysterious death in 1849. The poem, much like many of his other works, is about a young woman named Annabel Lee, with whom the speaker is in love with and who tragically dies. Poe had a lot of women die in his life, and though it is unclear who the poem is about, it has been interpreted to be about his wife Virginia, who had died young. He places blame on the angels for Annabel’s death, who appear to be his foes instead of the friendly beings they are commonly portrayed as. The speaker proclaims his undying love for Annabel, who is separated from him by several different forces, by using imagery, symbolism, and dreamlike diction.
I believe the universal mode of the poem “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allen Poe is a poem that is once happy then turns sorrowful,gloomy, and heartbroken. When you first start reading the poem it looks like the two people love one of each other, and then the poem alternates and changes the poem from delighted to heartbroken. In the text the author states that ”But we loved with a love that was more than love” and later the poem also states “ Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.” This supports the idea that the mood is depressing, gloomy, heartbroken, and sorrowful because first it’s like that the they are in love and then the author comes out with a huge twist. When they are in love it's all joyful and then the father doesn't approve of the love
As humans we are shown true love throughout our lifetime whether it be through relatives or interpersonal relationships as well as experience true pain when being separated by a loved one to the hands of death itself. But what if the person you loved the most was taken from you by fatal incidents, leaving you alone in the world forever? American poet Edgar Allan Poe and European poet W.H. Auden both explore the central concept of agony brought upon when being separated by a ones true love at the face of death. While Poe's ¨Annabel Lee¨ and Auden's ¨Funeral Blues¨ both express grief and despair as well as true love's devotion, Poe takes a more cynical tone to his poem and Auden shows a more lamentful and empty feeling to his poem. While individually each poem inhabits a different tone, the use of imagery to nature and diction to further express their poem's theme. also .