Annabel Lee Edgar Allan PoeIt 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 LEE;And this maiden she lived with no other thoughtThan 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 heavenCoveted her and me.And this was the reason that, long ago,In this kingdom by the sea,A wind blew out of a cloud, chillingMy beautiful Annabel Lee;So that her highborn kinsman cameAnd bore her away from me,To shut her up in a sepulchreIn 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 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.For the moon never beams without bringing me dreamsOf the beautiful Annabel Lee;And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyesOf the beautiful Annabel Lee;And 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. Edgar Allan Poe is one of the greatest literary figures in the history of American literature. He develops his own poetic theories and tries to apply the theories to his writing. Poe is against the didactic function of poetry, advocating that poetry should be a rhythmical creation of beauty. Poes poems are perfect illustrations of his poetic theories. His poems are aimed at producing a melancholy feeling in the reader and make the reader feel the metrical beauty of poems.His poetic works are well appreciated all over the world. Annabel Lee is one of his last poems and also one of his best poems. The poem is also well organized, with a musical rhythm and fairy tale form. Annabel Lee, like many other poems of Edgar Allan Poe, describes the theme of the death of a beautiful woman which is called “the most poetical topic in the world” by the poet himself. In the poem, the narrator and Annabel Lee had an extremely strong love for each other since they were children. Unfortunately, their love is so strong that even angels envy them and Annabel Lee was killed by them. However, the narrator retains the deep love for her after her death. Just as the last stanza shows us, the narrator dreams about Annabel everyday and lies by the side of her tomb at night. It seems that their love is beyond grave and death. There are many speculation of who is the inspiration of Annabel Lee. I would like to believe that Annabel Lee is referring to Poes wife Virginia who died at the age of 26. She was loved as a child by Edgar Allen Poe because she was only 13 when she married the 27-year-old Poe. And she was the only bride of him. Poe set the scene in a kingdom by the sea and uses some images like sepulcher and tomb, which add some Gothic touch to the poem. With the repetition of some words and phrases, the poem has a nostalgic tone and gives us a mournful feeling. The mysterious tone of the poem makes us feel that only in mysterious and ancient time does such kind of love exist. Besides the content, the poetic structure of this poem is also what I appreciate. It is composed of six stanzas with lines at different length, which gives me a feeling of the waves of the ocean. When I read it, the rhyme and the different length makes it has a musical effect and it is like telling a story to someone.Annabel Lee was composed in the form of a fairy tale.First, the poet chose simple everyday words as that of tales to compose his poem, so that it could be easily reached by everyone, even by small children. Second, the starting line It was many and many a year ago, / In a kingdom by the sea, suggests that the tale has existed for a long time and it has been told many times, which indicates the strong love between the narrator and Annabel Lee doesnt fade with time, and it will be told from generation to generation; by this way, their love will reach immortality.Annabel Lee also shows some characteristics of a ballad.For example: The language is simple; it is accessible to the common people and children. The theme is tragic and the tone is melancholy; the poem tells the death of a beloved young beauty,which is the most frequently seen theme in Poes poems. Poe uses insistent repetition of phrases like Annabel Lee, in this kingdom by the sea for effect, which might be consi