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.
She was a child and I 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 by night
Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born 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 a cloud, 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 see 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 side of the sea.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Edgar Allan Poe's poem Annabel Lee

58 Comments

  1. sunny says:

    Poe showed his timeless love by comparing with the angels, even the winged seraphs envied their love .
    How deeply their love was!I really appreciate it .

  2. Sabrina says:

    Annabel lee is a great poem to tell your girlfriend who is trying to break up with you becuase it tell her that even thourgh she died you will never love another and visit her every day where she died

  3. Aurora says:

    This poem was written by Edgar Allen Poe and what a great poem it is! It’s a romantic, loving, mournful love poem. I love it, and its very sentimental to what critics believe was his 16 year old lover he wished to marry, but died before the could. I love this poem and encourage others ages young and old to read it!

  4. Diah says:

    I got a recomendation from one of my chat friends, and amazed by the rhyme, Sugoi!!!(^_^). Thanks Ernest;)

  5. None of your business says:

    After reading all your theories I would like to add my own thoughts about this poem.

    Most of Poes work is about death, agony and sorrow. but he transforms death into something beautiful, something magical, death get’s romantizised. But then again, he lived under the horrorromance era (ca 1800~1840). “Annabel lee” is surely about his cousin, it came out two years after her death, and the same year that poe died (1849). You can see lots of resemblences to his other poems, “the raven” and “Lenore” for example, both of them are also centered around a beloved, beautiful woman that have died. He’s a true genius, that’s for sure.

  6. edgar says:

    I will never get tired of reading this poem over and over.if he hadnt wrote this i never wouldve known what love is. this is my favorite love poem its untouchable!
    its dark and it is beautiful. im glad i have the same name as Mr. Poe!i dont cry when i read but this is the the poem that got the closest thanks Mr. Poe for writing such a perfect example of what love is!!

  7. Shelby says:

    Im doing a poetry portfolio now and im sry but i really didnt enjoy this poem i mean his own cousin so we have to do this and im lookin for alliteration plus this was in our literature book

  8. Jacquelyn says:

    I have read everyone’s thoughts on this poem and I am quite puzzled because my thoughts are so different. When I read this poem, immediately I thought of a stalker. The love that the narrator speaks of is not love at all but obesession. I personally would be afraid of someone professing to love me in the manner that the narrator describes his love for Annabel Lee. Some women think that a little jealousy is cute, but these are the women that find themselves in abusive relationships. Now maybe I am way off the marker on this one, but this is what this poem means to me.

  9. Andrea says:

    This a poem about a two lovers that were torn apart, by death.’Annabel Lee’talks about Poe’s never ending love that he had for her.Even though she was no longer there he loved her probably till the day he himself died.This poem shows the true meaning of the word love which we use so lightly today.-Andrea 13yrs old

  10. Kathryn says:

    Whom ever typed this poem, made a mistake. In Edgar Allan Poe’s original version of this masterpeice, instead of “And the stars never rise, but I see the bright eyes” he wrote, “And the stars never rise, but I FEEL the bright eyes”. Other than this flaw, I believe that this website is perfect with the other peoms of his.

  11. Kim Davis says:

    I just love this poem. Even if it is about death, I feel that it is more about love. Just because someone is gone does not mean the love is not there. I also think it was for Virginia. You can tell that he really cared and loved her. This poem always makes me feel good when I read it.

  12. alicia says:

    i think this is one of the best poems he ever wrote. it’s by far my favoret

  13. Chris says:

    Undoubtedly a poem about loss of a love,probably poe’s cousin wife Virginia,moves me to tears whenever I read it

  14. tina says:

    this is a great poem! i love to read it because it is so insperational and it is on of my favorites ! every one should read it and it is a tear jerker i love reading it!

  15. Dennisa Montes says:

    I was assigned to write an essay paper in my English class on one of the many poets that we’ve learned about. First of all I was never attracted to learn about any poet authors. But when I the my english teacher first talked about him I was amazed about his life and his poems. And the poem that really catched my attention and went deep me was “Annabel Lee”.I just love the way he exppresses himself with all that love for Annabel Lee. I can tell he really loved her. I got very sentimental when I read this poem because is sad to loose the “love of your life” I would never want to be in his shoes.

  16. Shannon says:

    This poem had such a great impact on me that I named my child Anabelle Lee ( I changed the spelling) it is bittersweet, as was much of poe’s work and life.

  17. Tamara says:

    This poem was beautiful, one has to be hit in some kind of way to feel the effestc of such a dynamite poem.

  18. Elizabeth says:

    This poem is one of my favorites. It is so beautiful and almost made me cry.

  19. cecille says:

    i learned this poem when im still in 2nd yr high schooll im now 42 yrs old but i still remember the wordings of this poem because it s really beautiful and meaningful. I really love it!

  20. Kara says:

    i had to learn this poem in 7th grade and i will always remember it because it always brought tears to my eyes.

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