“Annabel Lee” is a sad and spooky poem that deals with the death of a beautiful young woman, which is not surprising, since that happens to be one of Edgar Allan Poe’s favorite subjects. The poem is about a beautiful memory that is also painful at the same time. Poe is recalling his memory Annabel Lee, who is his long-lost love, who meant more than just some teenage crush to him. Despite being children at the time, the two were madly and serious in love with each other. Their love was so strong that it was noticed even by the angels in heaven and it made them jealous, thus, Poe blames them for taking his love away from him. Although the way Edgar Allan Poe tends to defy the common phrase “Till Death Do Us Part” in this poem seems quite romantic, but there is something dark about this poem that distinguishes it from works of Romanticism.
Out of all the ballads written by Edgar Allan Poe, “Annabel Lee” is definitely the most “simplest and sweetest” one (Woodberry 351). For a long time and until today, the poem is regarded as a tribute to Poe’s deceased wife, Virginia Poe, who died while he was still alive. However, this is not really a demonstrable fact but more of an idea. Whether Annabel Lee was inspired from the Virginia Poe or some other lady does not matter because what makes Poe’s poem continually appealing is its supremacy as a poem about unconquered and unconquerable, young love. Poe never dedicated his “ballad” to anyone, so there is no way of knowing who the original Annabel Lee was. Perhaps Poe’s poem should be regarded as primarily on a conscious work of art based on various sources of literature and Poe’s own personal experience, including quite a few references he hopes some of his fair friends would take personally (Ticknor).
On the surface, Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” may seem like a quintessential example of the Romanticism era that was at its peak in America at the time, after originating from Europe. Emotion, love, nature, spirituality, and the supernatural are the most distinguished qualities of Romanticism, and so is a statement like “But we loved with a love that was more than love-“ (9). Although, Poe’s poem is certainly sad as abovementioned, Poe captures the emotions of his readers and shows them it is not really possible to classify every aspect of Romanticism as happy ones. In comparison to the works of authors such as Washington Irving and William Cullen Bryant, the dark side of Romanticism has been captured by Poe in many of his other poems and short stories. This is especially true in the case of “Annabel Lee” since he wrote this particular poem of his, most probably based on a very unfortunate personal event in his own life.
Annabel Lee is an extremely descriptive, distressful and emotional poem. Throughout the poem, Poe continues to describe his love (which began many years ago in a place that is only referred to the “kingdom by the sea”), Annabel Lee, how beautiful she was, and how she died. Poe says at the beginning of the poem that many years ago he and Annabel Lee lived happily by the sea, and did not think about anything else but to “Than to love and be loved by [him]” (6). According to Poe, despite their youth, despite the fact that “[He] was a child and she was a child” (7) they were so intensely in love with each other that the angels took her away from him by causing her death. Poe blames the angels for Annabel Lee’s tragic death, saying that “The angels, [were] not half so happy in heaven” (21) and were jealous of the happiness and love they shared, and so they took her life. It is very apparent that Poe’s love for Annabel Lee is everlasting and undying, and their love is lives on even after Annabel Lee has died. Even after her death, Poe deeply believes that their souls are still intertwined since he claims that not even the angels or any demons “Can ever dissever my soul from the soul” (32) of Annabel Lee. Every night, “the stars never rise but [he] feel[s] the bright [her] eyes” (36) and Poe dreams about her when asleep, and he even admits that he lies down beside her tomb every night.
Nonetheless, there is no doubt that love is a major theme of the poem. “Annabel Lee” is certainly a poem about love, even if theme of love is slightly twisted in places. At its foundation, it is about a boy, a young Poe, who loves a girl, and refuses to quit loving her. However, the intriguing thing about the depiction of this theme in the poem is that Poe does not stick to the sunny side of love, which is further proof that Annabel Lee fits in the Dark Romanticism genre. This poem delves deep into the dangerous parts of love; they way these emotions can entrap a person, leave them lonely and sad, and torment them for the rest of their life. No doubt, love has made Poe the person who he depicts himself to be in the poem and that undying love is a rare phenomenon these days, but it is also apparent that it has somewhat ruined his life. Yet, it does not matter to him; he continued to love his beloved Annabel Lee beyond the grave.
If love is the primary theme in Poe’s poem, then mortality is certainly another prominent theme. It seems that Poe has made it his obsession to find out how and why Annabel Lee died. He wants to blame someone for her death. At the same time, the poem intertwines the themes of love and death with each other. As absurd and obsessive as Poe’s actions may seem, especially because he lays beside her body “In her tomb by the sounding sea” (41), the poem forces the readers to ask themselves whether death is the end of the relationship between two lovers and love comes to an end when either of the two has died, or whether it is possible to continue loving someone after death and whether love can triumph even when one of the lovers dies. Perhaps the idea of undying love is taken a bit more latterly by Poe than it should be, but that is just his way of continuing to love Annabel Lee. Ultimately, the ideas of fate, grief and loss that come up in this poem are relatable.
Although it is appropriate and logical to classify Poe’s poem as a work of Romanticism, however, the traditional aspects of Romanticism are not exhibited by it. Poe does not incorporate ideal, young heroes in his poem or give it a happy ending, rather darkness and loss shrouds the poem, and at best, the poem can be categorized in the Dark Romanticism genre ("Intro"). While Dark Romanticism does indeed fit in with the Romanticism genre, but it is more mysterious and unnerving. Dark Romantics like Poe are much less poised about the Romanticism idea that perfection is an inborn and natural quality of the human race, and tend to show that as characters try to make changes for the better they may fail in the process ("Romanticism"). Instead of rationalism, Poe focuses more on emotions. Nature and spirituality are a very important part of Romanticism, but in Annabel Lee, it is nature that steals Poe’s lover away from him, so rather than being beautiful and uplifting it is more gloomy and sinister, and there is no sense of spirituality, rather Poe blames the supernatural for his loss.
Living up to the tradition of Dark Romanticism, Poe’s “Annabel Lee” also contains elements of both nature and the supernatural. The importance of nature in them poem cannot be forgotten, but despite playing an immense part in the poem, nature is present as a tragic quality rather than an uplifting one (Kartha). Instead of capturing the beautiful aspects of nature, its quiet, steady presence in the background always seems a bit scary and threatening. Moreover, nature does not make Poe happy, rather it leaves him grieving and with a feeling of loss, since according to Poe, “In this kingdom by the sea,/ A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling” (14, 15) taking his love away from him, and that wind is also a part of nature. However, that is not what Poe believes, he seems to be apparently convinced that heaven and hell had lined up against him and his lover, to separate them. Poe comes short of accusing God for his loss, but he does not stop from blaming the angels for taking away his lover. Perhaps it is paranoia, but it is also agreeable that when a tragedy like this strikes, many people feel like accusing higher powers for their loss.
Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee” is indeed a very Romantic poem and Poe’s love for his deceased lover is worth appraising, but nothing about this poem points towards traditional Romanticism. Since it has always been hard to separate the life of Poe from his works, one this is for certain is that Poe wrote this poem to reflect upon his own personal loss. The readers of this poem may never know who Annabel Lee was, but that does not stop this poem from being fascinating and intense. Since love is so closely intertwined with death in Poe’s poem, thus, it is automatically shrouded by darkness and loss, which prevents it from find a place as a work in Romanticism. However, enough evidence has been provided above that the subject matter of this poem is quite dark and unique and therefore, it is more fitting in the genre of Dark Romanticism.
Works Cited
"Intro to American Romanticism." VCU. Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 2 Dec 2013. <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng372/intro.htm>.
"Romanticism." N.p.. Web. 2 Dec 2013. <https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtcmxhbmdsZXlzcm9vbXxneDoxNjk3NDFmZjlhMzkyYzNk>.
Kartha, Deepa. "Characteristics of Romanticism." Buzzle. Buzzle.com, 18 Jun 2012. Web. 2 Dec 2013. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/romanticism-characteristics-of-romanticism.html>.
Ticknor, Caroline. Poe's Helen. New York City: C. Scribner's Sons, 1916. Print.
Woodberry, George E. Life of Edgar Allan Poe: Personal and Literary (2 vol. set). Cheshire, Connecticut: Biblo-Moser, 1909. Print.
