The poem “Annabelle Lee” is considered the last poem by Edgar Allan Poe. It is believed to be related to the love of Poe’s life, his wife Virginia, who died at an early age of tuberculosis (Syafitri & Marlinton, 2018). Since Virginia was much younger than Edgar, her image could be perceived by the poet as a child. The hero talks about love for a specific deceased girl, but he also raises an abstract philosophical question about the nature and power of love.
The reader learns only three facts about Annabelle Lee: she was a child or a young girl, had a noble family, caught a cold, died, and was buried by the sea. Thus, this abstract image has become a symbol of the beloved. The lyrical hero perceives her death as a punishment because he had “a love that was more than love” (Poe, 2014). Even “the angels in Heaven” never experienced such a powerful feeling (Poe, 2014). The hero was punished because he fell in love with the girl in the way that people can love only God. Even the Bible says that nothing can separate a person from the love of God. The last three stanzas are a reflection of the hero’s emotions after the death of Annabel Lee. He talks about the spiritual reasons for her disease and his feelings without the beloved.
The poem celebrates the invincible love between the lyrical hero and his little childhood friend, a girl named Annabelle Lee. The children were punished, and she died because they experienced a too powerful feeling. The main idea of the poem is that love is stronger than death. However, death, taking one of the lovers, receives the second one as a gift. The hero does not live but only feels as if he has been buried together with his beloved.
References
Poe, E. A. (2014). Annabel Lee: Poem. HarperCollins.
Syafitri, D., & Marlinton, M. (2018). An analysis of figurative language used in Edgar Allan Poe’s poems. Linguistic, English Education and Art Journal, 2(1), 43-59.