Allusions In Annabel Lee

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The poem "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe, depicts the author's complex understanding of love versus death referencing the sea's unpredictable nature. Poe displays the peace and stability of love while conveying its growth. The author reminisces about the admirable life that he and his lover once had. His word choice makes others think that his once fairy-tale life feels like a joyful dream to him. He starts the poem off with the two powerful lines, “It was many and many a year ago, / In a kingdom by the sea”(1-2). Expressing stable and peaceful love, Poe uses the imagery and symbolism of the “sea”, displaying the notion that various places can grow and nurture one’s love. Afterwards the author bestows information about his lover Annabel Lee …show more content…

Repetitive emphasis of the term “love” emphasizes the devastating outcomes which arise due to the immense power the concept of love bears on others. The biblical allusion of “winged seraphs of Heaven” postulates a hyperbole as the exaggeration that their love stretches and grows to infinity because of the angels in heaven. The peaceful and powerful emotions that come with love gives it energy to grow and spread, giving many people pure happiness. Poe additionally expresses his concern on how powerful love towards others can cause death to shatter you. The ever growing love from before has caused devastation to occur: a wind blew out of a cloud, chilling My beautiful Annabel Lee … That the wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee(Poe 15-16, …show more content…

As it gets repeated twice and ominous and shocked tone emerges. To present the cause of her death Poe says, “to shut her up in a sepulchre / In this kingdom by the sea. / The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,(Poe 19-21). To exhibit the angels envying their love and attempting to cease it with means of death, the author uses the alliteration of “h” and “s”. The death of Annabel Lee causes the poem to convey a negative and devastating attitude towards death with the words “bore, shut, sepulchre, and sea”. The sea symbolizes peace before but now symbolizes the unpredictability of the ocean and love. In this line the sea displays chaos, coldness, emptiness and loneliness. Love entices other to feel other emotions much stronger. When death appears, loved ones take the brunt the most by how devastated they are and have to be strong to overcome it. Lastly, Poe exhibits his thoughts that the power of love contains the ability to withstand any chaos including death. After the devastating death, the author pulls himself back up and overcome obstacles regarding death. Poe says, “and neither the angels in Heaven above / Nor the demons down under the sea / Can ever dissever my soul from the soul”(Poe 30-32). To exemplify how nothing can stop their love, from up high to down low, Poe uses an alliteration and antithesis of “Heaven and demons” bringing back the sea