Edgar Allan Poe Influences

Author’s Information
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809. When he was three his parents died and the Allan family took over as a foster family. He eventually attended the University of Virginia, but had to drop out because his “father” wouldn’t pay off his gambling debts.In 1827, Ed enlisted in the United States Army. For those of you who don’t know this was because of the Civil War. Anyway during this time Edgar released his first couple of poems, such as Tamerlane, and Other Poems. After his time in the U.S. Army, Poe was admitted to the United States Military Academy, but he was forced to leave because of financial issues. After that he moved in with his Aunt Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia in Baltimore,

It’s expressed in the way the Narrator uses the symbol of the sea. Also the love of the Narrator’s life died. This leaves him with what’s left of his sanity and his anger at the world. So that’s where sadness comes in. Yes it’s sad that Annabel Lee dies, but it’s made worse when he follows her to the grave because this haunting love is something he can’t live without. The pain is too much to bare, and he would rather be “lie down by the side of ...my bride, in her sepulchre there by the sea”. ‘The Raven’ also shares this theme as well as death, and a bit of

The sea would be the biggest symbol that stands out to me. I think since we keep getting reminded of “the sea” and we see words like “chilling”, in reference to the wind which we would assume comes from “the sea”, that “the sea” represents a void possibly. And to go with that we know that Edgar Allen Poe wasn’t describing the caribbean, so the ocean was big and cold. Maybe “the sea” had to do with loneliness. What if Annabel Lee kept the loneliness at bay “by the sea”, but when she dies “her kinsman came and bore her away” from him. So he was alone in this “kingdom by the sea” once again. Another great symbol is the Angels/Seraphs. Often we don’t see these majestic creatures in such a evil/jealous light, but what can you expect from Mr. Poe. Interestingly enough the lofty seraphs are the bad guys in this sad story. For this distressed young man, I believe that the angels represents not only the cause of the sickness that took Annabel Lee but also maybe Poe is showing us what jealousy can do to relationships. Of course this is mere speculation because I’m not a professional but the fun part of poetry is each person interprets a segment