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Symbolism In Annabel Lee

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“Annabel Lee”, is a poem that was written by one of the most famous poets, Edgar Allan Poe, in 1849. Poe is known for writing poetry that connects back to events and tragedies that have happened to him in his life. “Annabel Lee” is a poem about a man who has loved a girl since they were children, however, she tragically dies. The speaker has a hard time dealing with the loss, but even her death does not keep him from not continuing to love her. In “Annabel Lee” Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism, repetition, and imagery to develop the themes of loss and mortality. Poe develops the theme of loss and mortality in “Annabel Lee” through the use of symbolism. Symbolism is the usage of an object or word that has an underlying symbolic meaning. Throughout the poem Poe repeats the line “in this kingdom …show more content…

In line 19, he wrote, “To shut her up in a sepulcher” (Poe 19). A sepulcher is a place of burial. This is a more descriptive way of saying that Annabel Lee was buried in a grave, and it allows the reader to imagine Annabel Lee’s place of burial. Also, in lines 15-16 Poe wrote, “A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling my beautiful Annabel Lee” (Poe 15-16). This can give the reader a visual image or feeling of the wind coming out of a cloud on Annabel Lee and making her sick. Lastly, in lines 11-12, Poe uses imagery by describing the angels that have come for Annabel Lee. “With a love that the winged seraphs in Heaven, coveted her and me” (Poe 11-12). This gives the reader a visual image of angels coming down from Heaven to take Annabel Lee back with them. The use of imagery by describing Annabel Lee’s place of burial, the wind that killed Annabel Lee, and the angels that took Annabel Lee to Heaven develops the theme of loss and mortality because Annabel Lee’s place of burial is where she is laid to rest and she is dead, the wind is what killed her, and the angels are what took her to Heaven after she

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