I now blog over at The Eyre Guide! This blog is an archive of my past posts.


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Highlight Poetry (9)

Posted by Charlene // Tags: ,
highlight poetry
Highlight Poetry is a meme created by Lace & Lavender Hints to celebrate a poem once a week.

Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love--
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me--
Yes!--that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we--
Of many far wiser than we--
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling--my darling--my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Oh the cadence of this poem - probably the thing that strikes me the most - how fun it is to recite this poem aloud.  This has been a favorite of mine ever since I was young.  It is very melancholy and depressing isn't it?  I am sure I was not unhappy when I was a child (and she was a child).  I think the love that endures after death is haunting and beautiful and that might have appealed to me then.  I find the idea of angels being jealous of humans very interesting now - the very idea that angels can be jealous of humans at all - and romantic love as such a potent and desirable thing that all crave it.  

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6 comments:

  1. When I was a rough-and-tumble 5th grader decrying being forced to read Dickens as "cruel and unusual punishment," a most enlightened teacher (God bless you, Mrs. Warner, you'd probably be fired today) handed me a copy of the Collected Works of Poe with the admonition that "these, too, are classics." A young boy's mind expanded in wonder at The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Telltale Heart, and yes, the beautiful Annabel Lee. That boy moved on the inhale Verne, absorb Wells, and assimilate Kipling. A lifetime of pleasure began with a small book that included this poem, and I don't know that that would have happened had I been force-fed the crashing bores of mainstream classical literature.

    Thank you for a lovely trip down memory lane. I, too, was struck by the cadences of this poem, and reciting it, I was 11 again, if only for a moment. Wonderful taste, M'Lady!

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    1. You had a great teacher! I'm just realizing that this poem is a good gateway drug to the classics. :) Thanks for reading and commenting as always Jack!

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  2. I remember reading this poem in 6th or 7th grade. I absolutely loved it - it's so haunting and lyrical. The words of this poem fit together right in my mouth. Thank you for reminding me of it!

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    1. So glad to remind you of a great classic poem. :) Thanks for commenting!

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  3. I loved this poem so much! I am planning to do 'The Raven' at some point..I think it's on Halloween that I have it on my schedule..but actually this is my favorite of his poems!

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    1. Oh I was thinking of doing the Raven too! It's another fave. I don't even schedule these! I just pick one a few days ahead and post it! I should think of following some sort of theme though!

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