On Edgar Allan Poe
Let's gather on Halloween and read the creepy poem, "Annabel Lee," by Edgar Allan Poe!
Boo! Happy Halloween and thank you for gathering to this hallowed post on the Raven himself, Edgar Allan Poe.
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809 to parents who were actors (and fun fact, the place where he was born has not yet been converted into a Dunkin Donuts). Quickly, life was unkind to Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810 when Poe was one year old and his mother died from tuberculosis the following year, orphaning Edgar and his siblings. Edgar was sent to tobacco merchant and foster father John Allan. Poe was never legally adopted, and lived without parents for the rest of his life.
Allan sent Poe to boarding school, and after graduating he enlisted. After an honorable discharge, Poe enrolled at Army West Point, which Allan funded…for a time. Squabbles over gambling debts led to Poe’s and Allan’s estrangement that lasted until Allan’s death. Unable to leave West Point, Poe was court-martialed and dismissed after purposely ignoring his duties over months. When Poe’s foster father died, he received no inheritance from the wealthy merchant.
Now in pursuit of a career in literature, Poe moved to Baltimore, lived with family, and—after two failed marriages—found his great love.
Somehow, More Unfortunate Events
Her name was Virginia Eliza Clemm. She was Poe’s first cousin. She was 13 and Poe was 27 when they wed in Richmond, VA (it is EXTREMELY important to me and the members of gathering that YOU, reader, know that we think this arrangement is INSANE, GROSS, AND VERY ILLEGAL and despite admiring Poe’s work, he made some MONSTROUS, AWFUL decisions—our admiration of his work despite these qualities is a conversation for another day).
Though she was a child, Virginia adored her husband, and he her. In a love letter, Poe described his feelings for Virginia, saying he “loved his little cousin not only with the affection of a brother, but also with the passionate devotion of a lover and prospective husband.” Despite this love he felt for his child-bride, rumors about two sordid affairs involving Poe and two other authors circulated at the time.
As always with Poe, tragedy struck. Virginia got tuberculosis, which slowly withered her away until her early death at 24 (she did however cite Poe’s sensual letters to other women and his alleged affairs as the cause of her death, even though it was absolutely the tuberculosis). She told Poe that, after she died, she would be his guardian angel and always be by his side. When Virginia passed, Poe realized he did not have any photographs to remember her by, so he hired an artist to paint a watercolor of her corpse.
The death of Virginia sent Poe into a deep depression and he turned to alcoholism. He was found several times sleeping next to her grave, half frozen to death. Poe only survived a few meager years without her.
Many of Poe’s works focused on beautiful maidens before and after death. Biographers suspect that many of Poe’s works are semi-autobiographical, like an attempt to preserve his deceased bride in the prime of her life and grieve her untimely death. Which brings us to our poem today: “Annabel Lee.”
You can read the poem yourself below or listen to me read it to you by pressing play above.
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 wingèd 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 kinsmen 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.
A Bibliography Plagued with Misfortune
Poe loved to write about the macabre in a genre referred to as “dark romanticism.” Many suspect that this was in direct opposition to the philosophical movement of transcendentalism, or the belief that humans are intrinsically good. Poe was vehemently opposed to transcendentalism, instead writing works that showcase the worst of humanity.
Poe begins this poem as a fairytale–events took place long ago in a vague kingdom by the sea. We know very little about the narrator and his love, Annabel Lee—only that they were young and they loved each other unlike anyone had ever loved before. Despite the romantic language Poe uses in the beginning of this poem, there is a foreboding undercurrent, like something bad is about to happen; this balances out the melodrama relayed by the content of the story.
Poe offsets roughly every other line, giving the poem a sing-song rhythm. This and the rhyme scheme contribute to the fairytale tone of the poem while the content becomes grim. The love between the narrator and Annabel Lee seems obsessive. The narrator can only describe her beauty and reveals nothing else about her. Is this love shallow? He repeats over and over and over again that this love is so deep and profound that the angels in Heaven themselves are jealous.
This leads to the death of Annabel Lee—sudden, swift, and silent. She is chilled and killed, and her kinsmen take her away from the narrator. But this doesn’t stop him; he follows her to the sepulchre (a place where people lay the dead to rest) and lies next to her all night. Despite the saccharine feel that the fairytale rhythm instills in the reader, I’m chilled. He lies next to a pale, cold, dead woman while listening to the waves of the sea crash below him. He cannot part from his beloved. He’ll never leave this kingdom by the sea Unlike a fairytale, we get no happily ever after. Does he stay there and starve? Does he return every night? How long can he live with only the ghost of his love?
This poem is eerie, and this is not even close to Poe’s scariest or spookiest work. It only provides a glimmer into the depressing life that Poe lived while also showcasing his expertise over the form. No wonder he altered the course of American literature and still inspires many creatives today.
Perhaps the spirit of Poe will haunt your Halloween! Eat some candy! Trick or treat! Lie next to the dead body of your beloved! And be safe until we gather again.
If you enjoyed this poem… you can read more of Edgar Allan Poe’s poems or try his short stories here or listen to Nicolas Cage recite Poe’s poem, “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
If you are a music lover… listen to this beautiful narrative song/shanty “Another New World” which was inspired by “Annabel Lee” (this suggestion comes from gathering writer and editor, Maya).
If you want to try writing poetry… write a spooky poem! What scares you? What makes your skin shiver? What haunts your nightmares? Put it into words.