“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.
1. Number the lines by 5’s.
2. Read the poem; circle unknown words. Use context clues to define them.
3. What happened to Annabel Lee? 4. Who took Annabel Lee away? 5. Where did they put Annabel Lee?
6. What do you think caused
Annabel Lee’s death?
7. Who does the narrator blame for Annabel Lee’s death? Why?
8. What has the narrator done since Annabel Lee’s death?
9. What is the narrator’s conflict in the poem?
10. What is the mood of the poem? Why?
11. What is the tone of the poem? List specific proof from the poem to
support your answer.
1. Lines 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60
2. Annabel, maiden, sepulchre, seraphs, covet, kinsmen, dissever, bright, tides, tomb, sounding
3. Annabel Lee died
4. Annabel Lee's "highborn kinsmen" took her away
5. They put Annabel Lee in a sepulchre/tomb by the sea
6. It is not explicitly stated in the poem what caused Annabel Lee's death, but it can be inferred that the chill wind blowing out of a cloud had a role to play.
7. The narrator blames the angels and the demons for Annabel Lee's death because they were envious of their love.
8. Since Annabel Lee's death, the narrator has been dreaming of her and visiting her tomb every night.
9. The narrator's conflict is between his deep love for Annabel Lee and the forces that separated them, ultimately resulting in her death.
10. The mood of the poem is melancholic and mournful. This is because the narrator is grieving the loss of his beloved and the poem is filled with themes of death and separation.
11. The tone of the poem is both nostalgic and passionate. The narrator reminisces about his love for Annabel Lee and expresses his intense emotions. Proof from the poem includes lines such as "But we loved with a love that was more than love" and "For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee."