How would you define the speakers love for Annabel lee ?
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174151
Were they married?
Were they engaged to be married?
Were they simply lovers?
It's pretty clear this isn't about a father-daughter love!
What else can you think of?
How would YOU define this love?
I'll be glad to comment on your answer.
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.
To define the speaker's love for Annabel Lee in the poem by Edgar Allan Poe, we can analyze the text and explore the emotions and expressions conveyed by the speaker. The speaker's love for Annabel Lee is characterized by a fervent and deep emotional attachment, bordering on obsession and a sense of eternal devotion.
To understand this, let's look at some key lines and phrases from the poem.
First, the speaker describes Annabel Lee as his "beautiful Annabel Lee." The use of the possessive pronoun "my" suggests a strong sense of ownership and a deep personal connection to her. This indicates that the speaker's love for Annabel Lee is intimate and intense.
The speaker goes on to express that his love for Annabel Lee was so strong that it continued even after her death. He says, "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—" These lines indicate that their love surpassed the boundaries of normal human emotions, transcending into a mysterious and extraordinary realm.
Furthermore, the speaker claims that the angels in heaven were envious of their love and were responsible for taking Annabel Lee away from him. This emphasizes the speaker's belief in the rarity and intensity of their connection, as well as the tragic nature of their separation.
Overall, the speaker's love for Annabel Lee can be defined as a profound emotion that surpasses the boundaries of mortal existence. It is characterized by possession, profound connection, and a sense of eternal devotion that persists even after death.