Luis Hoyos

3-20-16

ENG1121-D465

Textual analysis essay

Title in progress

“If the people we love are stolen from us the way to have them live on is never stop loving them” if you have ever lost anyone you love this quote from James O’Barr may be meaningful to you. A work of literature that may also interest anyone who has ever lost someone they love is the poem “Annabel Lee” written by Edgar Allen Poe. In this poem Poe speaks of his own personal experience with the loss of a loved one. The reason this work of literature may be helpful to anyone that has lost someone is because it is very relatable Poe uses a lot of symbolism in his poem to give it more meaning. The topics that Edgar Allen Poe brings up in his poem are love, the symbol of Annabel Lee and envy and how they all are a factor in losing a loved one and finding a way to cope with that loss.

My definition of love is someone or something that you feel a large amount of affection for this affection creates a bond between the two members involved. When this bond is lost through death in any manner many people find different ways to cope with the loss but in the poem it states just because your loved one has died does not mean that they are gone they can continue to live on through your love. An instance of this in the poem is when Poe states “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.” In this stanza of the poem Poe shows us that even though the person he loves is dead that their bond still continues through him continuing to love her. He also says “But we loved with a love that was more than love—” this shows how strong their love was and because of that reason their bond was able to last even through death .This is the way that Poe chose to cope. Even though he was coping he could not deny that he was lonely.

The most prominent symbol in the poem is Annabel Lee the love of Poe yet it is strange that in the entire poem there is little to no description of the most important person in Poe’s life at that time. The reason Poe did not put a face to Annabel Lee is because she was not meant to only be one person. The poem is meant to help people who have also lost a loved one and are trying to cope. Annabel Lee does not only represent the loved one that Poe lost but she represents any loved one that was ever lost by anyone who reads the poem. Annabel Lee is anyone that the reader wants her to be because of the lack of description. “For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee” this line of the poem is a great example to show that Annabel Lee can be anyone as when you lose someone who you it is very hard to not think of that person constantly. Poe also brings up “as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea” showing that this poem was not only meant to be for himself but it was meant to help anyone who is going through a similar situation as he was.

The last topic that is brought up in Poe’s poem is envy this is a very important topic in the poem. Poe shows us that envy is a terrible trait to have in any aspect but especially if you envy someone else’s love.” The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, Went envying her and me—” in this line we see that the innocent love of two children was envied by angels and this lead to a terrible circumstance. The envy of the angels led to the death of Poe’s loved one Annabel Lee. The reason Poe shows us this is because he wants to us to know that there will always be someone who want the love that we have and it may end up in a bad situation just like his.

In conclusion the poem Annabel lee is a great piece of literature to take into account for anyone who has ever lost anyone because he brings up the topics of love envy and the symbol of Annabel lee to be relatable. The reason Poe wrote this poem was to help anyone who is going through the same difficulties that he went through. But this poem is not only useful for people who have lost someone they love but also people that know someone who has and wants to help them by being able to experience what loss is.