Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” was published posthumously in 1849, only two days after his death (Johnson). This poem deals with one of the author’s favorite subjects, the “death of a beautiful woman [which he believed was] unquestionably, the most poetic topic in the world” (Johnson).
Because this was Poe’s last poem to be published, many people questioned who the inspiration was for this poem. Although there were a few possible candidates, many people claimed that Virginia Clemm, Poe’s first wife, was “the only woman Poe ever loved” and must therefore have been the muse for his last poem (Jones). In fact, many interpret the line, “She was a child and I was a child,” as a hint to Virginia being Poe’s inspiration due to the fact that they were married when she was only thirteen years old, while Poe was twenty-seven, both being relatively young (Johnson). At this time, Poe had been living with his aunt, Maria Poe Clemm, and her daughter, Virginia, whom he eventually wed (“Edgar Allen Poe” 630). Unfortunately, when Virginia was only nineteen years old she began to have hemorrhages and five years later she died from tuberculosis (“Edgar Allen Poe” 631). It was said that Virginia Clemm was “the only stable element in [Poe’s] tempestuous life” and after her death he published a poem, “Ulalume,” that was inspired by his grief at the loss of his first love (“Edgar Allen Poe” 631).
Although many people believe that Virginia acted as his muse for this particular poem, there are also a few other possible candidates. Poe was later engaged at two other times in his life: first, to the poet Sarah Helen Whitman and then to Elmira Royster Shelton (“Edgar Allen Poe” 631-632). These and a few other women have either claimed to be, or were thought to be potential “Annabel Lees.”
Poe’s view on love was that it was “a spiritual passion that transcended human limits” (Johnson). Although he believed that poetry should strive towards beauty, he felt that its real topic should be love (Johnson). From this brief history of Edgar Allen Poe’s love life in reference to the poem “Annabel Lee”, we are able to see how death and love have not only had a powerful effect on his life, but also on his writing and the evident passion of his poetry.
“Edgar Allen Poe.” Author Introduction Overview. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Gen. ed. Nina Baym. 8th ed. Vol. B. New York: Norton, 2012. Print. 5 vols.
Johnson, Jeannine. “Overview of ‘Annabel Lee’.” Poetry for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 9. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.
Jones, Buford, and Kent Ljungquist. “Poe, Mrs. Osgood, and ‘Annabel Lee,’.” Studies in the American Renaissance. Ed. Joel Myerson. University Press of Virginia, 1983. 275-280. Rpt. in Poetry for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 9. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.
103A: American Literature from 1789 to 1900 
Knowing about Edgar Allan Poe’s past history with Virginia Clemm and how she died definitely gives a clearer understanding of the text. His references to a wind “chilling and killing” Annabel Lee is a probable reference to the tuberculosis Virginia died from, which is caught when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or spits and the bacteria are inhaled through the air. This, combined with the line “she was a child” gives readers reason to infer that the person he was writing about was Virginia Clemm. Without this knowledge, readers are more likely to be left in the dark about the identity of the person and may not understand where such feeling comes from. I think the fact that this poem was published two days after his death, and the whole idea that their love for each other transcends death itself, shows how much this person meant to him, even for the short time that they spent together.
It is fitting indeed that a poem about love and death should be published posthumously and perhaps have as its subject Poe’s first love. The speaker’s justification of the depth of his and Annabel Lee’s love, despite their youth, seems at odds with Poe’s statement that a beautiful, dead woman is the most poetic topic. It raises questions of: is the love shared between him and Annabel Lee stronger in life or death? Which is more beautiful/poetic to Poe, the love that they felt, or the events that led up to her death?
We see Poe’s ideas that love is “a spiritual passion that transcend[s] human limits” and that poetry should strive for depicting love evinced in the speaker’s assertion that neither angel or demon “Can ever dissever my soul from the soul/ Of the beautiful Annabel Lee” (31-32). The poetic precision of this verse, culminating in these lines, it’s rhyme scheme, sound-effects and the anapestic/amphibrachic meter that emphasizes the repeated sounds, all make this verse the most beautiful in the poem. Poetic beauty becomes one with the love in the poem, representing something as eternal and more pure even than the envious angels.
Understanding the possible inspiration for Poe’s “Annabel Lee” I think adds an extra level of pathos to the poem and gives a perspective from which his entire body of work. Comparing the fate of Annabel Lee in the poem and that of the most likely real-life muse–Virginia Clemm–reveals the personal nature of the poem. Where Sophie points out that while Poe believed “that poetry should strive towards beauty, he felt that its real topic should be love” I think is crucial to understanding and enjoying “Annabel Lee”. Poe takes the tragic and dark moments in his life and places them in a fantastical setting; the opening lines “It was many and many a year ago / in a kingdom by the sea” (1-2) send the audience back to a distant and nostalgic time, while also establishing a sense of antiquity that lends itself to the gothic tones in the poem. This, along with the supernatural “noble-winged seraphs”, extracts from the morbid narrative of the story a sense of deep passion and beauty, tinged with elements of the gothic.
Knowing the significance that Poe’s first wife, Virginia Clemm, had on his life emphasizes the passion and emotional connection to her as Annabel Lee. The fact that Virginia Clemm was, as Sophie quotes, “the only stable element in [Poe’s] tempestuous life” allows the reader to understand the type of love and relationship that Poe is writing about. After a first read, I understood that Annabel was of grave importance, but knowing that she most likely represents Virginia excludes the thought of Annabel being a simple childhood lover, or a partner of immature adolescent love, and instead represents someone more than just a wife and companion, but rather his rock, and more appropriately, his world.
Before knowing the significance of who “Annabel Lee” was, reading Poe’s poem seemed to be somewhat of a fairytale. It seemed to be an exaggeration of some lust that had fallen upon him. However, by contextualizing who Annabel Lee is (or may be) to Poe, you take the reading of the poem one step further. By bringing in parts of the reality, the character of Annabel Lee becomes more mysterious and puts the reader in the limbo of the known and unknown. You begin to want to know more about her and their relationship.The lines that particularly stood out after knowing about Virginia Clemm were the following: “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.” It all became more haunting once I knew that it was about his love of his life being taken away from him. This individual was not simply a woman that he had admired but someone who was truly everything to him. Once you contextualize the poem you truly believe that the stars had aligned for these two and once she was gone, his life broke down. You begin to understand that yes, the angels or whatever God-like entity you may believe exists in this limbo world of this poem.
While reading the poem and knowing the information about Poe’s first wife I find it very compelling to believe her to be the inspiration for the poem. It is clear that the poem involves Poe’s favorite topics of beauty, death and love. The depth of his love is visible through his way of constantly connecting himself with Annabel Lee (Virginia), everything seems to be shared between the two. For example, “I was a child and she was a child”, referencing “our love” and he often reference them as one by using “we”. Knowing the backstory of Poe’s love life it helps to create this image of Poe longing for his past love and reminiscing on past events/feelings. I am a little confused at the meaning of the “kingdom by the sea”; it is repeated 4 times throughout the poem. It adds a sense of rhythm to the poem but why is it included in the poem? One theory I suggest is that it gives a sense of a somewhat magical and mystical space. Poe creates this scene that seems to be beyond the realm of the normal and creates a space where anything can happen, great love and great pain can occur in this space. This reminds me of some of the gothic literature we have discussed in class where in the author creates a space for the unknown to occur. This I find as a clear gothic element that arises in Poe’s work. Another element of the gothic that is also present is the idea of this past event somewhat haunting Poe, the memories of the great loss of his love (Virginia) now comes back to haunt him as he nears his own death.