While on the outside Cynthia A. Bily remains fairly objective throughout her critical analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “Annabel Lee,” her diction and robotic examination of the poem show her negative feelings about the poem. She criticizes both the format and deeper meanings of the poem, degrading the format and judging the deep and undying passion the narrator feels for Annabel. She starts out by analyzing the surface of the poem without going into the deeper meaning of the poem. Merely observing the structure of the poem, Bily notes the generic format and simplicity of it. Describing the format of the stanzas and narration as uncomplex and straightforward, Bily’s diction seems to demean the elegance and authority of the poem, pointing
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Poe’s poem is about a deep and passionate love “that was more than love” which two people shared, and the heartbreak experienced when that love is lost, yet Bily judges the fact that “Years after her death, she is still his “darling,” his “life.”” rejecting the idea that some love never dies (Poe 9) (Bily 5). While it is not healthy for the narrator to “spends his nights lying beside Annabel Lee’s dead body,” Bily completely skips over the fact that some heartbreaks never heal and that a love “stronger by far than the love of those who were older than we, of many far wiser than we...can never dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee” (Poe 27-29; 32-33). I also do not agree with the fact that the Bily believes poem’s “popularity is probably attributable to its haunting rhythm, its lulling repetition,” because this belief was one created by only looking at the poem, and not taking in the deeper meaning of it (Bily 3). The poem was so popular because of how relatable it was to readers. Bily believes that time heals all wounds, yet she forgets that a scar is left and a constant reminder. This scar drives the narrator’s obsession with Annabel, and is relatable for the reader because letting go is hard. The theme of holding on is constant throughout the poem, and while
Poe’s poem is about a deep and passionate love “that was more than love” which two people shared, and the heartbreak experienced when that love is lost, yet Bily judges the fact that “Years after her death, she is still his “darling,” his “life.”” rejecting the idea that some love never dies (Poe 9) (Bily 5). While it is not healthy for the narrator to “spends his nights lying beside Annabel Lee’s dead body,” Bily completely skips over the fact that some heartbreaks never heal and that a love “stronger by far than the love of those who were older than we, of many far wiser than we...can never dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee” (Poe 27-29; 32-33). I also do not agree with the fact that the Bily believes poem’s “popularity is probably attributable to its haunting rhythm, its lulling repetition,” because this belief was one created by only looking at the poem, and not taking in the deeper meaning of it (Bily 3). The poem was so popular because of how relatable it was to readers. Bily believes that time heals all wounds, yet she forgets that a scar is left and a constant reminder. This scar drives the narrator’s obsession with Annabel, and is relatable for the reader because letting go is hard. The theme of holding on is constant throughout the poem, and while