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How Does Poe Use Metaphors In Annabel Lee

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Nalin Khanna 8-3
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The poem Annabel Lee, by Edgar Allen Poe, focuses on the death of Annabel Lee, a beautiful woman who the narrator of the poem is in love with. The narrator is in all likelihood Poe, whose life has been ravaged by the death of the women he loved. The beautiful woman that Poe describes in Annabel Lee is likely Virginia Clemm, Poe's late wife. Throughout Annabel Lee Poe brings up the love that he and Annabel Lee share. Even after Annabel Lee is dead Poe continues to express his affection for her, in the end of the poem Poe climbs into Annabel Lee's sepulchre and lies down next to her. In Annabel Lee, Poe uses Repetition, Metaphor, and Juxtaposition to profess his powerful love for Annabel Lee.

In Annabel Lee, Poe frequently …show more content…
Poe employs metaphors to compare Annabel Lee to a physical object. This is exemplified by the following quote:"And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee" (420). In this metaphor Poe compares Annabel Lee's eyes to the stars. Poe uses this metaphor to show the reader what part of Annabel Lee he remembers most prominently after her death. There is a second way Poe uses metaphors in Annabel Lee, showed in this quote: "With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven coveted her and me"(419). Poe utilizes this metaphor to communicate to the reader the extent of the power of their love. In Annabel Lee, Poe uses metaphors in various ways, but both show Poe's powerful affection to Annabel Lee.

The third literary device Poe uses in Annabel Lee, is juxtaposition. After Annabel Lee dies, Poe continues to feel strong affection for her, Poe exemplifies this by using juxtaposition. Poe writes:"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"(420). There are two examples of juxtaposition in this quote, Poe juxtaposes "angels" and "demons, as well as "above" and "under". By juxtaposing those two things, Poe intends to tell the reader that nothing can ever stop Poe from loving Annabel

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