Annabel Lee Group

Question:

lilia
lilia
Student
High School - 9th Grade

The poem "Annabel Lee" is a love story, but what makes it sound like a fairytale?

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Posted by lilia on Saturday January 24, 2009 at 10:38 PM and tagged with annabel lee, style, themes, tone.

Answers:

  1. mwestwood
    mwestwood Teacher
    Community / Jr. College

    In "Annabel Lee" much of the phrasing and vocabulary is reminiscent of fairy tales.  For instance, the poem begins as do many tales with the idea of "long ago/once upon a time":

    It was many and many a year ago,/In a kingdom by the sea

    The repetition of key phrases is also typical of fairy tales for children. In Poe's poem there are several phrases repeated:  "In a kingdom by the sea," "of the beautiful Annabel Lee"; this repetition lends a musical quality to the poem just as some fairy tales have a rhythmic pattern.  In addition, there seems to be a simplicity to each stanza which contains one single idea that is also somewhat like a child's narrative.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/annabel-lee/style
    http://www.enotes.com/annabel-lee/summary-analysis
    http://www.enotes.com/annabel-lee/text-poem

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    Posted by mwestwood on Saturday January 24, 2009 at 10:59 PM