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

    eNotes Editor

    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