Thursday, May 31, 2007

Annabel Lee



It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me -
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud one night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we -
Of many far wiser than we -
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;

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling -my darling -my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea -
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

by Edgar Allan Poe Share

7 comments:

Michelle Therese said...

AGGG! Poe!!! I used to have nightmares after being forced to read some of his poetry in school.

Rachi said...

I love Edgar Allan Poe's poems- been a while since I've read them- thanks for posting!

God Bless
love Rachel xoxo

elena maria vidal said...

But Coffee!! This is one of his romantic poems!!

Thanks, Rachi, I had not read it in awhile. But yesterday a friend came for lunch and we ended it by reading poetry. She read "Annabel Lee" and had us both in tears. It is truly a beautiful poem.

Anonymous said...

Elena Maria,

I love this painting. Do you know the title and artist?

Thanks for your wonderful blog,

Julianne

elena maria vidal said...

Yes, Julianne, it is Lord Frederic Leighton "Painter's honeymoon." Thank you!

Anonymous said...

+JMJ+

Coffee Wife:

A few years ago, the Third Years in my high school also had to memorise Annabel Lee; but they had fun because they had to perform it as a rap song. (Hmmm . . . Is "rap song" an oxymoron?)

There was even an interclass competition for the best arrangement and performance. It proved so popular that anyone who remembers it (even those who weren't Third Years) will say "Annabel Lee" as "Annabel L-E-E," as the winning rappers did! :P

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info on Leighton's painting, Elena. I'd like to try to buy a print.

Julianne