April 3 2025 Continuation of Poe - Annabel Lee - Poem

 Silent Read 15 min.

Intro to 

Annabel Lee

Part 1: 

Discussion Questions:

1. What makes a poem haunting or emotionally powerful?
2. What do you think the poem might be about based on the title Annabel Lee?

Poe, - themes of love, loss, and the supernatural.

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Part 2: Read the Poem (15 minutes)

Handout: Full Text of Annabel Lee

Annabel Lee – Edgar Allan Poe

(First published in 1849)

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 wingèd 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 by night
Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman 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, 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 her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

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Literary Analysis 

Break students into small groups and have them discuss the following:

1. Themes & Tone:

   • What emotions does the poem evoke?
   • How does Poe describe love and loss?
   • Do you think this is a romantic poem or a tragic one?

2. Literary Devices:

   • Repetition: What words/phrases are repeated, and why?
   • Imagery: How does Poe use setting and nature to enhance the mood?
   • Rhythm & Sound: Read a stanza aloud—how does the rhythm contribute to the poem’s effect?

3. Narration & Perspective:

   • How reliable is the speaker?
   • Do you think he is mourning in a healthy way, or is there a sense of obsession?

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Answers to the above:

Themes & Tone:

• Emotions Evoked: The poem evokes deep emotions like love, sorrow, longing, and even obsession. There is a sense of both devotion and tragedy.
• Love & Loss: Poe describes love as eternal, strong, and unbreakable—even in death. However, he also portrays loss as deeply painful, almost unbearable.
• Romantic or Tragic? While the poem is about deep, passionate love, the overwhelming grief and the speaker’s fixation on Annabel Lee’s death make it feel tragic rather than purely romantic.

Literary Devices:

• Repetition: Words like "Annabel Lee," "kingdom by the sea," and "love" are repeated to emphasize the speaker's devotion and reinforce the haunting, hypnotic rhythm of the poem.
• Imagery: Poe uses the sea, the chilling wind, and the sepulchre to create an eerie atmosphere. Nature is not just a setting but a force that contributes to Annabel Lee’s fate.
• Rhythm & Sound: The poem has a musical, almost hypnotic quality. 

Narration & Perspective: FYI

• Reliability of the Speaker: His belief that angels were jealous of their love suggests an exaggerated, almost delusional perspective.
• Healthy Mourning or Obsession? The speaker does not seem to be mourning in a healthy way—his love for Annabel Lee consumes him, and he even sleeps beside her tomb. This suggests an unhealthy, obsessive grief rather than acceptance.

Segway Info: Women in Victorian Times

One of the most famous women who went undercover into a psychiatric institution during the Victorian era was Nellie Bly (born Elizabeth Cochran Seaman).

Nellie Bly’s Undercover Investigation (1887)

Nellie Bly was an investigative journalist who posed as a mentally ill woman to expose the brutal conditions in Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum in New York City. Her experience was published as Ten Days in a Mad-House (1887), a groundbreaking exposé on the mistreatment of women in asylums.

How She Got In

1. Faked Insanity – Bly checked into a women's boarding house and acted erratically, scaring other residents.

2. Committed to Blackwell’s Asylum – Doctors quickly diagnosed her as "insane" without thorough examination, demonstrating how easy it was for a woman to be institutionalized.

3. Observed the Horrific Conditions – Once inside, she found:

   • Freezing temperatures and filthy living conditions

   • Physical and verbal abuse from nurses

   • Rotten food and contaminated water

   • Isolation and forced medication

   • Perfectly sane women locked away indefinitely

The Aftermath

• Bly was released only after her newspaper intervened.

• Her report shocked the public, leading to asylum reforms and better mental health care practices.

• Ten Days in a Mad-House remains a landmark in investigative journalism and women’s rights advocacy.

Other Women Who Exposed Psychiatric Abuse

1. Elizabeth Packard (1816–1897) – Committed by her husband for disagreeing with his religious beliefs. She later fought for laws protecting women's rights in psychiatric care.

2. Dorothea Dix (1802–1887) – Though not undercover, she documented asylum conditions and advocated for mental health reform.

3. Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) – Her short story The Yellow Wallpaper was inspired by her own experience with the "rest cure", a treatment that isolated women suffering from anxiety or postpartum depression.