Lesson Plan
First the students would be asked what the poem is about?
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1)Who is Annabel Lee?
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2)What is the relationship between the character speaking and the subject of the poem?
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3)How did Annabel Lee die?
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4)Did Annabel Lee die?
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5)What was Annabel Lee’s social class? (3rd stanza, 5th line: “so that her high born kinsmen came and bore her away from me”).
The next set of questions we would explore is: how did this speaker die?
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1)Did he commit suicide, or die of a broken heart?
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2)Did he die “inside”, feeling that he was just a shell without the love he once had?
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3)Did he belong to a lower class than Annabel Lee, admiring her from afar, knowing that some day she would marry in her own class and he would never see her again?
Annabel Lee is one of my favorite poems. I feel that it is bittersweet. The rhythm of the poem flows back and forth in a sing-song style. The words are sad and harsh with an accusing tone. The combination is wonderful.
Again students would break into groups, and based on their interpretation each group would recite the poem according to how they view the speaker.
