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 by 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 her sepulchre there by the sea
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
The second poem I would like to discuss is “Lord Walter’s Wife”, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. This poem is written in rhyme verse. It is written in a narrative form. Two characters are talking to one another. This makes it the same as a script, for each actor would have their own lines to memorize. I would incorporate some history along with this poem. Since the setting is England, 1862, it would be a good idea to show students some pictures of women’s and men’s fashion of that time. In line Eighteen, “You kissed my fan when I dropped it. No matter! I’ve broken the thing.” Fans were a very important part, not only of women’s fashions, but to their body language as well. There are several ways of interpreting the characters in this poem. The female character, Lord Walter’s wife, may feel she is engaging in some harmless flirtation. She may also be flattered by the attention she is receiving. The male character may feel that his charm has captured her attention. He might have felt that she would not respond to him but when she started to do so he became unsure of her intentions and his own charm.
The same misunderstandings happen today. A man may feel he knows a woman (her type) by the way she dresses, her body language and assumed attitude. The same goes for women who feel they know a particular type of man. It would further our Understanding of the poem to discuss these matters.