Monday, September 3, 2012

The poem "Annabel Lee" is a love story, but what makes it sound like a fairytale?

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.

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