<Tr> <Th> Read online </Th> <Td> Annabel Lee at Wikisource </Td> </Tr> <P> "Annabel Lee" is the last complete poem composed by American author Edgar Allan Poe . Like many of Poe's poems, it explores the theme of the death of a beautiful woman . The narrator, who fell in love with Annabel Lee when they were young, has a love for her so strong that even angels are envious . He retains his love for her even after her death . There has been debate over who, if anyone, was the inspiration for "Annabel Lee". Though many women have been suggested, Poe's wife Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe is one of the more credible candidates . Written in 1849, it was not published until shortly after Poe's death that same year . </P> <P> The poem's narrator describes his love for Annabel Lee, which began many years ago in a "kingdom by the sea". Though they were young, their love for one another burned with such an intensity that angels became envious . It is for that reason that the narrator believes the seraphim caused her death . Even so, their love is strong enough that it extends beyond the grave and the narrator believes their two souls are still entwined . Every night, he dreams of Annabel Lee and sees the brightness of her eyes in the stars . Every night he lies down by her side in her tomb by the sea . </P> <P> Like many other Poe poems including "The Raven", "Ulalume", and "To One in Paradise", "Annabel Lee" follows Poe's favorite theme: the death of a beautiful woman, which Poe called "the most poetical topic in the world". Like women in many other works by Poe, she is struck with illness and marries young . The poem focuses on an ideal love which is unusually strong . In fact, the narrator's actions show that he not only loves Annabel Lee, but he worships her, something he can only do after her death . The narrator admits that he and Annabel Lee were children when they fell in love, but his explanation that angels murdered her is in itself childish, suggesting he has failed to mature since then . His repetition of this assertion suggests he is trying to rationalize his own excessive feelings of loss . </P>

In her tomb by the sounding sea poe