I remember watching a certain movie while waiting in a doctor’s office one day. The wait was really long, and since there were a ton of books and toys nearby, I decided to play with them. Someone turned the TV on, and at first, I ignored it. But when I looked up and saw the movie, I was intrigued. At first, I thought it was a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but as the movie continued, and my hopes of a happy ending were repeatedly dashed, I finally realized what would happen. I cried, really hard in fact. Even so, it was a beautiful story, one that I continue reading to this day. That movie was about a certain poem called Annabel Lee, a poem by Edgar Allen Poe.

The poem is about a nameless narrator who fell in love with a woman named Annabel Lee. Seemingly, this young woman returned the narrator’s feelings. However, the angels in heaven were jealous of their love and killed Annabel Lee. Despite this, the two still loved each other, even after death, and so to express his love the narrator decides to lie beside her in her tomb.

Annabel Lee follows one of Poe’s fascinations; the death of a beloved woman. During Poe’s life, many important women in his life died right in front of him, including his mother and his wife. Because of the pain, it’s no surprise he believed that the love between two people could be so strong that it would transcend death. And that’s what this poem focuses on; a perfect love, one comparable to that of religion. Not only does the narrator love Annabel Lee, but he worships her, so much so that when she dies, he believes that the angels took her away from him. He repeats the famed Annabel Lee’s name in various places in the poem, unable to let go of his own love, to mature, for that matter. This reflects the instability in Poe’s own life, as well as his longing for love.

The poem was well-loved by its creator. Poe made sure that the poem would be published by giving it to various people and even selling it to Sartain’s Union Magazine. Despite the fact that the poem was published only after Poe’s death, it ironically garnered success. The poem was adapted many times into films, music, and books. For instance, Stevie Nicks recorded the poem for her album In Your Dreams. Henry David Leslie, a composer, composed a ballad for this poem. Cassandra Clare, the author of The Mortal Instruments series, used this poem as inspiration for another book, Lady Midnight. There’s even a video game titled The Dark Eye, which is loosely based on the poem.

Annabel Lee is a tragic poem about a young man who succumbs to his passion for his childhood love. He really does take his love well into the grave, promising to be with her, reassuring himself that no force is strong enough to tear them apart. He describes a morbid love that can only be replayed in Gothic romances, dark thrillers, and, very rarely, the sick recesses of a criminal gone insane. Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful story, one that will continue to be appreciated by the generations to come.