Podcast Essay | Teen Ink

Podcast Essay

June 3, 2024
By SebastianMoreno BRONZE, Winnetka, California
SebastianMoreno BRONZE, Winnetka, California
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In Edgar Allan Poe's tearful and heartfelt poem. “Annabel Lee,” the speaker’s keen and profound love and overall loss are conveyed through the many impactful uses of literary devices, emphasizing the eternal nature of their connection. Poe uses and engages in vivid imagery in order to establish a sort of “graceful” setting that reflects their heavenly if not celestial quality of their love, while personification uses antagonism against their bond. Furthermore, it is this captivating rhythm of the poem which embodies the speaker's unwavering and love guided dedication that the speaker has, transcending the inevitability of death. Through these different techniques, Poe invites us readers to empathize with the depth of the speaker’s emotions and contemplate the transcendent power of love


In “Annabel Lee '' Edgar Allan Poe’s incredible use of imagery significantly contributes to the emotional death and captivating nature of the poem in general, as emphasized in our podcast discussion. A notable example from the poem would be “For the moon never shines without bringing me dreams of the beautiful Annabel Lee”.  This imagery vividly portrays this hard and enduring impact of lost love and how even the smallest things can invoke such powerful emotions and memories. The poem takes readers such as ourselves on a moving journey through deep love, loss and longing, emphasizing the profound influence that love has on our lives and memories. Throughout the poem, Poe’s use of vivid images transports readers into a realm full of profound emotions, effectively conveying the lasting effects of love. Another instance of powerful imagery can be found in the description of the “kingdom by the sea,” which serves as a sort of backdrop for the speaker’s memories of Annabel Lee. Along with this, it is the “celestial” and beautiful setting which mirrors the transcendent quality of their love, further enhancing the emotional resonance of the poem. As discussed in our podcast, Poe’s skillful incorporation of imagery not only engages readers but also deepens our understanding of love’s transcendent qualities. This makes “Annabel Lee” a compelling and emotionally impactful piece that invites readers to reflect on the power of love and its ability to shape our lives.

 

Edgar Allan Poe employs the poetic technique known as repetition to emphasize the intensity of the narrator's emotions, this begins to go more and more into the many sides of love. As gone over in the podcast, the recurrent use of words such as “Lee,” “sea,” “me,” and “we” not only contributes to the rhyme scheme constantly occurring in the poem but also reveals the speaker’s profound obsession with Annabel Lee’s death. This repetition creates a sense of desperation, suggesting that the speaker is attempting to convince if not persuade themselves that their love is powerful enough to transcend mortality. Poe’s skillful use of repetition creates a fascinating rhythm as it invites readers to immerse themselves in the emotional turmoil experienced by the speaker. This technique effectively enhances the connection between the speaker’s emotions and the reader, making the poem more engaging and immersive. While the repetitive elements in the poem highlight the theme of eternal love, they also subtly caution any readers about any possible potential dangers of excessive emotional attachment, which is what I like about Edgar Allan Poe’s possible “secret” messages. As a result of this Poe’s implementation of repetition invites  readers to revisit the concept of  love from different perspectives. Ultimately, Poe again, utilizes repetition to challenge readers to delve deeper into the complexities that love had and to consider the fine line between the true beauty of emotions and what could be an emotional shattering power of such profound emotions. By doing so, the poem “Annabel Lee” offers a unique perspective on the subject of love, as it urges readers to reflect on their own experiences and perceptions of this emotion of love which affects everybody around the world.

 

In conclusion, Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee” creates a sense of eeriness through its depiction of a type of possessive love, supernatural elements, with the enduring power of love that transcends death. While sharing themes of love and loss with Poe’s other work. Both “The Raven,” and “Annabel Lee” create distinct atmospheres. “Annabel Lee” primarily obtains its creepy tone from the speaker’s obsessive devotion along with otherworldly influences on the lover’s relationship, whereas, “The Raven” goes into the unsettling depths of grief and madness. Ultimately, Poe’s mastery of evoking powerful emotions through vivid imagery and darth themes seems to remain well known in both works, as it fosters an enduring legacy of captivating yet disturbing poetry.


Works Cited & Consulted (May 10)

 

“Class Podcasts.” The Writers of Rohan, Sebastian Moreno and Gavin Koo, 24 Apr. 2024, www.thewritersofrohan.com/english-9-class-podcasts/episode/f6f069e5/gavin-and-sebastian-or-poetry-analysis-project-or-period-3. Accessed 19 May 2024.

 

N/A. “Annabel Lee: Key Poetic Devices.” SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/poetry/annabel-lee/poetic-devices/. Accessed 19 May 2024.

 

Biography.com Editors. “Edgar Allan Poe - Poems, the Raven & Quotes.” Biography, 8 Oct. 2021, www.biography.com/authors-writers/edgar-allan-poe. Accessed 19 May 2024.


Poe, Edgar Allan. “Annabel Lee.” Poetry Foundation, 1849, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44885/annabel-lee. Accessed 19 May 2024.


The author's comments:

Well, while writing I used bits and pieces from a podcast I made a couple of days before, I used this podcast in order to help me analyze and enjoy the poem "Annabel Lee", I read this poem for the first time in 7th-8th grade, and have re-read it in 9th! Very interesting!


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