ENGLISH 102 / Poetry explication

English 102 / Poetry explication. Poems written by Edgar Allen Poe are quite brilliant. Two of the most famous poems by Poe are The Raven and Annabel Lee. Both poems are primarily about the loss of a woman who is very dear to the narrator. The two poems exhibit similarities and differences in their plot development, structure and the mood that is portrayed.
The Raven and Annabel Lee have similar schemes. They are primarily about the aftermath of the loss of a woman who is the narrator’s love of his life. The audience, however, has no idea as to whether the maiden in the poems loved the narrator back or not. It is quite clear that the narrator in both poems is head over heels in love, even to the point of obsession with the woman.
The two poems both have captivating rhyme schemes and insistent meter. Through an in-depth analysis of the two poems, the observation is apparent that he whom Edgar Allen Poe had chosen for the narrator, the sound effects and tone are the factors that make the two poems similar in mood. The two poems tend to have a similar meaning while following the same theme. They both depict a severely depressed narrator grieved by the death of a beautiful woman. To express the love between Annabel Lee and the speaker, the narrator says that the maiden lived with the thought to love and be loved by him (3). This illustration clearly portrays his intense burning love for Annabel Lee.
In both poems, the speakers are deeply grieved by the death of the woman and thus portray a grim mood.

The narrator in The Raven tends to be nearly moved to utter madness by his heartache and grief. The speaker in the Raven proclaims that upon a midnight dreary, as he pondered weak and tired over a quaint and curious amount of forgotten lore (1-2). He is apparently depressed over the death of Lenore. The narrator in Annabel Lee portrayed his grief when he said that neither the demons under the sea nor the angels in heaven could ever part his soul from the gorgeous Annabel Lee (15-16). These illustrations clearly show their frustration and their hanging on to the precious memory of their special maiden.
Despite the various similarities portrayed by both poems, there lie a couple of differences. Annabel Lee begins in a cheerful mood like a typical fairy tale as depicted by the narrator when he said that it was many years in the past in a kingdom by the sea (1). The word kingdom and the whole line, in general, tend to make the reader think about a fairy tale. The tone, however, develops to sound mean and evil. The narrator goes on to proclaim that the angels who were not very happy in heaven envied the love that he shared with Annabel Lee (11). The speaker is portraying the angels as jealous and cruel. The Raven, on the other hand, starts with on a sad note in its depiction of a somber mood. The narrator states that upon a midnight dreary as he pondered weak and weary over a quaint and unusual amount of forgotten lore (1-2). There is also a hint of a mysterious mood in this illustration. The speaker is clearly distraught and weak, and as it continues further, it gets more dismal. The narrator showed this melancholy mood when he said that he stood for a long time in darkness doubting, wondering, fearing, and dreaming dreams no mortal soul ever dared to dream (23-24). He is looking into a dark hallway with scary thoughts encompassed in his mind.
The narrators in the two poems handle the grief of losing their loved ones in a very different manner. Upon Annabel Lee’s death, the speaker lies next to her in her tomb. The narrator proclaimed that his darling was his life and bride, and in her tomb by the side of the sea (598). Despite the narrator’s loss of his lady, he portrays an optimistic mood in his reaction since, despite his grief, he comforts himself knowing she would always be with him. He lies down with her in her tomb because he loved her very much. The narrator in The Raven, on the other hand, handles grief very differently. When the love of his life dies, a raven flies into the room, which is a symbol of the memory of his dead lady. The memory of his dead lady haunts him, and his tone turns to a fearful one as he wants to get his mind off of his dead wife. For example, the narrator responded to the memory of his dead wife to take a break out of his heart and form from his door (56). He wanted the Raven to leave. However, it continued to sit there.
The two poems by Edgar Poe have not only some similarities but also a couple of differences in the mood as illustrated.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar. “Annabel Lee.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Poe, Edgar. “Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe – Poestories.com.” Poestories. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Poe, Edgar. “Annabel Lee Poem.” Poemhunter.com. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Poe, Edgar. “The Raven.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Poe, Edgar. “The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe – Poestories.com.” Poestories. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Poe, Edgar Allan. Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1966. Print.