Destiny Hagenow
Betsy Goetz
Intro to Literary Theory
February 29, 2016
Applying Literary Theory:
Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
Reading a literary work can be difficult and frustrating. However, with the right tools, a reader can easily discover hidden meanings and maybe even obvious ideas that weren’t initially identified. Literary theories can be immensely helpful when trying to understand a piece of literature. Using feminist analysis and psychoanalytic analysis, a reader can effectively analyze a text to identify literary themes and ideas and gain a better understanding of social and cultural systems of a time period, while also gaining insight into an author’s beliefs and ideology.
In order to fully understand a text, a reader must understand the author of a text. Edgar Allan Poe is an American author from the Romantic era of literature. He’s well known for his mysterious short stories and poems. His life was almost as mysterious as his literary works.
Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809 as the second son to parents who were actors. His life took its first ugly turn when his father abandoned the family in 1810 and his mother died the following year. Poe was orphaned, but soon taken in by John and Frances Allan in Richmond, Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia for one semester, but he was forced to drop out because of money issues. The money issues strained his relationship with his foster father John Allan. in 1827, Poe joined the Army under the assumed name Edgar A. Perry, and, while he was enlisted, he published his first collection of poems. After failing as an officer’s cadet at West Point, Poe decided to write full-time. He worked for various literary journals and periodicals and lived in various cities (Poe's Life, Legacy, and Works).
In 1835, Poe married Virginia Clemm, his 13 year-old cousin. In 1845, Poe published his poem“The Raven” and became an instant success. However, a couple years later, Virginia died of tuberculosis. Poe was devastated and his drinking became more frequent (Poe's Life, Legacy, and Works). In 1849, a man found Poe in the streets of Baltimore delirious and brought him to the hospital. Poe was never coherent enough to explain his condition to physicians. He continuously called out for a mystery man named “Reynolds,” and was strangely wearing clothes that weren’t is own. Poe died of an unknown death a few days later at age 40. Historians have various theories as to how Poe died: alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drug-use, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and the list goes on and on (Gieling).
Edgar Allan Poe was known for his distinct literary style. Most of his works are considered Dark Romanticism because of their mysterious and grotesque nature. Poe disliked Transcendentalism and allegory, but his works are rich with irony. He often used themes that dealt with death: Physical signs of death, the effects of decomposition, premature burial, reanimation of the dead, & mourning. Beyond horror, Edgar Allan Poe wrote satires, humor tales, and hoaxes (Poe's Life, Legacy, and Works).
Using feminist principles and ideology to critique literature is a great tool, if a reader is trying to analyze a literary work. Feminist analysis theory is used to describe and analyze the ways in which literature portrays the narrative of male domination in regard to females by exploring the economic, social, political, and psychological forces embedded within literature. This theory is used by readers to ask new questions of old texts. Patriarchy, the social structure empowering men throughout much of history, has come under intense critical scrutiny. Feminist theory looks at literature with a new lense to discover and analyze gender inequality and oppression (Hall).
In the poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator never gives a physical description of Annabel Lee (Poe). He only refers to her as beautiful. According to the narrator, she apparently didn’t have any skills worth mentioning other than her beauty. To a reader, this beauty seems a little too good to be true. Looking at this poem, it’s easily known that the narrator was obsessed with her, but why? Only because she was beautiful? What about her personality or her dreams? The poem only talks of her beauty (Poe).
The narrator claims, “And this maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me (Poe).” At first, this sounds like a sweet sentiment, but I see it differently when using the Feminist lense. She lived only for him? This sounds an awful lot like literature from a time of patriarchal oppression. In this time, women were often solely homemakers and baby makers. For a male to say that her only thoughts were of him, it seems a little sexist and self-centered, but this was a normal attitude for the time period. However, does this idea reflect Poe’s personal views or is he only reflecting society’s views?
The purpose of Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism theory is to make a psychoanalysis on the author of a story or of the characters involved in a story. Using this theory, we take a look at the author and characters and determine whether they exhibit any of Freud’s concepts like an Oedipus complex, penis envy, Freudian slips, and other concepts to see how they influence a character’s behavior and thoughts within a story. This theory can help readers figure out certain themes, symbols, behavior, and settings within a literary work (Hall).
In Annabel Lee, the narrator states that they were young lovers by stating, “I was a child and she was a child (Poe).” Is the narrator referring to a young age or being young at heart? That line reminds me of Poe’s own life, because he married Virginia when she was only 13 years-old. Is Annabel Lee based on Poe’s own lost love? By him referring to himself as young, does that mean maturity wise or childlike love?
This poem is interesting because love has made the narrator who he is, but love has also clearly ruined his life. One day he's a happy young guy with a girlfriend he loves a lot, the next thing we know she’s dead and he’s sleeping next to her tomb, “And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride, in her sepulchre there by the sea- In her tomb by the sounding sea (Poe).” This can be read as a romantic gesture, because he just can’t go on without her or without being near her. After thinking about it from the psychoanalytic lense, I can’t help but think this guy needs counseling. Poe was known for writing stories with death as a theme. Could this stem from Poe’s environment growing up? He was left an orphan because his father left and his mother died. A foster family raised him, but Poe had a strained relationship with his foster father over money issues. Later, his beloved wife dies of tuberculosis, which left Poe alone again. Poe lived through many deaths, and that could be what triggered his stories and poems with death as a theme.
After reading this poem using the psychoanalytic theory, the narrator seems a bit insane. I don’t know if that’s just Poe reflecting his own feelings of grief, but I know I would feel so isolated and hurt if my husband died. However, Annabel Lee seems mostly like a fantasy girl that someone made up in their minds, which clicks with the setting with the whole fantastical kingdom by the sea and how she’s referred to as a beautiful “maiden (Poe).” The narrator also believes angels in heaven envy their love and that demons and angels want to seperate their love, “And neither the angels in Heaven above nor the demons down under the sea can ever dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee (Poe).” This just adds to the fantastical element that this story may just be in someone’s head. Maybe he actually sees these “demons down under the sea.” Is it beautiful imagery and symbolism or a delirious man’s hallucinations?
The first time I read Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe I thought it was so romantic and beautiful, but, after analyzing the poem further, it has an obsessive tone that is on the verge of creepy. This is why using literary theories can help readers deepen their understanding of a text and its author. When I read difficult literary works, I know I’ll keep the various literary theories in mind as I read. It can help uncover aspects of a text that I had never noticed the first time I read the text.
Works Cited
"Poe’s Life." Edgar Allan Poe Museum : Poe's Life, Legacy, and Works: Richmond, Virginia.
N.p., 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2016. <http://www.poemuseum.org/>.
Gieling, Natasha. "The (Still) Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe." Smithsonian. N.p.,
Oct. 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2016. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/still-mysterious-death-edgar-allan-poe-180952936/?no-ist>.
Hall, Donald E. Literary and Cultural Theory: From Basic Principles to Advanced Applications.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Editorial. 1849: n. pag. Poetry Foundation. Poetry
Foundation. Web. 23 Feb. 2016. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174151>.
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