Literary Devices in Annabel Lee (Poem Analysis Essay)

As stated by American author Ellen Hunnicutt, "Figurative language adds pizzazz. It raises work above the plain, the dull, the ordinary." That quote displays why Edgar Allen Poe uses literary devices in "Annabel Lee." Without them, all that's left of the poem is a man blandly talking about his childhood love who died when they were young. Also, the reader would never know just how attached the main character is to Annabel because it wouldn't be clear that the protagonist's feelings for her are undying and intense.

The above shows that Poe uses literary devices in "Annabel Lee" to detail and spice up the protagonist's words to make him a captivating character. My paper proves this by analyzing two types of literary devices used in "Annabel Lee;" hyperbole and personification. A hyperbole is a statement that makes an aspect or aspects of something greater than it/they are in a way that's blatant and not meant to get accepted as the truth.

Here is an example of hyperbole in "Annabel Lee:" "And this maiden she lived with no other thought / Than to love and be loved by me" (5-6). I believe the author meant to show that Annabel deeply loved our main character and vice versa with this quote. Annabel adored him so much that she "Lived with no other thought" but "Than to love and be loved by me," and "me," which refers to the protagonist, loved her back. When Poe uses personification, he is giving human features to something not human.

An instance of personification in "Annabel Lee" gets shown here: "The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, / Went envying her and me— / Yes!—that was the reason ... / That the wind came out of the cloud by night, / Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee" (21-26). I think that the angels in this text represent the demented mind of a madman, who is the "wind," that murdered Annabel due to their envy for her strong relationship with the main character. I believe this because the "angels" act atypically by using their jealousy to get someone killed, and the death caused by the "wind" gets described as if a person had done it.

Edgar Allen Poe uses figurative language in his poem "Annabel Lee" to make it interesting for the reader. Since Poe uses hyperboles, personifications, and other literary devices, aspects of the story, like the death of Annabel and the childhood relationship she had with the protagonist, become detailed. My paper displays the importance of figurative language and proves that Poe uses it how I thought he did.