Text: Edgar Allan Poe, “Annabel Lee” (Comparative Text)


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Texts Represented:

  • 1849-01 - “Thompson” manuscript (September 26, 1849)
  • 1849-02 - Southern Literary Messenger (November 1849)

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Title: {{1849-01: Annabel Lee //1850-02: ANNABEL LEE }} .

Byline: {{1849-01: by Edgar A. Poe }} .

Line-01-001 It was many and many a year ago,

Line-01-002 [[indent]] In a kingdom by the sea,

Line-01-003 That a maiden there lived whom you may know

Line-01-004 [[indent]] By the name of Annabel Lee; —

Line-01-005 And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Line-01-006 [[indent]] Than to love and be loved by me.

Line-01-007 She was a child and I was a child,

Line-01-008 [[indent]] In this kingdom by the sea,

Line-01-009 But we loved with a love that was more than love —

Line-01-010 [[indent]] I and my Annabel Lee —

Line-01-011 With a love that the wingéd seraphs of Heaven

Line-01-012 [[indent]] Coveted her and me.

Line-01-013 And this was the reason that, long ago,

Line-01-014 [[indent]] In this kingdom by the sea,

Line-01-015 A wind blew out of a cloud by night

Line-01-016 [[indent]] Chilling my Annabel Lee;

Line-01-017 So that her high-born kinsmen came

Line-01-018 [[indent]] And bore her away from me,

Line-01-019 To shut her up, in a sepulchre

Line-01-020 [[indent]] In this kingdom by the sea.

Line-01-021 The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

Line-01-022 [[indent]] Went envying her and me {{1849-01: : — // 1849-02: ; }}

Line-01-023 Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,

Line-01-024 [[indent]] In this kingdom by the sea)

Line-01-025 That the wind came out of the cloud, chilling

Line-01-026 [[indent]] And killing my Annabel Lee.

Line-01-027 But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Line-01-028 [[indent]] Of those who were older than we —

Line-01-029 [[indent]] Of many far wiser than we —

Line-01-030 And neither the angels in Heaven above

Line-01-031 [[indent]] Nor the demons down under the sea

Line-01-032 Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Line-01-033 [[indent]] Of the beautiful Annabel Lee: —

Line-01-034 For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Line-01-035 [[indent]] Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

Line-01-036 And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes

Line-01-037 [[indent]] Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

Line-01-038 And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Line-01-039 Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride

Line-01-040 [[indent]] In her sepulchre there by the sea —

Line-01-041 [[indent]] In her tomb by the side of the sea.

 


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Notes:

For an explanation of the formatting used in this Comparative Text, see editorial policies and methods. This format is very much an experiment, particularly for poetry.

The byline was omitted from the printed text because it was part of an article on Poe, and thus not necessary.

 

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[S:0 - comparative] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Poems - Annabel Lee (Comparative Text - Sartain MS and Sartain's Magazine)