One theme of this poem
addresses the endurance and strength of love. The speaker of the
poem feels that he and his lover, the titular , actually "loved with a love that was more
than love"; he seems to believe that they are soulmates, that their souls can never be
"dissever[ed]," even in death. He believes that the love they share is so special that
not even the angels could understand it, and so they "coveted" this love; however, no
angels or demons can do anything to separate their two souls, even though, he believes, the
angels sent the wind that was responsible for "Chilling and killing" the beautiful and
young Annabel Lee.
We can also learn from the poem, however, that
an obsession with mortality can lead to some strange and perverse
behaviors. For example, the narrator seems unable to let go of the loss of his
lover, and he looks for someone to blame for her death; having no other option, it seems, he
chooses to blame the angels (which contradicts what most people who believe in angels would
suggest about them). In the end, he says that he goes to her tomb, where her body was interred
upon her death, and he "lie[s] down by [her] side." Now, we likely sympathize with him
up until now: he is in love and he has lost the woman he believes to be his soulmate. This is,
by all accounts, incredibly sad. However, learning that he goes to sleep by her dead body within
her tomb every night likely changes our perspective. Love is wonderful, and it is heartbreaking
to lose a loved one, but we also have to recognize that we continue to live, even
when they die.
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