Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee, Term Paper

This poem is interesting in that the poet uses humor along with images of nature to illustrate his point. For example, the poet tells us that his lover's eyes are "not at all like the sun" (Shakespeare 1). In addition, her skin is not white like snow. Furthermore, using more humor to make his point, he goes on to say that he knows very well that red roses are lovely and his lover has "no such roses in her cheeks" (6). While this poem seems like a slam on his lover's beauty, the poet is actually pointing out the power of his love with his unusual comparisons.

In "A Red, Red Rose," Robert Burns expresses the same type of sentiment as Poe does in that love is beautiful like things of nature. He wants his lover to know how much he loves her as well as be aware of how deep in love he is. The best way to express this is to use nature imagery and the poet uses beautiful imagery to express his feelings. For example, he writes that his love is like the "melodie/That's sweetly played in time" (Burns 3-4). He expresses the depth of his love by telling his lover that his love will endure even when the "a' the seas gang dry" (8) and the "rocks melt with the sun" (10). He even tells his lover that he will come to see her even if it were "ten thousand (16) miles to see her.

We have often heard that love is a many-splendored thing.Poets are notorious for attempting to reach out and express love in the most unique ways possible. Writers want to grasp new images and convey new feelings with them. Love poetry is probably the best example of the writer/poet attempting to put into words what can only be felt with the heart. Three poets that illustrate how this is done are Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare and Robert Burns. These poets utilize images of nature to express their feelings because they are reaching to describe something that is, for the most part, indescribable. Because nature is so beautiful, it only seems fitting that writers everywhere would look to it as inspiration to try to capture the essence of love. After all, nature - like love - is one thing that mankind did not create but can enjoy for a lifetime.

Works Cited

Burns, Robert. "A Red, Red Rose." Book Name. City: Press. Year.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Book Name. City: Press. Year.….....