For Annie

“For Annie” is a very great poem that remained unpublished. Later Edgar Allan Poe published it in the ‘Flag of Our Union’. This poem is written for Nancy L who got married to a man.

She changed her name to Annie after her husband’s death. Maybe for that reason, Edgar Allan Poe writes this poem to her.

Summary of Poem “For Annie”

This is a long poem that contains deep meaning. In the first stanza, Poe is thanking to let the dangerous situation pass easily. The lingering illness is passed after so long.

“The fever called “Living”
Is conquered at last.”

So, the illness is of living but there are no straight points the living is for what. The poet is feeling well because the headache of living illness is gone. The first stanza ends here with this note.

In the next stanza, he says that he gets to know sadly that he is shorn of his own length. He is moving his muscles as he is lying in a state.

For Annie
For Annie

He further states that he is okay with the posture into that he is lying and he is better with his length. Maybe the poet is talking about his height.

“And I rest so composedly,
Now, in my bed,
That any beholder
Might fancy me dead—
Might start at beholding me,
Thinking me dead.”

These lines are from the third stanza where he utters that he is resting composedly at his bed that people may take him as a dead person. The fanciness is highlighted as his resting scene is important.

Even people can be holding him if they thought that he is dead. So these lines may say that from inside he is dea.

In the fourth stanza, Poe says that the ‘moaning’, ‘groaning’, ‘sighing’, and ‘sobbing’ will rise when people will get to know the Edgar Allan Poe is no more. But they will not raise their voices moreover a horrible throbbing comes in.

“At heart:—ah, that horrible,
Horrible throbbing!”

People will speak from their heart, horrible throbbing it is. Poets sinless with vomit and pitiless pain make him weak and get forever out from the body. But fever called ‘living’ remains and it burned the poet’s brain.

The torture of the brain is getting worst and affect him. Then the terrible torture gets changed into things. Now, the poet is referring to the ‘naphthaline river’. The poet is having drank of the water and it is quenching all his thirst.

The water is flowing with ‘lullaby sound’ and from far Spring it getting into the underground. The water is flowing from a cavern and gets into the underground.

A Model of Annie
A Model of Annie

Then the poet utters, that people say his room as a gloomy and his bed is narrow and small. Now he says that for unknown persons sleeping at a different bed gets them peace.

“My tantalized spirit
Here blandly reposes,
Forgetting, or never
Regretting, its roses—
Its old agitations
Of myrtles and roses:”

Now start speaking his tantalizing spirit makes blandly responses and they never regret its roses. The rest is an old agitation of myrtle. So what is the motto of the poet is not very clear and he is not speaking clearly.

There is a holy odour that is making fancy smell and the beautiful rosemary odour makes him remembered the beautiful puritan pansies.

“She tenderly kissed me,
She fondly caressed,
And then I fell gently
To sleep on her breast—
Deeply to sleep
From the heaven of her breast.”

Then the poet is describing that she kissed him and becomes caressed. Then the poet felt gently into her breast. An amazing moment was that when he called asleep.

Deep sleep makes him remembered a breast of heaven. So, this line is describing the deep romantic moments that take place in his life. She adores him and makes the poet warm whenever he is getting cold. Even she prayed to the angles to let the poet keep away from harm.

Now, suddenly the poet comes into the reality where he is lying on his bed and taking rest. If people see him, would think he must have died in pain.

“That you shudder to look at me,
Thinking me dead:—”

Poe is thanking them for making him dead as he is already dead from inside. In the last stanza, he is saying that his heart is brighter from the stars in the sky. The stars are sparkling with Annie that glittering lights.

“With the thought of the light
Of the eyes of my Annie.”

Now the poet is thinking of the lights with the eyes of Annie where gets blended in peace. Here, the poem ends with a delicate tone.

For Annie – Analysis

This is a perfect composition as a love poem. Not only love, a sadness for losing love is also one of the important parts of the poem. If a reader reads the very first stanzas will find pity for the poet.

What is for Annie by Edgar Allan Poe About?

This poem is also about isolation. The poet is living alone at his house and he lies as dead. if people see him will take him to be buried. So, with love, this is also about isolation.

For Annie by  Edgar Allan Poe – Irony

He does not want to stay alone in this world and there is irony. And his word ‘living’ becomes an illness that does not have a fever only pain is there. When readers will reach the last part of the poem will find his illness for Annie to whom he loved.

It is said that he married another man that is why the poet’s love and life get destructed. Even he compares his sleep with the sleep on Annie’s breast.

Theme of For Annie

Many themes play a big role and make the readers attracted to it. Expressive love is the primary theme and along with that the pain of losing love also becomes a theme of the poem.

For Annie by Edgar Allan Poe
For Annie by Edgar Allan Poe

Throughout the poem, he describes a life that fills with illness and people would like to consider him dead if they see the poet. Losing hope for a living also has become a theme in the poem.

Literary Devices

“For Annie” is divided into fifteen stanzas and each stanza consists of six lines. The rhyming pattern of the poem is ‘ababcb’ even except that some rhyme schemes also comes.

Enjambment is another relevant rhetorical device that means a continuation of thoughts even to the next stanza. Like,

“And then I fell gently

To sleep on her breast—”

Then comes Alliteration that means the repetition of the same words in a single line like,

“lie at a full length”

And

“The sighing and sobbing,”

In the poem, Edgar Allan Poe has used several imageries like,

“Of a water that flows,
With a lullaby sound,”

Symbolism is another relevant rhetorical device that is being used to symbolize something just like,

“From the heaven of her breast.”

Here, it symbolizes the love by the term heaven of her breast.

Questions and Answers

Did Edgar Allan Poe marry his cousin?

Yes, he married his cousin when was 27 years old.

What is considered Poe’s most successful work and when was it published?

“To Helen” can be considered as a successful poem.

Is Edgar Allan Poe scary?

Most of his poems are based on horror, gothic elements but he was not scary.