For my English class I have to analyse Annabel Lee. Things are going quite well, I guess. (with help of this forum, thank you!) But... I have to make clear if there are any metaphors in Annabel Lee, and I am not able to find out. Can anybody help me with this?? If so, thank you very much!

Jeroen, the Dutch student...

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2000

Answers

I don't have a complete answer but I know what a metaphor is and maybe that can help. A metaphor is another way of describing something by using an example that has nothing to do with the main topic. Example: Poetry is like flaming red hair on a white pillow.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2000

Edgar Allan poe does a lot of screaming out his metaphors and a lot of hiding them. The ones he screams out to you are,"And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes," he is there, relating the shing stars and the beauty of them in a world of darkness to her eyes, and they are up in the sky where heaven is supposed to be, where she is supposed to be with her seraphs. Another one is when he says, "And the moon never beams without bringing me dreams," saying metaphorically that the moon beaming reminds him of Annabel Lee, once again that is comparing her to the prettiest part of the night, the bright shining gleaming of the beam of moonlight. Then he has his metaphors that are a bit more subtle than that, such as the last two lines of the poem, "In her seplucher there by the sea, In her tomb by the sounding sea," The sea is an adopted symbol of eternity and it goes on forever, much like their love and much like her death. And if her tomb is by the sa and you always hear the sound of the sea in her tomb, that it was eternity will be like for her, there is a lot of symbolism for eternity. I hope that helps.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2000

Sorry Penfold, Your attempt at a metaphor failed...miserably.... What you gave was simply a SIMILI..(using like or as) as for a Metaphor, there is nothing that says how long it should be. A metaphor can me a whole short story (as we see in a lot of Poe's work) or a few simple sentences. The Tele Tale Heart would be a great simple example. We see the narrator obsessing over the sounds in the floor boards, (the heart) that is simply his mind regretting what he had done and lettting him know that the guilt will rest in him for a long time. I hope this gives you a better outlook of what you are looking for in Poe's work. Unfortunatly we have some people in this foreum who like to see their name on the web and provide us with questions that can be easily researched..(there are MANY books and even web sites on Poe's work and life and just as many critiques and there are others who don't give out thought out responses (which hurt all of us in the end)

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Erin,

While I concur, at least essentially, with your generalized distinction between a simile and a metaphor, in the least, I would applaud Penfold's attempt to help a fellow student. The measure of injury he/she has done is certainly minimal, if at all relevant, to the intent of this forum. Were it necessary to correct him/her, clearly it was unnecessary to label it a failure and then continue to quantify your verdict as miserable. Your response was disproportionate to the offense, don't you think? I trust this is not standard treatment for student errors.

Be that as it may, I will take exception to your interpretation in the "The Tell Tale Heart". I do not mean to say that your interpretation is wrong and given the diversity of life's experiences from one individual to another, can there really be a wrong!? I simply see yours as inconsistent with the story line. In the very beginning, the narrator makes clear that his affliction has caused his hypersensitivity, in particular, his hearing. He hears.. "... all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in Hell." We perceive his madness merely from his own adamant denial of his madness. Throughout the bulk of the tale, we are treated to the exquisite stealth and planning he has employed to rid himself, forever, of the filmy blue orb. His senses are so acute, that on the final night he is able to cast a ray of light from pitch darkness, directly on the offending eye, leaving the old man (whom he loved and felt no malice) obscured by the darkness.

Poe's economy of words is remarkable here for its clarity and I do not perceive a single word, no phrase or any punctuation that would in any manner lead me to believe that this madman heard anything coming from the floorboards beyond the deranged imaginings coming from the accelerated pulsing of his own heart. He surrenders the body, not from a madman's sense of remorse, but from his own mad imagination that the three officers are mocking him.

As to your gentle admonition relative to those of us that enjoy administering assistance to students who post questions, I strongly disagree. Frankly, the appellation I prefer to use here is not my name but a simple, easy to recall, moniker primarily intended for internet use. I can assure you, without qualification, that seeing my "name" on the web is substantially less gratifying than the notes and messages of appreciation from students, many from all over the world. To surrender that joy for a single reproach from a participant, well... it ain't gonna happen! Further, there are many, many students that I have urged to seek alternate views, even those with which I am, personally, at odds. I attempt, as often as possible, to cite my sources but, frankly, at 54 and aging rapidly, my ability for detailed recall is suspect. Nevertheless, it is an honest and gratifying pastime for me that I have no intention of curtailing, at least in the short term.

I do, sincerely, regret your view that this will "... hurt all of us in the end." If for some reason, our forum manager, Mr. Gmoser, judges my participation as hurtful, then I shall cease immediately. Until then, I would encourage you to participate. Diverse input is essential... don't you think? Oh yes... GO NOLES!!! : )

Warm Regards,

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Sorry Erin, Your attempt to spell failed .... miserably... ???"simili"??? Use a dictionary shit face... Simile.

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2003