Poetry Anthologyby Romina Vargas

Annabel Lee (Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1849)

It was many and many a year ago,In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of ANNABEL LEE;And this maiden she lived with no other

thoughtThan to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,In this kingdom by the sea;

But we loved with a love that was more than love-

I and my Annabel Lee;With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chillingMy beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsman cameAnd bore her away from me,To shut her up in a sepulchreIn this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,Went envying her and me-

Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we-Of many far wiser than we-

And neither the angels in heaven above,Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soulOf the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;And the stars never rise but I feel the bright

eyesOf the beautiful Annabel Lee;

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

Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,

In the sepulchre there by the sea,In her tomb by the sounding sea.

The angels of heaven coveted this feeling from her and me.

In a kingdom by a sea that maiden there lived whom you may know

Neither the angels in heaven above,Nor the demons down under the sea,Can ever dissever my soul from the soulOf the beautiful Annabel Lee.

SINCE there's no help, come let us kiss and part—

Nay, I have done, you get no more of me;

And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart,

That thus so cleanly I myself can free.

Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,

And when we meet at any time again,

Be it not seen in either of our brows

That we one jot of former love retain.

Now at the last gasp of Love's latest breath,

When, his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies,

When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,

And innocence is closing up his eyes,

--Now if thou wouldst, when all have given him over,

From death to life thou might'st him yet recover.

THE PARTING Michael Drayton (1563-1631)

Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows

The parting

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Shakespeare Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

it is an ever-fixed markThat looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

These pictures represent the most beautiful definition of loyalty, love against time, changes and death.

I have chosen these three poems since all of them have the same theme, love.

In the first poem Annabel Lee, is about of an enduring love. I like this poem because the author expresses all his feelings towards his departed wife.

As regards the second poem, I chose it because I think that is interesting since it's also about love, but in this case, love gets an end. The author suggests very concisely the idea of the break being forever, with no possibility of reconciliation. He expresses his feeling in a way that makes me think that may be all this is the result of being cheated by his lover.

The third poem I have chosen is the sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare. I love this sonnet, because it is extremely romantic! It is about the truth love; in this case the author expresses his loyalty to his lover. This love that is undefined over time, outside the changes and distances, storm and death.