Poe wrote the story, but it is not Poe telling it. The narrator tells the story. And Poe with his use of imagery, illusion, and irony, shows the loss of a beautiful woman, through the eyes and feelings of the man who loved and lost her. When the narrator begins to tell the story, it is a story from a long time ago, in the past. The poem, Annabel Lee, starts out with the narrator, talking about his past. Of how he met her as a child and as they grew, their love grew stronger, that they loved only each other and that nothing else mattered.
Like mentioned in the thesis statement, one of the ways he shows his loss of a beautiful women, is through his use of imagery. Poe writes, “But we loved with a love that was more than love, I and my Annabel Lee.” Poe has the reader picture a stronger, more passionate love towards each other, the narrator and Annabel Lee. They loved each other like no other and no other love was stronger than theirs. In his use of imagery, Poe having the narrator speak about the jealousy of the angels foreshadows what is to come and that is Annabel Lee's death.
He also demonstrates his loss through his use of illusion. Poe writes, “A wind blew out of a cloud chilling my beautiful Annabel Lee.” Poe has the reader imagine Annabel lee standing outside, when a sudden, harsh wind comes out of the clouds. She becomes so cold that she dies. He then goes on to write, “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 clouds by