Annabel Lee, the subject of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem of the same name, is said to have died from a chill, which her high-born kinsmen blame on the wind coming from the sea. The poem suggests that her death was due to the envy of the angels, who were jealous of the love between Annabel Lee and the narrator.
In the poem, the narrator recounts his love for Annabel Lee, which began many years ago in a “kingdom by the sea.” Their love was so intense that the seraphs in heaven envied them. As a result of this envy, a wind blew out of a cloud, chilling Annabel Lee to death. Her relatives came and took her away from the narrator, shutting her in a sepulchre by the sea.
Despite her death, the narrator’s love for Annabel Lee remains strong. He believes that their souls are intertwined and that neither the angels in heaven above nor the demons down under the sea can ever sever his soul from the soul of Annabel Lee. The narrator lies down by her tomb near the sea every night, perpetually mourning his lost love. The poem is a haunting expression of undying love and the pain of loss, with the sea serving as a constant, melancholic backdrop to the tragedy.