Woe is me, Annabel Lee

Are you a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, but struggle with his wording? Well have no fear, modern English is here! In this page, you can see what one of his most famous poems’ “Annabel Lee,” would sound like today if Poe had been a twentieth century American author. On par with the spooky season, we thought there’d be no better writer’s work to showcase this October than the one and only master of dark poetry himself. Feel free to write your preferred version in our website comment section. Please enjoy!

Modern English Version

BY GIANNA VIARENGO

It was a long, long time ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a woman there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this woman she lived with no other wish

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was young, and she was young,

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 made even the winged angels of Heaven

Wish to be her and me.

And this was the reason that forever ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A gust of wind blew out of the sky, freezing

My pretty Annabel Lee;

So that her royal relatives came

And took her away from me,

And locked her up in a stone catacomb

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, no where near as happy in Heaven,

Became jealous of her and me-

Indeed!- that was the reason (as everybody knows,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind stole out of the clouds at night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those much older than we-

Of many far wiser than we-

And neither the angels in Heaven above

Nor demons down below in the sea

Can ever separate my spirit from the spirit

Of the fair and gentle Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I can still feel the bright eyes

Of the lovely Annabel Lee;

And so, each and every night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling-my darling- my world and my wife,

In her stone mausoleum there by the sea-

In her tomb by the sounding sea

My one true love for all eternity,

The dead but alive,

The one who they call to this day,

The tragic Annabel Lee.

Original Version

BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

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 thought 

   Than 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, chilling 

   My beautiful Annabel Lee; 

So that her highborn kinsmen came 

   And bore her away from me, 

To shut her up in a sepulchre 

   In 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 soul 

   Of 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 eyes 

   Of 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 her sepulchre there by the sea— 

   In her tomb by the sounding sea.