Andrea Jackson-Nickel
Professor William Smith
English 106
25 October 2013
Death Makes Love Stronger
Love and Death go hand in hand; it seems as though love carries on and
becomes even stronger once a loved one has passed away. When comparing the two
poems “Daddy,” by Sylvia Plath and “Annabel Lee,” by Edgar Allan Poe. I found that
these two particular poems have many similarities, as well as differences, but I feel that
the similarities are more apparent.
First, in both of these poems, the authors discuss how they want to be nearer to
their loved one, even though they are not alive. Plath says “At twenty I tried to die / and
get back, back, back to you. / I thought even bones would do” (58-60). Sylvia Plath is
implying that when she attempted suicide, she did so in an attempt to try and be
physically closer to her father whom she seemingly hated, but obviously loves. Poe also
describes being nearer to his dead lover at the end of “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 surrounding sea” (Line 38-41).
Coincidentally, Poe is stating that he physically lies next to his late lover while she is
deceased in her tomb. Plath’s father and Poe’s lover are dead, and despite this fact they
still long to be near their loved one. Plath does seem to have an intense feeling, maybe
hate that is making her reminisce in a way that someone like Poe would be reminiscing
about someone he is deeply in love with.Throughout both poems, the poets reminisce about their loved ones. Poe reflects
back to when he and Annabel Lee were younger. Poe goes into slight detail about their
young relationship: “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-“(7-10). Poe’s
“Annabel Lee,” is describing to us how they have been in love since they were...