In this poem, Poe places an ideal love in "a kingdom by the sea." Write a poem in which you give a location to be the site of a perfect love— would it be rural, urban, mountainous, coastal? Write about what you think it would be like to have a loved one buried at that place that you associate with living, vibrant love.

At the time this poem was written, 1849, America was still an expanding country, with conflicting opinions between the North and South over whether newly formed states should allow slavery. By contrast, "Annabel Lee" takes place in a well-established social structure, a kingdom. Explain what you think nostalgia might have been like for Americans at that time, both for those who were part of the established order and those who were expanding the frontier.

Like much of Poe's poetry, "Annabel...