Annabel Lee Quotes
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Source: Annabel Lee
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea
Context
This line is from the poem "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe (1849).
This posthumous Poe poem portrays a person Poe possibly perceived previously.
It also favors rhyme above alliteration, but we couldn't help ourselves.
The poem tells the death of Annabel Lee, and its refrain tells us where she died: in a kingdom by the sea. How convenient that she died in a location that offers so many rhyming possibilities. But the description of her death could have been worse. She could have been crushed by debris. Or a dead amputee. Or fallen face-first in a plate of brie.
Where you've heard it
You've heard this if you've considered taking a seaside vacation… of death.
Paul Theroux's bookThe Kingdom by the Sea also borrows its title from Poe's poem.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
It depends on what you're calling a "kingdom by the sea." The rocky cliffs of Maine? Fine. The Jersey Shore? You're being pretentious.