Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe – Love or Obsession? High School Poetry Lesson

✨ Love or Obsession? Analyzing Annabel Lee – A High School Poetry Lesson

Bring Edgar Allan Poe’s haunting ballad Annabel Lee to life with this complete, ready-to-use poetry lesson designed for Grades 9–12. This resource blends close reading, literary analysis, and creative engagement to help your students dive deep into themes of love, loss, and obsession.

✅ What’s Included

• Teacher Directions & Pacing Guide (Day 1–2 lessons planned)
• Guided Annotation Sound Map (student handout with color-coding prompts)
• Scansion Quick Guide (step-by-step rhythm & meter practice)
• Theme & Tone Organizer (with reflection questions)
• Close Reading Stations (diction, imagery, point of view, and refrain analysis)
• Assessment Options:
  
  • Analytical Paragraph Frame (with rubric)
  • Creative Stanza Task (with rubric & author’s note reflection)

• Dramatic Refrain Challenge (group performance activity with reflection)
• Exit Tickets for quick checks
• Extension Activity: Compare Annabel Lee with a modern song or poem

🎯 Skills Students Will Build

• Cite textual evidence to support analysis of theme and point of view
• Analyze how sound devices, diction, and imagery create tone and meaning
• Explore the ballad form and scansion to connect rhythm with mood
• Collaborate in groups to perform and interpret stanzas dramatically
• Write polished literary responses or emulate Poe’s style creatively

🌟 Why Teachers Love It

• No prep required – just print or assign digitally
• Flexible for one-day focus or a 2–3 day mini-unit
• Perfect blend of rigor and engagement
• Adaptable for AP, honors, or standard-level classes

💡 Whether your students are captivated by Poe’s romanticism or unsettled by the speaker’s obsession, this lesson will spark lively discussion and leave them with a memorable understanding of sound, tone, and theme in poetry.

Perfect for: High School ELA, Poetry Units, Romantic/Gothic Literature, AP Literature skills practice