"Annabel Lee" was a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe in his last years of life. It could be considered a dramatic fairy tale that was written about the love he shared with his wife, Virginia (http://www.cswnet.com/~erin/eapbio.htm). The poem is very much like a story ending traumatically. The love between the two in the story is so strong, that even after the death of "Annabel Lee", Edgar's love for her still remains the same. .
In the first stanza of the poem, the reader is introduced to Annabel Lee. Annabel Lee is actually Virginia, but Edgar decided to use a different name in the poem. She was a maiden that had fallen in love with Edgar. Even in the first stanza of the poem, the reader can see that the love between the two is strong (the last two lines of the first stanza). The setting of the poem is in a kingdom by the sea a long time ago. From this information, it is possible that the "kingdom by the sea" was the area they lived in. Although it may have been a small house, "kingdom" is used to give the poem a fairy tale feel to it.
In the second stanza of the poem, Edgar brings childhood in topic. Both Edgar and Annabel are children at the time (most likely in the teenage years, where a relationship starts between two people) and at this time of age; love isn't usually present but rather infatuation. The words that Edgar uses are so strong, that it has the potential to break the barrier of infatuation, and represent real love for Annabel. .
In the third stanza of the poem, we are introduced to the kinsmen. The kinsmen is the force that takes Annabel away from Edgar, leading to her death. Virginia died of tuberculosis in 1847(http://www.cswnet.com/~erin/eapbio.htm), so the kinsman is actually a disease. The word "kinsmen" was used to give the poem a more dramatic and fairy tale "feel". The wind that chills Annabel is a warning of death (which can also be looked as the illness tuberculosis gave her before her actual death).
