What kinds of figurative language are used in the poem "Annabel Lee," by Edgar Allan Poe?

In Poe's "Annabel Lee," the author uses a great deal of
figurative language. Figurative language is often used in poetry. Figurative language,
by definition, is not to be taken literally.

There
are a great many examples of literary devices. For example, note
the use of repetition below, a device used many times in
Poe's poem:

readability="5">

She was a child and I was a
child... (7)

Literary devices
dealing with sound are easily recognized when the poem is read aloud. Refer to the
stanza below:

readability="9">

It was many and many a year ago,
In a
kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By
the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other
thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
(1-6)

End
rhyme is apparent in lines 2, 4 and 6 with the words "sea," "Lee" and
"me." Internal rhyme is found in the sixth stanza; note the
use of "beams" in the middle of the line that rhymes with "dreams" at the line's
end:

For the
moon never beams without bringing me
dreams...

It occurs two lines
later (using "rise" and "eyes") with:

readability="5">

And the stars never rise but I see the bright
eyes

Assonance
is found in line 5 with the words "this," "lived" and "with." (The short "i" sound is
the same.) Alliteration (the repetition of a consonant
sound at the beginning of a group of words) is found with the repetition of the words
"many" (in line 1) and "loved" (in line 6).

In identifying
figurative language, the reader first recognizes the use of imagery, used to create a
picture in the reader's mind. Imagery is found, for example, in
hyperbole.

Hyperbole is
present in lines 11 and 12:

readability="5">

With a love that the winged seraphs of
heaven
Coveted her and
me.

It can only be
an exaggeration of the depth of their love to note that the angels covet it, for there
is no way to know this for certain; however, the speaker is using hyperbole to show how
deep and wonderful is the love the two share.

The reader
sees it again in the lines:

readability="7">

The angels, not half so happy in
heaven,
Went envying her and
me—

The lines above almost
seem paradoxical in their exaggeration. It is impossible, based upon our
definitions/perceptions of angels, to believe that angels would envy anything on earth
when compared to their heavenly existence. This is more evident in trying to
conceptualize that the angels would envy the love of humans—especially to the point that
they would send a chilling wind to kill the young woman—an evil
act.

First used in the late 16th Century, "Once upon a
time" has become a phrase generally associated with a fairytale. Often this kind of
story has mystical or magical elements (magic beans, a fairy godmother, etc.). After
using this introductory phrase, Poe continues establishing this mood with words such as
"kingdom" and "maiden," which are also associated with these kinds of tales. Poe may
well use this introduction to create a mood of something
supernatural, i.e., something beyond our natural world. However,
unlike most fairytales shared with youngsters before bedtime, this story goes beyond
magical and becomes haunting, with its sad ending at the loss of Annabel
Lee. 

If
“Annabel Lee” has become one of Poe’s most popular poems, its popularity is probably
attributable to its haunting rhythm, its lulling
repetition. 

The lilting
movement of the poem is yet another element of the poem that gives the reader the sense
of being in a fairytale. Except for the tragedy of the speaker's loss, this might well
serve as a bedtime story that would bring about easy sleep for the listener, as Poe
creates a haunting story, very much like a melody, using sound and imagery to capture
the reader's imagination.

readability="12">

The sound of the poem, then, is quiet, rhythmic,
hypnotic. It is this haunting sound, not the story itself, that causes most readers to
remember “Annabel Lee.”

Of
the sounds and images employed, perhaps the use of hyperbole is figurative language that
most easily convinces the reader that poetic license has been used in this poem. The
presence of envious angels and chilling winds that can be directed by one's will allow
the reader to grasp that some elements of the tale may be magical or like a
fairytale—perhaps more so, giving us the feeling that the love between the speaker and
Annabel Lee was so amazing that the earth could not contain it, the angels could not
bear it and no one on earth (even those "older than we" or "far wiser than we") could
ever hope to experience anything like it.