the theme of the death of a beautiful woman, which Poe called "the most poetical topic in the world".
women in many works by Poe, she marries young and is struck with illness.
Poe's death poems may have been his way of dealing with the illness of his wife Virginia.
The dead woman's name, however, may have been a reference to Poe's recently dead brother, William Henry Leonard Poe.
Biographers and critics usually suggest Poe's frequent use of the "death of a beautiful woman" theme stems from the repeated loss of women throughout his own life, including his mother Eliza Poe and his foster mother Frances Allan.
A strong case can be made for Poe's wife Virginia: She was the one he loved as a child, the only one who had been his bride, and the only one who had died
Poetically, the letter "L" sound, a frequent device in Poe's female characters in "Annabel Lee", "Eulalie", and "Ulalume".
- Death of a beautiful woman
- "Annabel Lee",
- "Eulalie",
- "The Raven",
- "Ulalume
- Lenore
- "To One in Paradise",
- in Poe's short stories,
- "Ligeia",
- Berenice",
- "Eleonora",
- "Morella"
