In the first stanza Poe tells the reader the setting, main character, and her relationship to the narrator.
In the first line the time is said to be “many and many a year ago” (line 1), this poem was written in
1849 and therefore the actions must have taken place prior to 1849.  Poe states the location to be
“a kingdom by the sea” (line 2).  In this kingdom he says lived a maiden “by the name ANNABEL
LEE” (line 4).  The fact that Poe uses the word “lived” indicates that she has moved away or is no
longer living.  Poe refers to Annabel as a maiden; this indicates that she is unmarried.  He closes the
stanza by stating that she had no other thought than “to love and be loved by me” (line 6).  After
reading the first stanza the reader knows that the poem is about a love between Annabel Lee and the
narrator, they also know that it takes place in a Kingdom by the sea prior to 1849.  The reader has
learned that Annabel Lee is no longer in the kingdom by the sea, leaving them to ask where and why
she has gone.