The tone of "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee" is grievous and melancholy. In Poe's "Philosophy of Composition" Poe says, "Regarding then, Beauty as my province, my next question referred to the tone of its highest manifestation- and all experience has shown that this tone is one of sadness. Beauty of whatever kind in its supreme development invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears. Melancholy is thus the most legitimate of all the poetical tones." Death is very melancholy when experienced by anyone, especially a lover as in "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee." Components of stories, such as plot, symbolism, rhyme scheme, and diction help the melancholy tone of both "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee" stand out.

The plot helps formulate the tone, because in both "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee," the narrator's are suffering from the death of a beautiful woman close to them. In "The Raven," the...