Paradoxical Images in"Annabel Lee"

Paradox is a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.According to Cleanth Brooks,the central figure of New Criticism,poetry at its core is the language of paradox.He stated that if those contradictions didn't exist then neither would some of the best poetry we have today.After a close reading of Edgar Allen Poe's poem"Annabel Lee"through Brooks'theory,we can find many paradoxical elements,like images of angels,image of star,and image of love.These paradoxical images help rendering contradictory moments of feeling and endow the poem with poetic beauty.