Alone.
Edgar Allen Poe
Circa 1875
From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were — I have not seen
As others saw — I could not bring
My passions from a common spring —
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow — I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone —
And all I lov’d — I lov’d alone —
Then — in my childhood — in the dawn
Of a most stormy life — was drawn
From ev’ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still —
From the torrent, or the fountain —
From the red cliff of the mountain —
From the sun that ’round me roll’d
In its autumn tint of gold —
From the lightning in the sky
As it pass’d me flying by —
From the thunder, and the storm —
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view —
~
Seen as one of Poe’s most revealing works, this was first published by E.L. Didier as a facsimile in 1875, and later credited to Poe himself. The title “Alone” was also added in by Didier, as Poe had originally written this poem in Lucy Holmes autograph book.
Alone is a story about someone who just doesn’t fit in with anyone, or anything. Their interests differ from the norm, and because of that, he can find no one to connect passions with. And while he may still care for people it is simply hard to connect to someone who doesn’t have any passions that match up with his.
In the lines “My sorrow I could not awaken, my heart to joy at the same tone; and all I loved, I loved alone.” Poe expresses his lamentation of being unable to let go of the grief and rekindle the spark of happiness and joy.
Poe seeks a reason of his existence and refers to it as a “mystery”. He continuously tries to figure out why he was born, a question that many do not even think of. This is reflected in the lines “ Then in my childhood, in the dawn; of a most stormy life was draw; from every depth of good and ill; the mystery that binds me still.” He also tries to investigate the mystery of his reason for existing to great depths, which he believes, nobody has gone to.
At points, I can completely relate to this poem and meaning as I have run across many people who are perfectly great people, but no matter how hard I try to connect to them, they simply don’t care about what I do and they don’t care about what I do. Towards the end of the poem, the mood shifts to being the outsider looking in.
Poe Reviews Coming Soon:
-The Raven
-The Bells
-The Cask of Amantillado
-The Tell Tale Heart
…and more!
Resources Used:
www.poestories.com