Preface: This poem is about loneliness, not friendship. Loneliness
is the lack of friendship. However, showing the other side of things, can help readers
value friendships more because they can see how loneliness negatively affects
people. From this poem, readers will be able to see why friends are so special
and should be treasured. If they aren’t, they may feel as negative as the author
of this poem.
Lines
from Poem |
Denotation |
Connotation |
Poetic Devices |
From
childhood’s hour I have not been As
others were--I have not
seen As others saw-- |
As a child Poe was not the average child. He did not see
things like others. |
Since childhood, the author has felt distant from people,
from a young age he has felt as if he cannot relate to the common feelings
that people experience and has forever been different, unlike anybody else,
an outcast |
Simile: Poe is comparing his life to the
average person. Poe uses this simile to show how different his life was then
the average child. |
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-- |
Poe could
not take his passions from a usual spring. He could also not find sorrow and
joy from the usual spring. Everything that he liked he liked alone. |
Poe did
not have interests like other people. He tried to have the same passion as
others but failed (“could not bring my passions…”). Poe could not ease his
sadness in the same way. He could not feel the same happiness as others.
Everything that he liked he had to share those experiences alone. |
Parallelism: Poe uses parallelism here to add rhythm as well as to
emphasize the fact that he is lonely and what he likes others don’t. |
Then—in
my childhood—in the dawn Of a
most stormy
life—was drawn |
In Poe’s childhood a stormy life was drawn. |
Poe had no control over his misfortunes. Like had weather
cannot be controlled, Poe could not change certain aspects of his life. |
Symbolism: Poe keeps using nature in his
poem. Nature represents how much Poe can control his emotions and interests
(uncontrollable/can’t change it). |
From
ev’ry depth of good and ill The mystery which binds me
still-- |
From every
level of good and bad, the mystery of Poe’s loneliness still is unsolved. |
Poe still
feels despair and loneliness, and nothing good or bad was able to change his
emotions. |
Personification: Poe uses the personification to make the point that Poe
cannot escape his isolation and differences. |
From
the torrent, or
the fountain-- |
From harsh water, to gentle droplets. |
No matter how water flows, harsh or gentle, Poe will still
be ever so lonely. |
|
From the red cliff of the mountain-- From the sun that ’round me roll’d In its autumn tint of gold-- |
From the mountain
in the red autumn sun. |
What we
think as beautiful things of nature brought little happiness to Poe. |
Imagery: Poe uses this imagery to make you think about the
beautiful nature that everyone likes and then about how the author does not
find happiness in nature. |
From
the lightning in
the sky As it
pass’d me flying by-- From
the thunder, and
the storm-- |
From the lightning and storm. |
Again Poe relates his life to nature, something he cannot
control. Poe is saying his life had been drawn out for him. |
|
And
the cloud that took the form (When
the rest of Heaven was blue) Of a
demon in my view-- |
And the
cloud that covered the sky and put a demon into Poe’s view. |
Poe is
saying that a cloud (negative) covered the blue sky (positive) in him. Poe
was trying to tell readers about his interests in darkness. |
|
Denotation/Connotation
The denotation of the poem says that Poe was never the
average child. The connotation or extended meaning of this poem is about Poe’s
childhood and how he was never able to fit in. Poe had different passions and
interests than the normal person did and that caused him to not have friends.
Poe tried to be like others but failed and could never escape the loneliness.
Persuasive Paragraph
This poem is very effective in showing loneliness and isolation. First, this is written with the author having experienced loneliness. The author Edgar Allen Poe was interested in dark and grim things. He was a lot different then everyone and because of this he was lonely. He had no friends by his side to share his experiences with and so this poem is from someone with first-hand experience which makes it more realistic and effective. Second, the poem uses very good symbolism. Poe uses the uncontrollable nature and compares it to how he cannot control his different passions and interests. This is very effective and can be seen throughout the poem. Lastly, I like this poem because it vaguely represents everyone in some way. Every single person in this world is different in some way. In Poe’s case, he was isolated because of his differences. This reminds me of when I didn’t have a phone which made me feel very different. Whenever I was eating with my friends everyone would have their phone out and I was the odd one out. I felt like I didn’t fit in and felt lonely every time that happened. I felt left out and it wasn’t my fault I didn’t have a phone. Since I like many people can relate to this poem, it appeals to me. In conclusion, I think Alone by Edgar Allen Poe is a very effective poem that appeals to many people, including me.