“Alone”
Edgar Allan Poe
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 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–
Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “Alone”, written in 1829, explores the solitude he faced when he was young, and how that has impacted him emotionally and mentally in 21 lines. With the constant use of unique sentence structure, diction, and imagery, Poe is able to speak to both the blessing and curse of being alone.
From the very first line, the speaker paints an image of his solitude. The words, “From childhood’s hour” indicate that Poe had been feeling alone since the time of his youth. The fact that the following two sentences, where Poe describes “As others were– I have not seen / As others saw– I could not bring” (line 2, 3), starts a new line at the middle of the sentence, is an example of how Edgar Allan Poe thought differently than what was considered the norm. If the lines were structured in a way more regularly used, for example, “I have not seen as others were”, the line would have been more readable as it is a sentence structure most people hear often. However, the abnormal sentence structure only serves to emphasize his differences compared to his peers. He describes that he did not have passion or sorrow from a common source, directly highlighting his experience and feelings in loneliness.
Poe continues to state that he did not have the same passions or could not awaken his heart, which translates to the audience that he was neither saddened nor excited by the same things that usually saddened or excited his peers. He could not awaken his sorrow, could not match others’ joys. In these two lines, the fact that “sorrow” or “my heart” are the first words, despite the non-traditional syntax, shows how these two elements of a person are important to the speaker because they are put in the front, spotlighted. In this understanding, the word order further emphasizes the wistfulness or regret in being lonesome, as the speaker did not have the chance to experience these in the whole like his peers.
The first four lines demonstrate iambic tetrameter. The use of iambic tetrameter gives the poem a sense of structure- there are four stressed beats in each line. Moreover, the poem overall has a similar amount of words in each line, which further exemplifies the structural concept. In addition, in the lines where a hyphen is used in the middle of the line, the iambic tetrameter is emphasized as it seems as if the line were split in two symmetrical parts. One before the hyphen and one after the hyphen. This repeated sequence and overall clean structure of the poem’s meter emphasizes the rigidness the speaker had to face as a result of being lonely in his youth
In the next line, Poe italicized ‘I’ in “And all I lov’d– I lov’d alone” (line 8). The deliberate use of italicization only further emphasizes the lonesomeness of the speaker, as ‘I’ is the only word italicized, creating an image of loneliness and isolation. The word ‘all’ usually indicates multiple and unity in the multiple. ‘All’ is a direct contrast to the italicized ‘I’ and ‘alone’ as those words indicate a concentration on the self and solitude. The diction in this line only further emphasizes Poe’s loneliness- he could not love with others.
In the second half of the poem, a tone shift occurs. The first line of the tone shift occurs with “Then— in my childhood– in the dawn” (line 9), a parallel to the first line of the poem, “From childhood’s hour I have not been” (line 1), which is important because of the consistency it creates. Since the tone shifts after this line, having the same context makes it easier for Poe to juxtapose the advantages and disadvantages of being alone.
After line 9, Poe describes a mystery that has always been with him. This mystery is able to follow him around nature. For example, Poe’s imagery of a torrent, fountain, lightning, thunder, and a sun that “‘round [him] roll’d in its autumn tint of gold–” (line 15) creates beautiful scenery in the audience’s mind. Using elements of nature in Poe’s diction creates vivid imagery of the beauty of nature, which romanticizes the idea of loneliness, as Poe indicates that he is able to enjoy nature in solitude.
In the last three lines of the poem, there is a slight change in tone as the imagery shifts from the majesticity of nature to a demonic force in the midst of beauty. By concluding with the lines that state, “And the cloud that took the form / (When the rest of Heaven was blue) /Of a demon in my view–” (line 19-21), Poe uses imagery of a demon to symbolize the consistent harm and danger of being alone, despite the beauty it can bring to some. The cloud almost symbolizes that of a warning to both Poe and the audience, again highlighting the benefits and losses in being alone.
The poem as a whole serves as both a memoir and a warning of some sorts; while narrating on both the sorrow and beauty of solitude, Poe is able to warn both himself and his audience of the constant threat that looms over loneliness.