Alone, by 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 loved 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.

I love the poem.
I've chosen it for my school project.
The project requires me to do an analysis, and I could really use some help, if none of you mind!
Thanks! To those who help.

The content of the first half feels like it could have been written by Byron . I think he wrote lines like this too, though I'm too lazy to check at the moment. :)


I get from the first half that the poet feels separated from the rest of humanity emotionally and psychologically , cannot feel positive emotions to the same extent, nor respond in the same way as others... but I'm really just reiterating.

Look at a biography of his life, and that could give you a way into some of the lines. I think that many of the people close to him died from tuberculosis, some of those while he was still young.

I love this poem too. every now and then I can Identify with it very well...
I never tried to analyse any of poe's poems properly.... I only read them and get lost in them. but I can tell you what I think of it. (or rather how I feel about it)
the one who speaks in this poem is alone (haha...-.-'), now seriously, he is analysing his own life and situation. he experiances the world in a way the madjoritiy ain't got the slightest notion of. that is sad because how should you talk to others and make yourself clear to them when you talk about black but the other one's black is different from yours... (somehow that's the dilemma of life for we actually never see the same as others do but that's an other story)
on the other hand he loves it for it shoes him things noone else sees (and where others just hurry along he hesitates and sees beauty)
in the end he notices he's neither good nor evil, he's just different...

I'm afraid I got no proove for all this but perhaps it helps you a little (perhaps you can find some evidance for what I've said in those lines)...

(gee... usually I don't write that much... ^^)

I agree with Inbetween and Silas .. when saying that he refers his life by this poem..

I think you should start your analysis by the life of Poe , his mother died and his father abandoned him.. He was orphan and alone child ..
He diffinately lived a harsh childhood , he never had a family , a home , the love that every other child had .. this clearly shown when he says :

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were---I have not seen
As others saw---I could not bring


Even when he loved Virginia Clemm, she died.. He was never lucky nor happy in many occaasion of his life.
All that he loved , he loved it alone.. he was lonely.. and i can certainly understand becasue i have been through a similar situation that is why i find this poem one of my fav.

I agree with hoope.

I think that you should do some research on Poe's past first so you can compare it with his writings, because most of what he writes is connected with the events that happened in his life time. :)