Alone - Edgar Allan Poe

In the poem "Alone", by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe reveals much about his life (Poe). He starts by telling of his childhood.

"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(Poe)."

This is Poe saying that since childhood, he was different (Poe). Even from a young age, Poe viewed the world differently than the other kids did. He was not excited about the things other children were excited about, he did not find joy in the things other children were joyful about, he did not have interest in the things that other children had interest in. He tried to be like the other children, but he could not. He was not like the other children (Poe).

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 loved, I loved alone (Poe).

Poe also did not have sorrows like other children had sorrows (Poe). Instead, the sorrows that Poe faced were deeper. They were sorrows that he could not shake off, as other children seemed to shake off their sorrows. He lost his joy at a young age, and could not be happy like the other children were. Everything that he did find ta slightest joy in, was enjoyed only by him. He had nobody else there for him, there with him, to support him, or to do life with (Poe).

"Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill

The mystery which binds me still: (Poe)"

Childhood for Poe was not easy. He was not raised into an easy life, and while he was still a child, a dark event changed his life in a drastic way. Something became different about Poe. It is not known what it is, but something in childhood changed Poe.

"From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed 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 (Poe)."

There were so many things happening around Poe that were amazing, beautiful, and magnificent. However, Poe did not see those things. Poe could not see past his own hurts to see the beauties of this world. He was stuck in his own rut, with no way out, it seemed. He was so caught up with his own problems that it seemed he looked at life almost as if through the eyes of a demon.

Dark Romanticism focuses on the darkness of the human soul (Dark Romanticism). In this poem Poe definitely focuses on the dark side of his life rather than the good things. The entire poem is depressing and about being lonely. He even says he looks at life as if through the eyes of a demon. Dark Romanticism is most definitely portrayed in this poem.

"Alone by Edgar Allan Poe." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. .

"Dark Romanticism - ArticleWorld." Main Page - ArticleWorld. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. .