Personal Life and Challenges of Edgar Allen Poe in the Poem Alone

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The poem “Alone” by Edgar Allan Poe depicts the personal life and challenges Poe faced as a child. For example, the poem begins with Poe explaining how he knew he was different from other children, this is apparent when Poe writes, “From childhood's hour I have not been/ As others were-- I have not seen” (Poe ll. 1-2). Poe further goes on to explain how he felt abandoned and apart from his peers, stating “And all I lov'd-- I lov'd alone” (Poe 8). I believe this explains how Poe felt alone after his parents died, as if no one else understood what he was going through. Further into the poem, Poe explains how he had to face the “evil” in his life while his peers mainly had “good” lives. This is apparent at the end of the poem, when Poe writes, “(When the rest of Heaven was blue)/ Of a demon in my view--” (Poe 21-22). Although the poem is only 22 lines, Poe uses multiple poetic device throughout the whole poem.
Throughout “Alone” Poe uses various poetic devices to captivate his reader. For instance, Poe uses external rhyme throughout the whole poem. For instance, Poe ends each line, where the first two lines rhyme, the next two rhyme, and so on. Along with the use of rhyming, Poe also uses descriptive imagery. A main example of imagery in Poe's poem would be “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” (Poe 17-20). This would be a good example of imagery in the poem because it shows the darkness that Poe faces, while also providing the image of a thunder and lightning storm. Another poetic device Poe used in the poem is his tone. Poe gives readers of “Alone” a sense of remoteness, mystery, and darkness. Poe explains how he was alone in line 8; whic...

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...ble to connect with it.
For me, “Alone” was easy to connect with. I was able to connect with the poem in various ways. The theme of the poem played a large role in my connection to the poem. For example, Poe mentions how he knew he was different from his peers at a young age. I was able to connect with the poem at this section because, from my parent's divorce to my sister living with my grandparents, I knew my life was different than those around me. I was also able to connect to the poem because when I faced depression from eighth to tenth grade, I had a pessimistic view on life; similar to Poe's last two lines in “Alone”. Due to these reasons, it was easy for me to connect to Edgar Allan Poe's poem “Alone”.

Works Cited

Poe, Edgar Allan. "Alone." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
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