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

Decent Essays
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…show more content…
An example of when Poe gives a gloomy feeling to the reader would be “(When the rest of Heaven was blue)/ Of a demon in my view--” (Poe 21-22). This could be considered dark because Poe is showing that while others saw the good in life, all he saw was the evil. With the use of poetic devices, Poe is also able to make the theme of his poem apparent. The theme of the poem is hard to find, yet a common theme in literature. In “Alone” Edgar Allan Poe shows that not everyone is the same. He shows this in his fist 8 lines, as he explains how as a child he knew he never fit in. He also shows that everyone lives different lives because on line 8 Poe writes about having to love alone, after the loss of his parents. Poe also shows that everyone is different in their outlook on life. This is clear from line 9 until the end of the poem. Such as when he writes, “(When the rest of Heaven was blue/ Of a demon in my view--” (Poe 21-22). This shows that Poe saw the evil in life, whereas others saw the good, thus further proving how not everyone is the same. Thanks to Poe's use of elements and the theme, I was easily able to evaluate the poem. I was easily able to evaluate the poem “Alone” by Edgar Allan Poe. Due to the imagery, tone, and theme, I was able to say the poem was good. For instance, the use of imagery throughout a poem causes me to be able to envision what is happening, which is a
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