Analysis of "Alone" by Poe

Essay by javalin08College, UndergraduateB+, May 2009

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“Alone”What does Poe mean when he writes alone? Many People describe alone in a figurative manner, such as interacting with other people but feeling alone inside. Others (Poe)give alone a literal definition, such as actually isolating oneself from other humans. In the poem "Alone," Edgar Allan Poe talks about aloneness in terms of not able to experience things similar to others. Poe effectively presents gothic images of a person by contrasting how the speaker views himself, with how he views the rest of the world. Edgar Allan Poe wrote in a dark, disturbing, and somewhat twisted manner. Several readers and critics consider his writing pessimistic. His writing also shows a sense of honesty and sadness in it. (117)Poe experienced several troubling experiences throughout his life. It seemed that the women Poe loved ended up dying from the same disease, tuberculosis. To add to his misfortune, he remained poor most of his life, rarely maintained a stable job, and suffered from alcoholism.

To escape from his saddened world, Poe drank and wrote short stories or poems with a pessimistic outlook. Having this dark attitude helped Poe establish himself as an outstanding and creative writer. Everything Poe felt he brought out in his work. In this poem, Poe presents gothic images of a person who feels alone in this world. He accomplishes this by contrasting how the speaker views himself, with how he views the rest of the world emphasizing the isolation he feels from the rest of the world. Poe draws numerous contrasts throughout the poem to emphasize the speaker's isolation from the rest of the world. (149)In the beginning of the poem the author tells us that even during his childhood he differed from other people. "From my childhood's hour I have not been / As others were" (line 1).