Edgar Allen Poe´s Childhood in the Poem Alone

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Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Alone” is a reflection of his childhood. The first lines tell the reader that the speaker never felt kindred with the other children. As you read on, it is apparent to the reader that someone dear to them passed when they were young. Looking at the diction, symbolism, and allusions used in this poem, we can see that the underlying theme is that lost love can cause desolation. The word choice used in this poem helps to portray a mood of isolation. “And all I loved, I loved alone” (8). What the speaker is saying with this quote is that everything they found interest in, nobody else did, and therefore had nobody to share their life experiences with. Even from a young age, the speaker felt as if they were an outcast, and the loss of the loved one just intensified their loneliness. “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” (9-12). The speaker felt that they had no control over their fate. No matter what happened, whether it be good or bad, the speaker felt abandone...

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