Belonging encompasses both rejection and acceptance. Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “Alone” evokes Poe’s disconnection to societal values and conformities, and expressed his desire for a connection with the world around him. However, the poem also explores the persona’s individuality and how his own personal experiences have shaped his perceptions. These ideas are communicated through the use of literary techniques such as anaphora, metaphors and persona.
“Alone” is a direct reflection of the disconnection to society and the hardships that Poe experienced throughout his life. The repetition of the words “I have not” (1, 2) as anaphora emphasises the idea that Poe knows that he is different from the world around him. This image is reinforced through
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This idea is reinforced by the sombre, dark tone throughout the poem, as well as the use of metaphorical pathetic fallacy in reference to the author’s life (“of a most stormy life-was drawn” [10]), which further emphasises feelings of alienation and displacement.
These ideas can be compared and contrasted to author Emily Dickinson’s poem “My letter to the world”. Both works reflect the displacement felt in a world where they are unique, yet they contrast in the way that both texts are communicated. Dickinson explores her concept of belonging through her attachment to the natural world, whereas Poe communicates his intellection through personal life experiences.
The similarities of both texts mainly lie in the use of first person and the reference to nature shared by the poets. The first person narration in “My letter to the world” is similar in its nature to that of “Alone”, in which that they are both attempting to communicate their personal feelings and values. Dickinson expresses her attempt to reach out to society through “This is my letter to the world that never wrote to me”, with the ‘world’ being a representative for society. This extract is relatable to “Alone”, as both poets communicate their disconnection from the world through the use of
The actor Keanu Reeves once commented, “Grief changes shape, but it never ends.” Perhaps, nowhere else is this idea of never-ending grief more prevalent than in dark romanticist Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven.” The popular eighteenth century poem follows the despondent narrator’s encounter with the Raven, the ominous bird later forces him to realize his never-ending isolation and sorrow due to the loss of his love, Lenore. In his poem, through the use of allusions and the literary devices of repetition and comparison in stanza 17, Poe explores the perpetual effects of loss.
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.
These are actual, physical things that exist. I see this as the most significant difference between the two poems. At first glance, Dickinson's poem made no sense to me. I then, however, tore it apart and came up with the following explication.
Loneliness was an important characteristic of both poet's lives during the writing years. Whitman, whose sexuality has been questioned, was never one for social interaction. Much of his time was spent writing or editing newspapers such as the Long Island Star and the Brooklyn Daily Times (Whitman XV). Dickinson, whose life was similar to Whitman's in a social sense, lived in a different atmosphere. Emily lived in Amherst which was a far cry from the hustle an bustle of Whitman's life in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. She never married, living alone in her home for the majority of her life (Dickinson 128). The loneliness, along with the inspiration from nature (a major characteristic of Romantic writing), are two things that can be seen in the two poems that we are about to take an in depth look at. In addition to these items we can also see a possible attempt by Whitman and Dickinson to keep their real life away from public view (even though they were not immediately published), instead making their lives seem joyous.
Magistrale, Tony. "The Art of Poetry." Student Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Westport, Conn. ;London: Greenwood, 2001. 39-41. Print.
While these works by Whitman and Dickinson are different in many ways, a few similarities can be found between the two. The most obvious of these similarities involves the themes and subject matter of the pieces. Both poems present the idea that life is a continuous and constant circle and that no one is ever really dead as long as he is remembered. Each also suggests that Earth is a living thing which all humans are a piece of in both life and death. Another likeness which can be found in these two poems is the imagery used by the authors. Through Whitman's detailed and vivid description, he allows the reader to form a clear picture of the scene in his head. Likewise, Dickinson use of personification causes the poem to come alive in the reader's mind. Indeed, by observing the themes and imagery found in these two poems, one can see that they do contain some similarities.
There are a couple of similes the author uses in the poem to stress the helplessness she felt in childhood. In the lines, “The tears/ running down like mud” (11,12), the reader may notice the words sliding down the page in lines 12-14 like mud and tears that flowed in childhood days. The speaker compares a...
Through the lonely speaker, a detached tone is expressed with the use of selective diction, deep symbolism, and reflective allusion working together to form the meaning of the poem that hardships bring us to detachment from life because it causes us to feel isolated from others.
Robert Lee Frost and Emily Elizabeth Dickinson portray their individual objectives on their hardships in most of their poems. All through Dickinson’s adult life she never really traveled far from her hometown or far from her home at all. The individuals in her community thought of her as being an eccentric woman. She became known to the people for her fashion dressing in white, and her unwillingness to greet guests (Kirk, P4).
Though these authors looked like twins lived during the same era, examining their literature demonstrates that they had little influence on one another. The parallels between Dickinson and Poe include their dark Romantic subject matter, though Dickinson is considered a Modernist, and their use of first-person narrators who display drastic psychological states under the presence of death. Aside from these indistinct similarities, they have many differences in how they write about life and death. In “Because I could not stop for Death,” Dickinson characterizes mortality as a guide to the afterlife, while Poe portrays death as intimidating in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and like a thief in “Annabel Lee.” In addition to this, Poe’s illustration of nature in “The Raven” is also darker than Dickinson’s view in “Nature is what we see.” Dickinson believes nature is godlike and shows more of a Romantic view of nature than Poe, who uses symbols of birds to connect the outdoors with mortality. When considering these works, Poe is a more dark, Anti-Transcendentalist writer compared to Dickinson. Further, he writes short stories and poems that horrify the reader while Dickinson writes dynamic, unorthodox poetry that is difficult to compare to other writers. The eccentric minds of these authors is ultimately expressed in their provocative literature that continues to influence writers
In "The House of Poe", Richard Wilbur elucidates his criticisms of Poe 's work. He firstly comments on a critic 's purpose, then how Poe 's stories are all allegories. He then addresses the possible opposition to his argument, and then begins his discussion of the common themes in Poe 's writing and provides examples from his stories. This dissertation will analyze Wilbur 's criticism by cross referencing Poe 's work and how it exemplifies Wilbur 's assessment. There is a great deal of evidence to support Wilbur 's theories, but a close examination of each one will determine how legitimate his argument really is.
In “Alone” by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe examines his early life through the lens of an outsider, connecting the emotional instability of his childhood years to his present desolation. He struggles with his insecurities and succumbs to darker thoughts- the very culprit of his isolation. Poe confesses how his lurking demons have led to his alienation because of his innate emotional inability to view the world like others. Therefore, the outside world has never bothered to understand his somber self simply because he differed from others.
In both Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman’s works, they emphasize some differences in their writing. In Dickinson’s works she shows that her works are short and simple poems, while Whitman’s poems and often long and complex. With Dickinson showing that her works are short and simple, while Whitman brings on a more sophisticated style, it truly shows that they use their own unique style of writing. In both Whitman and Dickinson works they have been known for being such unique artist and being original, while people try so hardly to impersonate their style, but they are unable to come close to accomplishing it.
Many writers use powerful words to portray powerful messages. Whether a writer’s choice of diction is cheerful, bitter, or in Robert Hayden’s case in his poem “Those Winter Sundays,” dismal and painful, it is the diction that formulates the tone of the piece. It is the diction which Hayden so properly places that allows us to read the poem and picture the cold tension of his foster home, and envision the barren home where his poem’s inspiration comes from. Hayden’s tumultuous childhood, along with the unorthodox relationships with his biological parents and foster parents help him to create the strong diction that permeates the dismal tone of “Those Winter Sundays.” Hayden’s ability to both overcome his tribulations and generate enough courage
Emily Dickinson’s “The Soul Selects her Own Society” presents herself as absolute and her rights as unchallengeable. The poem puts forward the idea of “friendship or love” which means choosing a significant person and excluding other people. Dickinson reveals that she was shutting people from her life, but because it had been so long, they are no longer interested in taking part of her life. Dickinson’s actions imply that the ability to create and construct a world for oneself, such as choosing your own actions, provides an example of a god-like achievement. Overall, Dickson asserts the importance of “the Self” theme which is shown my just speaking and writing as a ratification of the will to explore and express “the Self” to others.