“Alone” Introduction

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“Alone” Summary

“Alone” Themes

• 

  Loneliness, Isolation, and Difference

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Alone”

• Lines 1-4

  From childhood’s hour I have not been
  As others were—I have not seen
  As others saw—I could not bring
  My passions from a common spring—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-7

  From the same source I have not taken
  My sorrow—I could not awaken
  My heart to joy at the same tone—

  

  

  

  

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• Line 8

  And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  Then
  —in my childhood—in the dawn
  Of a most stormy life—was drawn
  From ev’ry depth of good and ill
  The mystery which binds me still—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  From the torrent, or the fountain—
  From the red cliff of the mountain—
  From the sun that ’round me roll’d
  In its autumn tint of gold—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 17-19

  From the lightning in the sky
  As it pass’d me flying by—
  From the thunder, and the storm—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 20-22

  And the cloud that took the form
  (When the rest of Heaven was blue)
  Of a demon in my view—

  

  

  

  

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“Alone” Symbols

• 

  The Demon

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“Alone” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Parallelism

  

  

  

  

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• Anaphora

  

  

  

  

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• Anadiplosis

  

  

  

  

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• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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“Alone” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Childhood's Hour
• Passions
• Common Spring
• Good and Ill
• Torrent
• Demon

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Alone”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Alone” Speaker

“Alone” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Alone”

More “Alone” Resources

• External Resources

  • Publication History — Read about the publication history of the poem, from its first appearance to the present day.

  • The Poem Aloud — Hear the poem read aloud by the actor Basil Rathbone.

  • Biography and Poems — Read a biography of Poe at the Poetry Foundation, and find links to more of his work.

  • The Poe Museum — Learn more about Poe's life, times, and works at the website of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

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  • To Helen