Alone

Edgar Allan Poe

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—
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—
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—
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—
From the lightning in the sky
As it pass’d me flying by—
From the thunder, and the storm—
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view—

Question: What are some seminal and/or controversial creative outputs/projects in your targeted domain(s)? What makes them so?

This was one of the poems that I came across which was more seminal in my targeted domain. ‘Alone’ by Edgar Allan Poe is a personal lamentation or autobiography of his life in which he describes his emotions and perspectives of his struggles as a result of his circumstance. It could also be seen as a confession of his struggles with depression.

In the poem, he presents a glimpse into his childhood whereby he was orphaned at an early age and was sent for studies abroad by his step parents. He depicts his struggles of growing up alone and being unable to experience real happiness. The lines that are particularly striking are:

My passions from a common spring—
From the same source I have not taken

Here, he describes his mental desolation that drives his “passions” and his flair in writing. And from that source in which he was able to derive his writing ability from, it brings him mental despair.

From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—

Here, Edgar describes himself finding loneliness and isolation even within the things he love.

This, I do believe is one of the most seminal outputs in the literary domain. I am certain it resonates strongly with many writers and poets, given that the expression of writing originates from an intimate place, one which many refuse to share with the world. Writing, is sharing emotions which cannot be worded by the mouth. As such, many, especially myself would say that in some way or another, this poem describes aptly how literary writers feel most of the time. While this “source” may not be a broken background or an innate sense of loneliness and isolation (though it happens to be most of the time), all literary writers have a source in which they tap on to produce a creative output.

Another hypothesis derived from this poem is that writers have a better understanding of their identity, which is why they may be more in touch with their emotions, where negative thoughts and emotions in the case of this poem, is amplified. The reflection we did, on finding your voice, may be foreign to many people as they have not questioned their purpose or their individual identity, choosing to conform to society’s expectations. Whereas for writers, I do believe that they have already found their identity, and choose to express it through writing. (This is not trying to generalise every other profession. I do believe there are many ways in which people find their identities and their voice other than through writing.)

Personally, writing allows me to express my emotions and my sentiments in another dimension in which I believe can only be achieved through writing. Similar to Edgar Allan Poe’s “source”, mine usually originates from one of loneliness, though it would be extremely impudent to say that our degrees of loneliness are the same. My greatest inspiration for writing comes, when I am in a foreign country, walking down a crowded street on a cold night, feeling lonely. I do not yet have an explanation for this feeling but it just comes and goes, like waves in the sea. Perhaps, the best word I discovered that describes this is ‘monachopsis’.

Edgar Allan Poe’s feeling of isolation is perhaps, expressed in one of the most distressing way I have ever came across in my years of writing and reading. He states:

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

Here, Edgar Allan Poe distances himself, or rather, find himself distanced from the rest of the world -“Heaven” while he has a “demon” in his view. The “demon” here refers to himself, where he sees himself so wretched and broken that it locks himself out from heaven. The contrast between heaven and demon here shows the depth in which he feels out of place in this world.

Again, the distance here is something I am certain, the gatekeepers in my domain may feel constantly. I am not referring to a social life or having friends. But rather, there is always this gap I believe writers feel between themselves and the world. I feel it constantly, when I have a wealth of emotions to express but I do not know how to do so. The only way in which I have been able to show slivers of these emotions is through my writing.

Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘Alone’ is written as a lyrical poem. The writing style here is in couplets, moving from an iambic tetrameter to a trochaic tetrameter. The poem uses many words with the vowels ‘a’ and ‘o’ as well, which give off a darker and melancholic tone. This poem, is in my humble opinion, one of the most beautifully written poems I have ever read. It gives off a beautiful and forlorn sadness. The literary techniques used in this poem were extensive and intricate as well. I would say that this poem really would be a seminal piece in the literary domain.

‘Alone’ also covers the aspect of controversial if we were to analyse it during its time. Edgar Allan Poe lived in the 1800s where depression was not recognised as an illness but rather dismissed or concluded as an individual’s own deficiencies. In common day, depression has been looked at more seriously, with suicide rates increasing. Back in Edgar’s day, he would have been classified as a case of personal weakness and inaptitude. This poem, I believe, if it was proliferated during that time, would have brought immense comfort to those who suffered the same illness as well. Even today, many societies still frown upon people with depression. This poem would be a great rallying call for many.

There are many creative outputs that are both seminal and controversial in this domain. However, I felt the need to share this poem as I felt that it really encapsulates everything I believe writers (or at least myself) feel. It is what I myself would fear to disclose in detail to anyone else, which Edgar courageously pens as one of his greatest works.