Poetry Showcase: Edgar Allan Poe's "Alone"

by Rukiiyah Sekka

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Edgar Allan Poe

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While Edgar Allan Poe is well known for a few works such as “The Raven”, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and “Annabel Lee”, not many of his other works are as known. Many of his earlier works were actually not very popular at first, though as an aspiring writer many of you know of the struggle. The first work of his to gain national acclaim is the previously mentioned “The Raven” piece. However, another lesser-known poem of his titled “Alone” is to be the focus of this showcase.

This poem hits hard. Present day, many people are still stuck in the throes of quarantine, and those that are at high risk can hardly leave their homes lest they become sick. This poem also discusses what it’s like to be misunderstood, and as a result “alone” in a different sort of manner. The first several lines or so perfectly represent the kind of deep-seated emotional nature of living in today's society.

“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—”

Being stuck in quarantine, many of us may have had a time or too when we were extremely reserved or introspective. Times when we felt like no one would understand our viewpoints, or like no one truly understood us, and the things we’re going through. It seems like everyone’s experience has been different. Some may have lost family, lost their job, or lost their motivation to live. An all too common thing that happens as well is losing contact with friends, since many of us are too depressed to say what we really feel. Losing the ones we care about, and the ones that we love can be hard. That too is one of the greatest things about this poem; The shared human experience of pain and loneliness. We are alone, but at the same time, we are not.

“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—”

Our lives may be stormy and broken up on seas of sand, yet there are still things to look forward to as long as you keep going. Alone as you may feel, others may feel just as lonely as you. There’s nothing wrong with that, uniting in loneliness doesn’t sound like such a bad idea either! In other words, It’s amazing to think about how much this poem resonates with the current rising levels of depression, especially among youth today, while this poem was written well over 100 years ago. People then feel the same way that we do now. It is like another connection to the past like Poe wrote a letter to the future. Hoping that in some way, somewhere, even years down the line, someone would empathize and feel the same way he did.

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Link to the full poem:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46477/alone-56d2265f2667d

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Rukiiyah Sekka is a Junior at New Mexico State University, majoring in Creative Writing, with a minor in Literature. Poetry is a fairly new endeavor for her, as she typically writes fiction, though she has come to love poetry just the same. Her hope is that her degrees will lead her to a job in the publishing industry as an editor, or in similar writing fields. She loves spending time with her SO, a riveting book, and a cup of green tea on a good day. You can find her under the Instagram handle _ruki.ruki22_ or on Twitter @chillyavocado19.