Poetry Assignment-Mia

"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 loved, I loved alone.
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
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed 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.


Thesis:Poe uses imagery, tone and a first person point of view to communicate to his audience an emotional understanding of the bitterness of his past experiences.

Questions:

1) What do you think Poe is speaking of when he references "a demon" at the end of the poem?

2) In the second last line, Poe writes "when the rest of Heaven was blue". Why do you think the author chose the colour blue? What kind of tone does it set? Would it set a different mood if another colour was chosen?
3) Do you notice a change in tone throughout the piece?
4) What line stands out to you most or conveys a different tone than the rest of the poem?
5) How else could this piece be interpreted?
6) According to the poem, Poe experiences a feeling of being alone. What type of events does Edgar Allan Poe express difficulty with experiencing throughout his upbringing?