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. |
The theme and subject of this poem relate a lot back to Poe's life. When he was younger he lost pretty much his entire family which effected his whole life. He thought differently than other children did because of this early lose. He had a darker persona from childhood. The green passage shows this difference in thought that Poe lived through. The line highlighted in red could be referring also to Poe's abusive father or himself. His father was known to be abusive so he coudl be calling him the devil in his view or he coudl see himself as a evil and cruel person. The poem's overall theme is about how lonely Poe was. He was so different and in this perspecitve difference he was alone.
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