An Outsider

“Alone”

 by 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.

Poe gave this poem the title, “Alone,” however, I don’t think this is a poem about solitude.  I think it is more about the sensation of feeling alone in the world.  We have all at one time or another felt like we don’t belong.  In this poem, Poe talks about why he feels like an outsider:  “I have not been as others were; I have not seen as others saw.”  My favorite line in the poem is when Poe says, “and all I loved, I loved alone.”  I often feel the same way.  Sometimes I love things that other people could just careless about.  For example, I love sharing a meal with my family on the holidays.  There is something about it, when your there, and everyone is joking around.  I just feel safe.  I feel like I’m a part of something and I know they’re the only people who truely care about me.  Another example is when a girl gently strokes your back with her hands and this tingly feeling runs through your entire body.  I love that.  Most people will say they love money or cars or somthing that is at least less simplistic.  This is why I feel the same way as Poe does; I love alone. 

 The last lines of the poem really sum up why Poe feels like an outsider: “From the thunder and the storm, and the cloud that took that form when the rest of Heaven was blue of a demon in my view.”  Poe is saying that most people see the blue skies while he sees a cloud that looks like a demon.  Poe had a hard life.  He didn’t look around and see blue skies and rainbows.  He saw death.  I learned in school that his wife and his mother both died of tuberculosis.  Since he has had a lot more hardship in his life than most people, he saw himself as an outsider.  I feel the same way because I have also seen “a most stormy life.”

The Importance of Solitude

Ode on Solitude

by Alexander Pope

 

Happy the man, whose wish and care

A few paternal acres bound,

Content to breathe his native air,

In his own ground.

 

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,

Whose flocks supply him with attire,

Whose trees in summer yield him shade,

In winter fire.

 

Blest, who can unconcern’dly find

Hours, days, and years slide soft away,

In health of body, peace of mind,

Quiet by day,

 

Sound sleep by night, study and ease,

Together mixed; sweet recreation;

And innocence, which most does please

With meditation.

 

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown,

Thus unlamented let me die,

Steal from the world, and not a stone

Tell where I lie.

I think that Pope does a wonderful job explaining why he values solitude.  He uses the life of a farmer to describe how peaceful and unstressful a life of solitude can be.  He also connects solitude with nature saying how his “flocks” supply him with his “attire” and the trees give him shade and “winter fire.”  He  then talks of how the farmer is healthy and mentions that at night he sleeps soundly.  I think that this is not the case for me because I grew up in the city.  It is a fast pace lifestyle.  Everyone eats at fast food places and beeps as soon as the light turns red.  We often forget to take some time to enjoy the simple things in life.  I think that this is the focus of the poem.

I especially like the line where Pope says that he is “content to breathe his native air, in his own ground.”  I like this line because I think a lot of people are quick to put down where they’re from and they can’t wait to leave when they get older.  I think Pope is trying to say that we should be proud of our background as humble as it might be and by the end of poem he conveys just how humble he wishes his lifestyle to be:  He says that he wants to die without having a tombstone or being mourned for.  This last stanza of the poem helped me tie in the total meaning of the poem.  I think that Pope is trying to convey that a person, who does not value solitude, is a people pleaser.  A people pleaser is someone who trys to make everyone like them and strives to be popular or famous.  If you are not a people pleaser, you can use moments of solitude in order to live a peaceful life that is void of stress.  I believe that this is what Pope is trying to tell his audience.

Tainted Dreams of Women

Read this poem please

I think that this poem is about a girl who has been either abused or raped by her lover.  It captures the feelings of a lot of girls who have had this happen to them.  She talks of having “tainted dreams.”  I think that this refers to how she thought of love and how these horrible experiences have changed how she used to think of it.  Maybe she thought of it as it is in the fairy tales where theres a knight in shining armor and so forth.  These hopes and dreams of true love were crushed or “tainted.” She talks of how she still continues to hold out her heart or extend her love to him even after these acts of violence.  This is illustrated in the second stanza.  The author writes of how her fingers are unsure and her hands are shaking as she “holds out her heart.”  She then talks of how she drops her heart on the floor.  I think this symbolizes her inability to ever love or trust another man again.  She then says that she will soon loose her soul in the same way.  I think that this line conveys that he has taken everything away from her.  

I thought this poem correctly captured the feelings of a woman who has been a victim in an abusive relationship.  I have known women who have been in such relationships and it always baffaled me how they would continue to “hold out their heart” hoping things would change in the future.  This poem correctly yet sadly portrays this all to common phenomenon and its final result.  If you want to see more poems by this author her username is tornpaperdoll at darkpoetry.com.  I am not sure what her actual name is.

The Balance in Life According to Paul Meinke

Click here to read the poem
I enjoyed reading the poem, Advice to My Son, by Peter Meinke because it highlights the importance of maintaining a balance between work and leisure.  This balance is portrayed many times throughout the poem.  Meinke says “between the peony and the rose plant squash and spinach, turnips and tomatoes.”  The rose and the peony are the beautiful things in life that are quite important however cannot be eaten.  This is why Meinke says to plant edible foods between them because these are the necessities of life.  Meinke also says, “Always serve bread with your wine.  But son always serve wine.”  He places importance again on the necessities which in this case is “bread,” but at the same time he emphasizes “wine” or the beautiful things in life as well.

This message struck home with me because I live a very busy life everyday of the week.  I go straight from school to work during most of the weekdays and I work all weekend long.  I find some time everyday though even if its only twenty minutes some days to let loose in which case I usually dance and blast the tunes.  If I did not find this time, I would be a very miserable man.  So I strongly agree with Meinke: “Always serve wine.”