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Sat 8 Mar, 2003 12:29 pm
I was debating on which poem to discuss.. and write an essay on it. Either Annabel Lee or Alone, and I've chosen Alone. Can anyone translate the poem Alone by Edgar Allan Poe? I've gotten some parts of it, but can't seem to some other parts. I'm not totally sure if I translated it right.. if anyone could help me, I would really appreciate the help, thanks in advance!
Original:
1) From childhood's hour I have not been
2) As others were; I have not seen
3) As others saw; I could not bring
4) My passions from a common spring.
5) From the same source I have not taken
6) My sorrow; I could not awaken
7) My heart to joy at the same tone;
8) And all I loved, I loved alone.
9) Then - in my childhood, in the dawn
10) Of a most stormy life - was drawn
11) From every depth of good and ill
12) The mystery which binds me still:
13) From the torrent, or the fountain,
14) From the red cliff of the mountain,
15) From the sun that round me rolled
16) In its autumn tint of gold,
17) From the lightning in the sky
18) As it passed me flying by,
19) From the thunder and the storm,
20) And the cloud that took the form
21) (When the rest of Heaven was blue)
22) Of a demon in my view.
My View:
1) Since he was born, he was not
2) how others were; he has not seen
3) what others could see(saw the world differently than everyone else, not badly, just differently); He couldn't
4) relate to other children/connect with most of society as far as childhood goes.
5) He did not dwell on his
6) pain/mental suffering; he could not open
7) his heart to happiness at the same time;
8) All his loved ones weren't there to love him and he was all by himself. OR He found beauty in the uncommon things, not the typical, and he felt that he was the only one who did
9) THEN(meaning a transition) in his childhood, the begining
10) of his life was born
11) From all the good and bad
12) It still is a mystery to him; (Perhaps Poe did not know the cause of his depression)
13) From the torrent(heavy downpour)
(possibly a metaphor for cause and effect)
14) overcome an obstacle,
15) Like sunsine, it makes him happy
16) Like gold,
17) In the brief moment of success
18) another greater obstacle is present,
19) From the loud, vociferous remarks or threats,
20) the cloud, that darkens or fills with gloom
21) the sky was still blue(I guess meaning he was sad while everyone else around him was happy)
22) a visionary experience, perhaps a dream, that is his alone. "of a demon in my view"- not necessarily and evil demon, but a spirit or haunting power from beyond, immanent(present) in his vision.
I see a poor man pressed down by his own fears and insecurities. There are so many people today who are parentless, different, and/or constantly harrassed because of these differences. Do you think this is the right meaning of the poem?
Poe was a brilliant young man who had the gift of genius, together with the curse of madness. He speaks of never having perceived the world as others have. "I could not bring my passions from a common spring"- He could not derive pleasure as his peers did. He was different, and he knew it, even as a child. He speaks of "the mystery which binds me still"- He did not understand why he was the way that he was. No matter what the situation, no matter what was going on in his life, he was haunted by the "demon", his mental illness.
In this poem we are Poe is not merely speaking of young insecurities. He sees himself as basically different, that his perception of the world is seen through the filter of madness.
I love this poem, it is in my profile. I agree with most of your conclusions.
Poe was no mad but he had his demons and was usually frank about it.
Here is a quote by Poe that is also in my profile:
I became insane, with long intervals of
horrible sanity. During these fits of absolute
unconsciousness I drank, God only knows how
often or how much. As a matter of course, my
enemies referred the insanity to the drink
rather than the drink to the insanity.- EA Poe