Help interpeting poem?

Question

Alone By Edgar Allan Poe
From childhoods hour i hav not been
As others were-I have not seen
as others saw- i could not bring
my passions from a comon 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
then-in my childhood-in the dawn
of a most stormy life-was drawn
from evr'y depth of good and ill
the mystery which binds mes still
from the torrent, or the mountain
from the red cliff of the mountain
fromt 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
from the thunder, and the storm
and the cloud that took the from
(when the rest of heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view

Answer 1

Hey OOCC,

Check out the web site with an analysis.

.: darkness of soul :.

I find lines 1-8 to be a statement of remorseful acceptance in his adult life of his inability to appreciate "the sunny side of life" as most others claim to do.
The words "I could not awaken" would indicate his failed attempts to do so.
In his adult life, he accepts his perceived great "difference" from others; he is not referring to the everyday differences which make us all unique but rather, a chasm which separates him.
The remaining lines are a retrospective view of his early life, beginning when he first realized that he had a fascination with the morose and morbid.

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

The "mystery" is simply put, his "darkness".

The remaining lines build to the climax of the poem, which I feel is the last line.

"From the torrent, or the fountain" tells us he sees darkness in both good and "bad" things equally. "From the red cliff of the mountain" paints a sanguine picture of foreboding power, "From the sun that round me rolled, In its autumn tint of gold" paints a picture of the fall, a time of impending death before the cold of winter - it's no coincidence that Halloween is celebrated then. "From the lightning in the sky" introduces the climax,

"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."

In the final two line, he illustrates fully his propensity to find the morbid in even the most beautiful of things where others do not, and brings us full circle to the beginning of the poem.

I feel the word demon is perhaps the most important in the entire poem. It indicates the level of his darkness of vision, and gives scale to the chasm that he feels separates him from others.

Answer 2

It indicates Poe battled depression from an early age.
He's saying that from childhood (birth even) he saw the world differently.
"-I have not seen
as others saw-"

He could not find happiness in the same things others did, and felt isolated, alone, set apart from his peers.
"i could not bring
my passions from a comon 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
"

It describes the difficulty Poe had in finding beauty in a world that seemed dark and threatening to him.

Hope that helps a little.