In Maya Angelou’s poem, “Alone”, discusses dark themes that are incredibly relevant to stereotypical poetry. This poem is very appropriately titled “Alone”, because it is about the speaker discussing lonesomeness. She discusses her own loneliness, the loneliness of others, then finally a call for action regarding how to not be lonely. The speaker reminisces about her lonely life using a very melancholy tone, but then shifts into a more blunt tone as the reality of loneliness arises.
The speaker uses a very sorrowful tone as she laments to her audience about her lonesomeness. The first lines of the poem, give the audience a feeling of what the whole tone of the piece will be. The first four words read, “Lying, thinking / last night”. Having …show more content…
This heavy ambiance carries with it a very somber tone that is used as the building block for the entire piece. The following lines carry with them an even deeper meaning. The speaker writes, “find my soul a home / Where water is not thirsty / And bread loaf is not stone”. Firstly, the speaker uses a biblical allusion. The Bible reads, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (Matthew 4:3). This direct inclusion of the Bible in this poem is significant, because it gives the audience a glimpse of the speaker’s values. Secondly, the lines are tied together by an approximate rhyme. The words “home” and “stone” share the same vowel sounds, but have different ending sounds. The poet most likely included this rhyme to fasten and enhance the significant connection between the biblical allusion and connotation of the word “home”. Originally, when reading the line, “find my soul a home”, the audience would infer that “home” meant a physical or mental place. They could infer that the speaker is lost within herself and needs to find her place in life, but the inclusion of the biblical allusion changes the whole meaning. Now, the connotation of the word “home” turns into heaven. The speaker is …show more content…
The point of view being used changes once again from the second stanza to the third. In the second stanza, the speaker was addressing rich people as “they”, but now she changes to “you”. She blatantly is addressing the audience. She does this so that the audience grasps her message. In addition, she repeats the pronoun, “you” to further reinforce the attention of the audience. A powerful symbol surfaces in this stanza. The symbol occurs in the line, “storm clouds are gathering”. The symbol of the storm signifies loneliness as a whole. Since the clouds are gathering, the line translates into how a person can experience isolation and dark times, but even though the clouds are there, it doesn’t have to mean that they will be there forever. Eventually, like every storm it will pass, no matter how much rain there is. The symbol gets the audience to realize that the destitute feeling is just temporary and it will pass in time. The whole final stanza is the poet’s call for action. The whole stanza revolves around the fact that people are ruining glee, by being selfish. She then leaves us with a message. That message is to branch out and work alongside other people to escape solitude. Everyone gets lonely, but people can’t let it consume them
The speaker uses a very sorrowful tone as she laments to her audience about her lonesomeness. The first lines of the poem, give the audience a feeling of what the whole tone of the piece will be. The first four words read, “Lying, thinking / last night”. Having …show more content…
This heavy ambiance carries with it a very somber tone that is used as the building block for the entire piece. The following lines carry with them an even deeper meaning. The speaker writes, “find my soul a home / Where water is not thirsty / And bread loaf is not stone”. Firstly, the speaker uses a biblical allusion. The Bible reads, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (Matthew 4:3). This direct inclusion of the Bible in this poem is significant, because it gives the audience a glimpse of the speaker’s values. Secondly, the lines are tied together by an approximate rhyme. The words “home” and “stone” share the same vowel sounds, but have different ending sounds. The poet most likely included this rhyme to fasten and enhance the significant connection between the biblical allusion and connotation of the word “home”. Originally, when reading the line, “find my soul a home”, the audience would infer that “home” meant a physical or mental place. They could infer that the speaker is lost within herself and needs to find her place in life, but the inclusion of the biblical allusion changes the whole meaning. Now, the connotation of the word “home” turns into heaven. The speaker is …show more content…
The point of view being used changes once again from the second stanza to the third. In the second stanza, the speaker was addressing rich people as “they”, but now she changes to “you”. She blatantly is addressing the audience. She does this so that the audience grasps her message. In addition, she repeats the pronoun, “you” to further reinforce the attention of the audience. A powerful symbol surfaces in this stanza. The symbol occurs in the line, “storm clouds are gathering”. The symbol of the storm signifies loneliness as a whole. Since the clouds are gathering, the line translates into how a person can experience isolation and dark times, but even though the clouds are there, it doesn’t have to mean that they will be there forever. Eventually, like every storm it will pass, no matter how much rain there is. The symbol gets the audience to realize that the destitute feeling is just temporary and it will pass in time. The whole final stanza is the poet’s call for action. The whole stanza revolves around the fact that people are ruining glee, by being selfish. She then leaves us with a message. That message is to branch out and work alongside other people to escape solitude. Everyone gets lonely, but people can’t let it consume them