Alone
By Maya Angelou
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.Now if you listen closely
I’ll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
‘Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Summary of Alone
- Popularity of “Alone”: Alone by Maya Angelou, a celebrated American poet, and author is a sad poem. The poem was published in her first volume of poems, Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well, in 1975 and later became an instant hit. It discusses the agony and unheard cries of the people facing biting loneliness. It shows how their lonely state transports them to the world of depression where one faces acute misery. Although the poem addresses the common phenomenon, yet the stark comparison between the lonely speaker and the world is what makes this poem popular.
- “Alone” As a Representative of Sadness: The poem centers on a depressed person who wants to eradicate the shadows of loneliness from her life. It begins when the speaker is alone in her bed, thinking about the ways to kill her boredom. After taking a look at her surroundings, she concludes that nobody in this world can survive alone. She echoes the same idea in the second stanza to emphasize that humans are not made to live lonely lives. As the poem continues, she talks about millionaires who can’t use their wealth to please themselves. Instead, their family utilizes their wealth to fulfill their desires. Resultantly, these millionaires are commonly found at doctor’s clinics complaining about depression, anxiety, and suffering. According to the speaker, even the expensive doctors fail to cure their illnesses. To her, the modern world has stolen the eternal joy from the world. People have started neglecting their fellow human beings, and that is why generations are suffering. To support her point, she propagates the same idea that humans are not meant to live alone in this world.
- Major Themes in “Alone”: Loneliness, man versus the world, and suffering are the major themes of the poem. It is a thoughtful poem that addresses the common problem of our society. The speaker highlights how lonely people are neglected in society. Instead of getting extra care, they are simply ignored and left out in this world. On the one hand, the poem details the pain of a lonely person. While on the other hand, it mocks the dramatic life of the millionaires, who spend their lives filling their pockets with wealth. Unfortunately, their family spends their hoarded wealth, leaving them on the verge of tension, depression, and anxiety. To cure their illness, they hire expensive doctors, but unfortunately, their efforts bear no fruits. Through this simple text, the writer reinforces the idea that an ideal life needs to have a blend of candid emotions like love, care, affection, and togetherness.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Alone”
literary devices bless a poem with unique feelings and meanings and ideas. Their clever usage helps the readers to reach the real message. The analysis of the devices used in this beautiful poem is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ “To cure their hearts of stone” and again the sound of /o/ in “And bread loaf is not stone.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /r/ in “run round” and /w/ in “Where water.”
- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. Maya Angelou has repeated the word “the” in the second stanza of the poem to emphasize the point such as;
“The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /r/ in “Storm clouds are gathering” and the sound of /t/ in “With money they can’t use.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example:
“I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Maya Angelou has used imagery in this poem such as “Their children sing the blues”, “Storm clouds are gathering,” and “Their wives run round like banshees.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poet has used loneliness as an extended metaphor just to show how it kills people from the inside out.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows symbols like loneliness, disappointment, and sadness to show the cold response of society toward lonely people.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Alone”
Poetic elements bring rhythm, harmony, and appropriate mood to the poem. The analysis of the poetic devices used in this poem is as follows.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows descriptive diction having all devices at work. However, the tone is somewhat agonizing and tragic.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Repetition: The poem shows repetition of some verses which has created a musical quality in the poem such as;
“Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.”
- Refrain: The lines occurring repeatedly at some distance in a poem is called a refrain. The following verses, therefore, are refrain.
“Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.”
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are six stanzas in this poem with each having different lines.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines from the poem “Alone” are useful to quote while talking about the harsh realities of modern world, where people have become materialistic, heartless and flint-hearted.
“There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.”
