How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw (1-3)
The speaker has marched to the beat of his own drummer for a long time—since he was a child, in fact. There are all the "others," and there is him. The repetition of "I" in these lines will continue throughout the poem, and emphasizes the speaker's singularity.
Quote #2
I could not bring
My passions from a common spring (3-4)
The distinction between the speaker and everybody else is further described. His passions do not come from a "common spring." In a way, then, the speaker becomes associated with what is uncommon. This foreshadows the sense of uniqueness we detect later in the poem.
Quote #3
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow (5-6)
This marks the third time the speaker has said "I have not." All these negatives ("have not") make us think that being different is a lot like, well, not having something—like friends, or things in common with other people. It sounds like poverty to us. Bad times.