Acquainted With The Night

In their eyes is the truth. The speaker in Dickinson’s poem promotes adaptation as the primary response to the darkness; one must, “fit our Vision to the Dark –” before acting. With courage and conviction can the speaker finally move forward “And meet the Road – erect”. Familiarization to the darkness instills a sense of fortitude with which the speaker suggests may assist until the light returns. While the speaker in Dickinson’s poem chooses to face the darkness, the speaker in Frost’s poem becomes enveloped within it, shying away from the surrounding society. Embarrassed by this nightly wandering, the speaker scarcely responds to meeting the watchman on his beat, saying, “And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.” By lowering the eyes, the speaker assumes a passive role, choosing to dwell within the night rather than facing it. This melancholy response may appear cowardly against the courageous action of the other poem, but the speaker knows that one must become acquainted with the night before moving on from this solitary lifestyle. In both poems, the reaction to the darkness is within the eyes. They must change themselves to face the darkness, or let the night change

In Emily Dickenson's "We Grow Accustomed to the Dark," and in Robert Frost's "Acquainted with the Night," the poets use imagery of darkness. The two poems share much in common in terms of structure, theme, imagery, and motif. Both poems are five stanzas long: brief and poignant. The central concepts of being "accustomed" to something, and being "acquainted" with something convey a sense of familiarity. However, there are core differences in the ways Dickenson and Frost craft their poems. Although both Dickenson and Frost write about darkness, they do so with different points of view, imagery, and structure.

Our lives, whether we realize it or not, revolve around emotion. When plagued with sadness, we find it hard to function; our daily lives hindered and impossible to live. When we feel jubilant, life is comfortable and satisfying. But whatever the circumstance, emotions will eventually lose their grip and sink into the river of time, forgotten until mentioned again. Depression, however, has a profound effect. Depression doesn't fade like emotion; it clings to the minds of the unfortunate souls possessing it, never surrendering its grip. It cemented itself onto the likes of Vincent Van Gogh, Mark Twain, and Robert Frost. Frost's poem "Acquainted with the night," offers insight into the life of a lonely soul affected by depression. Frost emphasizes the seclusion depression brings, isolating those who have it from the rest of the world.

The “larger darknesses” Dickinson is referring to are the ones that reside inside such as depression and despair. So, by shifting away from the third person point of view that opened this poem represents the isolation one feels when struggling with their own “larger darknesses”. When

Yet, Emily Dickinson has a polarized tone in her “We Grow Accustomed to the Dark.” The poem acknowledges that “Those Evenings of the Brain” (Dickinson 10) are horrible, but that “Darkness alters” (Dickinson

Dark and night are themes commonly used in literature. These themes can also be found in “We Grow Accustomed to the Dark” by Emily Dickinson and “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost. The first poem, written by Dickinson, focuses more on darkness and the effect it has on people. However, the latter poem, written by Frost, focuses more on the night. The differences and similarities in how the narrator's use darkness and night are shown in the point of views, imagery, and structure.

The poem “Acquainted with the night’ by Robert Frost gives a description of a speaker experiencing depression in his daily life, he wanders through the night trying to escape the isolation he is going through. Frost uses the poem’s allusion to represent his soul. He uses the night to describe his soul, depression, loneliness, and isolation. The title of the poem tells a lot about the content that was written. The word “acquainted” that is used in the title tells the relationship between what’s going on with the narrator and the “night”.

Out of all the literature that I have read for this themed reading assignment regarding loneliness, alienation, and self-identity, I believe that the poem Acquainted with the Night clearly addresses how a person can express feeling lonely, being isolated from others, and loss of identity. This is possible through a common mental health disorder that can affect everyone. However, the most crucial element in this poem is the author's depression and how this illness negatively affects how he feels, the way he thinks, and how he acts that can make him become isolated from other people. The narrator in the poem describes his loneliness while walking beyond the city limits and along the remote city streets at night. He could never find anything to

Isolated from the world and searching for something more, perfectly describes the underlying message of “Acquainted with the Night”. The speakers’ isolated tone characterizes the poem and his time spent being “one acquainted with the night”. Telling of all the desolate and isolated times he has had, “I have walked out in rain- and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light.” The somber tone provides a sense of loneliness and understanding that puts you in the position to see how the speaker truly feels.

Robert Frost’s “Acquainted with the Night” is written in Terza Rima, a very uncommon form first used by Dante Alighieri, the famous Italian poet. Terza Rima is a very cyclical form, with the unusual rhyme scheme interlocking the stanzas. Frost uses this form to represent the cyclical nature of his night time journeys to the edge of town, as well at the cyclical nature of depression and suicidal ideation. The most interesting thing about this poem is how ambiguous it is, and how Frost goes about creating the ambiguity. It is extremely straight-forward, and is not hard to interpret literally.

Even though the author’s use of symbols indicated the mood to be sad and depressing. In the poem, it states “I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in the rain-and back in rain.” The symbols night and rain symbolizes depression and sadness. He is so sad and isolated he doesn’t even want to hear his own footsteps.

First, both poems effectively demonstrate the different receptions of isolation through their use of language. In “Acquainted with the Night” Frost establishes his feelings of the night. Robert Frost personifies that the narrator is “one acquainted with

The worst feeling to a wretched individual is when loneliness and depression merge together, leaving the fragile human left in the saddest thoughts and the most heartbreaking state. Robert Frost’s “Acquainted with the Night,” illustrates the feeling of isolation and depression through the use of imagery and symbolism to develop the mood and theme of the poem. Frost sketches a depressing setting through the imagery of the rain and darkness, also outlining the moon as a symbol of light. When a human thinks of a depressing setting, they think about rain and a dark atmosphere. Frost elucidates this by stating “I have walked out in rain – and back in rain.”

Robert Frost had a fascination towards loneliness and isolation and thus expressed these ideas in his poems through metaphors. The majority of the characters in Frost’s poems are isolated in one way or another. In some poems, such as “Acquainted with the Night” and “Mending Wall,” the speakers are lonely and isolated from their societies. On other occasions, Frost suggests that isolation can be avoided by interaction with other members of society, for example in “The Tuft of Flowers,” where the poem changes from a speaker all alone, to realizing that people are all connected in some way or another. In Robert Frost’s poems “Acquainted with the Night,” “Mending Wall,” and “The Tuft of Flowers,” the themes insinuate the idea of loneliness

In “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost, the poet writes about a man and his disconnection to society and his suffering of depression. Frost uses symbolism, Anaphora, imagery, personification and alliterations to convey his feelings of depression. In this poem written in terza rima rhyme scheme, Frost uses figurative language to paint a vivid picture of loneliness and despair. Even within the title itself, Frost makes it clear and simple to what the poem will be about. The word “Acquainted” means to be “familiar with” and the word “night” is often use to symbolize darkness.