Robert Frost 's “Acquainted with the Night” is about a man who frequently journeys out at night and roams about the city alone. He is familiar with the atmosphere around him and it’s apparent he has wandered far beyond the city. Throughout the poem the speaker does not communicate with anyone and a sense of silence and suspense pervade his walks. It is understood that the speaker is very lonely on his walks and often finds himself hoping someone would call out to him. As the speaker strolls through the dark city streets midst the night, it’s evident that he is deeply troubled and dismal as the poem develops a gloomy, dejected tone. The poem begins by stating “ I have been one acquainted with the night” which implies that the speaker is …show more content…
As Roger Gilbert stated “Such grammar dispels the kind of precise sequential focus that the earlier poems display, instead creating a repetitive space in which constancy rather than change is emphasized”(49-74) the repetition of the phrase “i have” adds a routined feel to the poem and reveals that his walks never impact his outlook and leave him with a constant state of mind. The speakers determination to continuously proceed on his walks is demonstrated when he states “I have walked out in the rain- and back again in the rain. / i have outwalked the furthest city light.” The “furthest city light” is a representation of the final signs of life the speaker passes before he can reach absolute darkness physically as well as mentally. By entering blackness, the speaker demonstrates a desire for loneliness and isolation from any form of life. Similarly, Roger Gilbert’s stated: “the speaker makes a point of “outwalk[ing] the furthest city light”(49-74),leaving behind the human markers and habitations that create a sense of community, and faring into a lonelier kind of landscape.” The last words of the first and third lines rhyme- “night” and “light” to link them together and emphasize the contrast of the bright city lights compared to his own darkness. The night is oftenly associated with its own horrors and mystery, and speaker relates to the night because it corresponds with his own sorrowful
Right at the beginning of the poem, Frost’s unnamed speaker declares that they “have been one acquainted with the night” (Frost 1). The word acquainted implies a relationship that, while not unfriendly, lacks the close emotional connection often seen in friendship while the night itself, despite often being characterized as a symbol of death and darkness, can also be seen as a time of quiet, meditation, and peace free from the chaos of city life. Therefore, when the speaker says they “have been one acquainted
The first line in the poem “I been one acquainted with the night” states that the setting is outside during the night. Also, the night is a metaphor for depression. Night is a metaphor because it can easily be interpreted as sadness, depression, or even suffering from any life events.
In the poem “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost, the speaker sets a tone of loneliness, acceptance, and depression, all throughout the poem. In this poem the speaker surroundings are all distant, he has no family or friends. He walks “down the saddest city lane” (Frost, 1928, 4) feeling helpless but has never found anything to comfort his depression. Leaving the reader a connection and a better understanding of his life. In his poem, “Acquainted with the Night” Frost uses imagery, a metaphor, and irony to illustrate how depression and loneliness affects the speaker.
“Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost is a very interesting poem to analyze because it is open to so many different interpretations. This is something Frost was very talented at with his work, as many of his other poems can all be open to multiple interpretations. One meaning of this poem could simply be Frost revealing his introverted personality while making a routine walk in the city of London. Although this is only a setting, since we see other dark aspects of this poem. This poem uses a handful of literary devices but focuses on symbolism and setting.
In Robert Frost’s poem “Acquainted With The Night” he skillfully gives the reader a new perspective on death. There are several sound devices that make use of in this sonnet. For instance, repetition is used in this poem “I have been one acquainted with the night”. This phrase is said at the beginning and the closing of the poem. Another sound device in “Acquainted With The Night” is the rhyme scheme which is ABA, BCB, CDC, DD. Therefore, this sonnet uses several sound devices to give the reader a new perspective on death.
Thesis: Robert Frost has used various ways to show the emotions felt by the man in the poem. These ways include a variety of symbolism, expressive imagery, and his individual writing style. He uses these in the poem, “Acquainted with the Night,” to describe the emotions of a man who is going through a state of depression.
Robert Frost, a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote “acquainted with the night”. Frost is all about expressing isolation and depression in this poem. Frost reveals that isolating yourself from people and your feelings can cause yourself to experience depression and loneliness. In
“Acquainted with the Night” has a deeper meaning which is meant to represent depression. The beginning of the poem (lines three and, four) support the deeper meaning because it states “I have walked out in rain - and back in rain./ I have outwalked the furthest city light.”. These lines mean that the speaker has disclosed himself from society, and feels like after trying to fix his life, but the result is unchangeable, and remains horrible. The middle of the poem shows the speaker trying to grasp at reconnection to society, but fails
Traditionally, an author applies specific literary devices to emphasize the meaning of their work. Frost uses imagery to express the total mood of being melancholy throughout the poem. The main character in “Acquainted with the Night” is depicted as a lonely, ashamed, human being whose existence is no longer relevant. Lines three and four state, “…furthest city light.” and “…saddest city lane,” because Frost wanted to illustrate the pain the man had
He talks of how he has been “acquainted with the night,” perhaps using “the night” as a symbol of emotional darkness and destitute. He speaks of how he has “outwalked the furthest city light,” indicative of how he has separated himself from society. He mentions how he has “looked down the saddest city lane,” a clear expression of how he has visited the lowest of emotional valleys during his life. He even mentions how he has stopped in his tracks to listen to a voice calling in the distance, with a false sense of hope that this voice is calling out for him. This poem could not be more obviously a commentary on Frost’s depression and loneliness, accomplished through symbolism and
For Frost, this “night” is his depression. To this is the only way he can cope with life. The title sets the tone for the poem, knowing it will be dark and somewhat eerie. The term “Acquainted with the Night,” is repeated at the three most important times in a poem; it is stated in the title, the first line of the poem, and the last sentence of the poem; each time revealing a much deeper meaning of the phrase and the poem.
There is more than a million poems in the world it seems that are written by Robert Frost, but the most interesting is his Fire and Ice Poem. While reading poetry is not a strong point for some people poetry can open up a whole new world of ideas within a few short sentences no matter how big or small the poem is. Fire and Ice by Robert Frost seems to want to tell the reader how the world might end which mostly true but on the other hand the poem bring out a whole other meaning to just how presses your life can be either it’s good or bad.
(Nicole Smith, 2011), the speaker reflects on his sleeping lovely child about his childhood concerning his lacks of access to nature, because as he stated, “For I was reared/ In the great city pent’ mid
It begins at midnight with a speaker who seems to be tired and weak. It seems as though the speaker one can assume to be a man has stayed up this late pondering on some thought. Suddenly he hears a noise come from his door, but merely dismisses it to be nothing serious. This stanza in particular sets the mood of the entire poem it allows the reader to understand already that this poem will not be one of happiness or joy, but rather one of bleakness and disparity.
Within the poem Acquainted with the Night, It is clear that the speaker has alienated himself from society. The speaker states, “I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain-and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light”(lines 1-3). The speaker is obvious in his explanation in the fact that he has an