| Famous Poetry | Anime Roleplay | Free Video Tutorials | Online Poetry Club | Free Education | Best of Youtube | Ear Training
Acquainted With The Night Analysis
Author: Poetry of Robert Frost Type: Poetry Views: 28954
 |
I have walked out in rain-and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,But not to call me back or say good-by;
And further still at an unearthly height
One luminary clock against the skyProclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.
Sponsor
Free Online Education from Top Universities
Yes! It's true. Online College Education is now free!
Streaming Anime Online
Watch full streaming anime episodes free.
||| Analysis | Critique | Overview Below |||
.: :.
I like the insight of Approved Guest's structural analysis, to build on that I feel that the syntax of the line's below possibly highlight Frost's intention when writing this piece.
'I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,'
I find it interesting that Frost places his reaction before the event of the cry. I feel this demonstrates clearly the outer personification of an inner inexpressionable state. As it has been previously pointed out the line
'Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.'
the figure could be stuck between a state of non existence and existence, what in Japanese is referred to as the state of ku.
Ku can be expressed by an analogy of music. It is impossible to explain the presence the affect music can have on a listener’s emotional state when the actual notes on the page when deconstructed logically don't have the same impact. I am not expressing this very well but I'll leave it for the reader to look into as this is a very complex theory to unravel. I feel it is important to acknowledge this state because it is easy to say that the figure is apathetic or guilty but what exactly are those states. Well the state of guilt is complex with respect to the fact that it is the result of having a feeling about a feeling creating a state of numbness which perpetuates a sense of loneliness. This perpetuating cycle is represented by the cycle of the opening line and closing line.
The event of the cry therefore is an outer personification of pain or guilt and so forth the figure has experienced but that is not to say it hasn't actually happened. It is important to remember we only experience life and it's range of complex states through our experience and understanding of the world outside ourselves which is why I think Frost uses the repetition of 'I have' and not just as a poetic device.
This explanation is somewhat confused I fear but it is my reaction to reading this wonderful piece and everyones comments.
| Posted on 2009-10-25 | by a guest
I like the insight of Approved Guest's structural analysis, to build on that I feel that the syntax of the line's below possibly highlight Frost's intention when writing this piece.
'I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,'
I find it interesting that Frost places his reaction before the event of the cry. I feel this demonstrates clearly the outer personification of an inner inexpressionable state. As it has been previously pointed out the line
'Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.'
the figure could be stuck between a state of non existence and existence, what in Japanese is referred to as the state of ku.
Ku can be expressed by an analogy of music. It is impossible to explain the presence the affect music can have on a listener’s emotional state when the actual notes on the page when deconstructed logically don't have the same impact. I am not expressing this very well but I'll leave it for the reader to look into as this is a very complex theory to unravel. I feel it is important to acknowledge this state because it is easy to say that the figure is apathetic or guilty but what exactly are those states. Well the state of guilt is complex with respect to the fact that it is the result of having a feeling about a feeling creating a state of numbness which perpetuates a sense of loneliness. This perpetuating cycle is represented by the cycle of the opening line and closing line.
The event of the cry therefore is an outer personification of pain or guilt and so forth the figure has experienced but that is not to say it hasn't actually happened. It is important to remember we only experience life and it's range of complex states through our experience and understanding of the world outside ourselves which is why I think Frost uses the repetition of 'I have' and not just as a poetic device.
This explanation is somewhat confused I fear but it is my reaction to reading this wonderful piece and everyones comments.
| Posted on 2009-10-25 | by a guest
.: :.
I have enjoyed reading the many insightful comments here. One thing I have always noticed about this poem is that it is written in the past tense. It isn't saying he is speaking from a place of darkness. He is acknowledging that he has been there. I have always felt this poem is ultimately a bit hopeful, a very eloquent acknowledgment that even a long night of darkness and depression had eventually passed.
| Posted on 2009-06-20 | by a guest
I have enjoyed reading the many insightful comments here. One thing I have always noticed about this poem is that it is written in the past tense. It isn't saying he is speaking from a place of darkness. He is acknowledging that he has been there. I have always felt this poem is ultimately a bit hopeful, a very eloquent acknowledgment that even a long night of darkness and depression had eventually passed.
| Posted on 2009-06-20 | by a guest
.: :.
Sonnents are always about unequated love (love that is not given back-i.e you like someone, they dont like you back) and this is a sonnet- unequated love is the theme.
| Posted on 2009-06-14 | by a guest
Sonnents are always about unequated love (love that is not given back-i.e you like someone, they dont like you back) and this is a sonnet- unequated love is the theme.
| Posted on 2009-06-14 | by a guest
.: :.
It is a window for others to see the truth of who they are. You see it as you see it. I believe he felt abond by his father and maybe felt alone. It only takes a few fans to feel your actually talking to someone about your feelings. he is letting us in to have us tell HIM because he is lost walking aimlessly looking for light in the dark
| Posted on 2009-05-19 | by a guest
It is a window for others to see the truth of who they are. You see it as you see it. I believe he felt abond by his father and maybe felt alone. It only takes a few fans to feel your actually talking to someone about your feelings. he is letting us in to have us tell HIM because he is lost walking aimlessly looking for light in the dark
| Posted on 2009-05-19 | by a guest
.: :.
This poem is not literally about leaving and returning to a city - Frost simply uses it as an allusion to represent his SOUL. He uses the night to describe his soul; his lonliness, depression, isolation, etc. There are some Inferno connections: Frost uses Terza Rima rhyme scheme just like Dante. He also mentions that he has "outwalked the furthest city light", meaning he has gone astray which is similar to Dante's first Canto, talking about leaving the right path.
The repetition of the words "I have" represent the author's flat matter-of-factness (Michael Meyer - Poetry: An Introduction). There is a somber, sad tone. He also uses his title, aquainted with the night, to start and end the poem.
When passing the watchman, Frost says he drops his eyes and is "unwilling to explain". This could represent guilt of doing something wrong, or it could simply mean he wants to be alone and ponder about his sadness. We know he is alone because when he stands still in the next line and "stopped the sound of feet" there is silence.
Then he hears an interrupted cry."but not to call me back or say goodbye". This shows that there is nobody there for him and emphasizes his lonliness.
| Posted on 2008-12-07 | by a guest
This poem is not literally about leaving and returning to a city - Frost simply uses it as an allusion to represent his SOUL. He uses the night to describe his soul; his lonliness, depression, isolation, etc. There are some Inferno connections: Frost uses Terza Rima rhyme scheme just like Dante. He also mentions that he has "outwalked the furthest city light", meaning he has gone astray which is similar to Dante's first Canto, talking about leaving the right path.
The repetition of the words "I have" represent the author's flat matter-of-factness (Michael Meyer - Poetry: An Introduction). There is a somber, sad tone. He also uses his title, aquainted with the night, to start and end the poem.
When passing the watchman, Frost says he drops his eyes and is "unwilling to explain". This could represent guilt of doing something wrong, or it could simply mean he wants to be alone and ponder about his sadness. We know he is alone because when he stands still in the next line and "stopped the sound of feet" there is silence.
Then he hears an interrupted cry."but not to call me back or say goodbye". This shows that there is nobody there for him and emphasizes his lonliness.
| Posted on 2008-12-07 | by a guest
.: :.
Robert Frost created "Aquainted with the Night" as a structural illusion to The Inferno. Frost used terza rima, which can be linked directly to Dante's Inferno.
The "luminary clock" represents God, those who are familiar with The Inferno can understand that this is a direct illusion to Dante's God. Though the speaker in "Aquainted with the Night" is only an observer and can only witness the evil- he does not attempt to make the world "right" as in the Inferno.
| Posted on 2008-10-17 | by a guest
Robert Frost created "Aquainted with the Night" as a structural illusion to The Inferno. Frost used terza rima, which can be linked directly to Dante's Inferno.
The "luminary clock" represents God, those who are familiar with The Inferno can understand that this is a direct illusion to Dante's God. Though the speaker in "Aquainted with the Night" is only an observer and can only witness the evil- he does not attempt to make the world "right" as in the Inferno.
| Posted on 2008-10-17 | by a guest
.: :.
Just some helpful ideas ...
Frost uses the following literary devices in this poem:
Irony - 1)in urban setting (were lots of ppl live)however the main theme is lonlyness
2) another theme is the speakers sadness, however it was writen in 1928 (right before the depression) when there was extreme prosparity and happyness
Paradox - "the time was neither wrong nor right"
Symbols - night(dark, sad), rain(sadness, bad times, depresion), light(goodness, hope)
Syntax - Frost uses a common syntax (word order) in most of his lines: I have _(verb)
Themes - Lonlyness, sadness, guilt
Tone - sad, apathetic
Imagery - entire poem sets up a picture in the readers mind of the city the speaker is in
Rhyme - Frost uses the rhyme scheme "aba bcb cdc dad aa" this scheme is otherwise known as "terza rima"
Form - this poem is a sonnet
I must complament the brilient analasys on this page!
| Posted on 2008-05-28 | by a guest
Just some helpful ideas ...
Frost uses the following literary devices in this poem:
Irony - 1)in urban setting (were lots of ppl live)however the main theme is lonlyness
2) another theme is the speakers sadness, however it was writen in 1928 (right before the depression) when there was extreme prosparity and happyness
Paradox - "the time was neither wrong nor right"
Symbols - night(dark, sad), rain(sadness, bad times, depresion), light(goodness, hope)
Syntax - Frost uses a common syntax (word order) in most of his lines: I have _(verb)
Themes - Lonlyness, sadness, guilt
Tone - sad, apathetic
Imagery - entire poem sets up a picture in the readers mind of the city the speaker is in
Rhyme - Frost uses the rhyme scheme "aba bcb cdc dad aa" this scheme is otherwise known as "terza rima"
Form - this poem is a sonnet
I must complament the brilient analasys on this page!
| Posted on 2008-05-28 | by a guest
.: meaning :.
There seem to be many different interpretations of this poem, but why can't it be taken literally? I may not be getting the right experience from this poem, but personally I feel like I relate to it a lot. At one time or another I have experienced everything in this poem just through walking around at night by myself. I simply assumed upon first reading of this poem that it was about just that.
| Posted on 2008-04-22 | by a guest
There seem to be many different interpretations of this poem, but why can't it be taken literally? I may not be getting the right experience from this poem, but personally I feel like I relate to it a lot. At one time or another I have experienced everything in this poem just through walking around at night by myself. I simply assumed upon first reading of this poem that it was about just that.
| Posted on 2008-04-22 | by a guest
.: dude. im ovbiously human :.
Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874, and he died in Boston Massachusetts in 1963. Before becoming a successful poet, Frost attended Dartmouth College and Harvard College, then he married his wife, Elinor White. After a few years of not being able to publish a poem, Frost moved to England where his poetry took flight. Frost’s poems concentrate on ordinary subject matter, but involve deep emotion and symbolism. Frost has publish cheerful, humorous poems right to dark, tragic poems. Robert Frosts Mending Wall poem is about both physical metaphorical walls and barriers between two neighbor’s because of a wall. It has obvious physical characteristics, but it also has a sense of mental fortification between the two neighbors. Most walls have a direction, a motive for why they are there. Why then is there a counter-productive and impractical wall, in the middle of no where? Is there a hidden purpose why the neighbors need this wall, perhaps a sense of security? Yes or no, this wall carries deep value.
The main barrier that any roadblock makes is the actual physical component of the wall. The definition of a wall is “a permanent enclosing thing” . That is the true purpose of a wall. “Before I built a wall, I’d ask to know what I was walling in or out, And to whom I was giving offence”(Frost, 32-34) What is this wall walling in or out? Really, there is no reason for these neighbors to have a wall. “He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines.”(Frost, 24-26)
A wall can also carry mental and psychological barriers, those you cannot see but you know they are there. Such as when two people are in a fight, and are not talking to each other. To the casual onlooker, there would appear to be nothing. But in reality there are numerous walls. Walls can give neighbors the idea that perhaps they do not like you, and he or she wants as much separation from you as possible. There make also be misconception with walls, with one neighbor not think at all that the wall is offensive, while the other is appalled.
On the complete other hand, a rock wall that needs to be reconstructed annually
can bring neighbors together. Once a year or once a season, the two men get together to repair the wall. This could be a bonding time for the two. However, a line says “to each the boulders that have fallen to each”(Frost, 16). This says that there was no helping between the two, but that could be because it is a manly thing to do your own work, no help needed. The wall can also be a place for conversation, a place to say while keeping ones privacy intact. Also, it could be that the two men take pride in their wall, making other neighbors jealous.
“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” (Frost,1). If this particular wall is not loved by nature, by hunters, or by the wall-builders themselves, then is the wall serving its purpose? The wall brings physical barriers, walling something in and something out. It has symbolic barriers, in the sense that the wall can distance two neighbors. But a wall can also bring two neighbors together, and that is the true meaning of this poem. Everything in life has two sides to it- whether the glass is half full or half empty. It is up to us to choose what the real meaning is, from anything important in life, to something as simple as a mending wall.
| Posted on 2008-03-31 | by a guest
Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874, and he died in Boston Massachusetts in 1963. Before becoming a successful poet, Frost attended Dartmouth College and Harvard College, then he married his wife, Elinor White. After a few years of not being able to publish a poem, Frost moved to England where his poetry took flight. Frost’s poems concentrate on ordinary subject matter, but involve deep emotion and symbolism. Frost has publish cheerful, humorous poems right to dark, tragic poems. Robert Frosts Mending Wall poem is about both physical metaphorical walls and barriers between two neighbor’s because of a wall. It has obvious physical characteristics, but it also has a sense of mental fortification between the two neighbors. Most walls have a direction, a motive for why they are there. Why then is there a counter-productive and impractical wall, in the middle of no where? Is there a hidden purpose why the neighbors need this wall, perhaps a sense of security? Yes or no, this wall carries deep value.
The main barrier that any roadblock makes is the actual physical component of the wall. The definition of a wall is “a permanent enclosing thing” . That is the true purpose of a wall. “Before I built a wall, I’d ask to know what I was walling in or out, And to whom I was giving offence”(Frost, 32-34) What is this wall walling in or out? Really, there is no reason for these neighbors to have a wall. “He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines.”(Frost, 24-26)
A wall can also carry mental and psychological barriers, those you cannot see but you know they are there. Such as when two people are in a fight, and are not talking to each other. To the casual onlooker, there would appear to be nothing. But in reality there are numerous walls. Walls can give neighbors the idea that perhaps they do not like you, and he or she wants as much separation from you as possible. There make also be misconception with walls, with one neighbor not think at all that the wall is offensive, while the other is appalled.
On the complete other hand, a rock wall that needs to be reconstructed annually
can bring neighbors together. Once a year or once a season, the two men get together to repair the wall. This could be a bonding time for the two. However, a line says “to each the boulders that have fallen to each”(Frost, 16). This says that there was no helping between the two, but that could be because it is a manly thing to do your own work, no help needed. The wall can also be a place for conversation, a place to say while keeping ones privacy intact. Also, it could be that the two men take pride in their wall, making other neighbors jealous.
“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” (Frost,1). If this particular wall is not loved by nature, by hunters, or by the wall-builders themselves, then is the wall serving its purpose? The wall brings physical barriers, walling something in and something out. It has symbolic barriers, in the sense that the wall can distance two neighbors. But a wall can also bring two neighbors together, and that is the true meaning of this poem. Everything in life has two sides to it- whether the glass is half full or half empty. It is up to us to choose what the real meaning is, from anything important in life, to something as simple as a mending wall.
| Posted on 2008-03-31 | by a guest
.: poem :.
Acquainted With the Night
Robert Frost
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.
I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.
This is another example of Robert Frost’s work. This poem describes a community in an urban setting. The meter of this poem is iambic pentameter. He uses the poetic device of rhyme such as night,light,height and right along with rain,lane and explain. Although this poem takes place in the city it describes how alone you can be. I think that the luminary clock is the moon telling you its nighttime. When he hears an interrupted cry that only tell us that there are other people but he is still alone. Finally, I feel that the imagery he uses tells us that he is no stranger to the city nights and how alone one can feel even though there is so much going on.
| Posted on 2008-03-30 | by a guest
Acquainted With the Night
Robert Frost
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.
I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.
This is another example of Robert Frost’s work. This poem describes a community in an urban setting. The meter of this poem is iambic pentameter. He uses the poetic device of rhyme such as night,light,height and right along with rain,lane and explain. Although this poem takes place in the city it describes how alone you can be. I think that the luminary clock is the moon telling you its nighttime. When he hears an interrupted cry that only tell us that there are other people but he is still alone. Finally, I feel that the imagery he uses tells us that he is no stranger to the city nights and how alone one can feel even though there is so much going on.
| Posted on 2008-03-30 | by a guest
.: God :.
Here is my though.
Can it be God talking? Like seeing the misery of this world, related to the darkness in this poem, and the cry... related with the misery of the person whose crying. And the ''And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.'' be God seeing the misery but not doing anything, but becoming used to it ''Acquainted with the night'' or used to this misery... Dunno, just a thought...
| Posted on 2008-03-29 | by a guest
Here is my though.
Can it be God talking? Like seeing the misery of this world, related to the darkness in this poem, and the cry... related with the misery of the person whose crying. And the ''And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.'' be God seeing the misery but not doing anything, but becoming used to it ''Acquainted with the night'' or used to this misery... Dunno, just a thought...
| Posted on 2008-03-29 | by a guest
.: God :.
Here is my though.
Can it be God talking? Like seeing the misery of this world, related to the darkness in this poem, and the cry... related with the misery of the person whose crying. And the ''And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.'' be God seeing the misery but not doing anything, but becoming used to it ''Acquainted with the night'' or used to this misery... Dunno, just a thought...
| Posted on 2008-03-29 | by a guest
Here is my though.
Can it be God talking? Like seeing the misery of this world, related to the darkness in this poem, and the cry... related with the misery of the person whose crying. And the ''And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.'' be God seeing the misery but not doing anything, but becoming used to it ''Acquainted with the night'' or used to this misery... Dunno, just a thought...
| Posted on 2008-03-29 | by a guest
.: Mistress :.
I believe that the speaker is Robert Frost himself. He compares himself to the moon who is acqainted with the night. The night could be his love, or a mistress kept in the dark. Hence the metaphor of being night. The sun could be truth that shines on them and clears away the night, and the watchman can be the people of the Earth who see the truth and do not accept Frost for what he has done. It may or may not be Frost. The poem may be told by another man as Robert Frost may have witnessed in his life.
| Posted on 2007-10-30 | by a guest
I believe that the speaker is Robert Frost himself. He compares himself to the moon who is acqainted with the night. The night could be his love, or a mistress kept in the dark. Hence the metaphor of being night. The sun could be truth that shines on them and clears away the night, and the watchman can be the people of the Earth who see the truth and do not accept Frost for what he has done. It may or may not be Frost. The poem may be told by another man as Robert Frost may have witnessed in his life.
| Posted on 2007-10-30 | by a guest
.: hmm. Original idea? :.
.: STOP THE ANALYSIS :.
Why does everyone feel the need to understand in concrete terms exactly what is going on in this poem? In my opinion the worst thing you can do to a piece like this is strapping it to a chair trying to force a confession. Why not just enjoy the ambiguity and appreciate the way it uniquely speaks to you.
-BEATNIK POET
Whoever wrote this must have read Billy Collins. ... sorta funny I think.
| Posted on 2007-10-21 | by a guest
.: STOP THE ANALYSIS :.
Why does everyone feel the need to understand in concrete terms exactly what is going on in this poem? In my opinion the worst thing you can do to a piece like this is strapping it to a chair trying to force a confession. Why not just enjoy the ambiguity and appreciate the way it uniquely speaks to you.
-BEATNIK POET
Whoever wrote this must have read Billy Collins. ... sorta funny I think.
| Posted on 2007-10-21 | by a guest
.: :.
This poem is a poem of acceptance about depression, but also an account of past experience. He uses the imagery of walking in a dark, dangerous city to help the reader connect. The point, though, is not to say how sad he is, but to show that he is acquainted with the night. The key line is "One luminary clock against the sky proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right." This shows that he has faced depression, he has walked out in rain, and back in rain, that he has outwalked the furthest city light, and now he accpets his feelings, his chemical predisposition. And he doesn't mind the unfortunate connection. He is one acquainted with the night.
| Posted on 2007-10-08 | by a guest
This poem is a poem of acceptance about depression, but also an account of past experience. He uses the imagery of walking in a dark, dangerous city to help the reader connect. The point, though, is not to say how sad he is, but to show that he is acquainted with the night. The key line is "One luminary clock against the sky proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right." This shows that he has faced depression, he has walked out in rain, and back in rain, that he has outwalked the furthest city light, and now he accpets his feelings, his chemical predisposition. And he doesn't mind the unfortunate connection. He is one acquainted with the night.
| Posted on 2007-10-08 | by a guest
.: Apathy :.
The writer is apathetic....
The poem contains a certain grayness...
The inability or lack of want to go back to the state he was in in an attempt to correct or change, and not wanting to move forward and move on...
"...an interrupted cry... not to call me back or say good-by... further still... one... clock against the sky... proclaied the time was neither wrong nor right"
| Posted on 2007-10-04 | by a guest
The writer is apathetic....
The poem contains a certain grayness...
The inability or lack of want to go back to the state he was in in an attempt to correct or change, and not wanting to move forward and move on...
"...an interrupted cry... not to call me back or say good-by... further still... one... clock against the sky... proclaied the time was neither wrong nor right"
| Posted on 2007-10-04 | by a guest
.: this poem :.
being as the first one called depression every one has latched on to that but night dark and shrouding can also be a simbol for the unknown walking through the rain can be trials and tribulations in this unknown geting burned by it and returning to the familar out and back out walking the furthest city lights completly emersed in the unknown saddest city lane is the worst of the familar and the cop on beat a simbol for the rules of the familar unwilling to explain his new life thought or habit some such thing the cries could be many things but some resonence from the familer and his stoping and looking is thinking about what he is leaving the next verse hoping for a call back into the farmiler but it isent and he move on the clock with its time neather wrong nor right speeks of the moment and living there rather than looking for the time to act untill it has passed as to the circle and continuity thats life isent it one big circle these are my opinions one among many but thank you for giving them note
| Posted on 2007-07-31 | by a guest
being as the first one called depression every one has latched on to that but night dark and shrouding can also be a simbol for the unknown walking through the rain can be trials and tribulations in this unknown geting burned by it and returning to the familar out and back out walking the furthest city lights completly emersed in the unknown saddest city lane is the worst of the familar and the cop on beat a simbol for the rules of the familar unwilling to explain his new life thought or habit some such thing the cries could be many things but some resonence from the familer and his stoping and looking is thinking about what he is leaving the next verse hoping for a call back into the farmiler but it isent and he move on the clock with its time neather wrong nor right speeks of the moment and living there rather than looking for the time to act untill it has passed as to the circle and continuity thats life isent it one big circle these are my opinions one among many but thank you for giving them note
| Posted on 2007-07-31 | by a guest
.: everything :.
Robert Frost was indeed one of the most important and influential writers in the history of American Literature. His unique style and incredible use of symbolic meanings give his readers a deeper understanding of his works. In his poem, “Acquainted with the Night.” Frost uses symbolism and rhythm skims, Frost conveys a lonesome feeling of isolation through the speaker, who has done some thing awful in his life and is ashamed of it. Regardless of his wrong doing, he still has hope that he can over come his dark side.
‘Night’ in many poems is a symbol for death. However night in Frost’s poem “Acquainted with the Night” bought itself to many different interpretations that may change the entire poem’s deeper meaning. For example the literal meaning for night is the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise. So if the reader sees night in the poem as just the actual definition he will not truly understand the poem because he will wonder why the speaker keeps saying “I have been one acquainted with the night.” Acquainted means (Informed or familiar), so in that sense every one in the world is acquainted with actual, physical night. So the reader knows that night must have a more profound symbolic meaning.
Night here can serve as a metaphor for the speaker’s depression, Depression that he most likely is ashamed of because the speaker in the poem says, “I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain (Kyoko, Amano).” when he says, “I have looked down the saddest city lane.” He is probable looking back at a time when his depression was the worst it had ever been (Lauren). Another indication of depression occurs when the speaker says, “I have outwalked the furthest city light.” Since in most poems light is symbolic for hope and night in this poem is symbolic for depression. Than the conclusion is that the speaker has gone so deep in to his depression that he can no longer see hope or a way out and so he is acquainted with the night.
Depression is not the only meaning night can have in this poem, however. Night may also represent the concept of the unexplored area of inner knowledge that every one has within (Kyoko). Since the speaker is acquainted with the night, he knows his darker inner self and for that he is truly unique, but he is also ashamed. “I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.” The watchman’s purpose in the poem is to enforce regularity of the people traveling the roads (Macomb). In other words he makes individuals take the road more traveled, Such as in frost poem “the road not taken” where there are two roads. One road is the road more traveled which is a symbol for conformity. The other road is the less traveled one and it symbolizes the uniqueness of an individual. So the speaker is ashamed to look at the watchman because of his inner darkness and is unwilling to explain to him why he is not taking the road more traveled. His unwillingness to explain is the reason for his shame.
The “Sound of feet” and an “interrupted cry” through the darkness are the two most vivid images in the poem. This lack of visual details makes the reader feel that they are either blind, or cloaked in complete darkness (Teresa). Most of the vivid visual details are implied. The only concrete visual detail is when the reader is presented with the image of the “luminary clock against the sky”. Since the clock is the only thing that is explicitly seen, it takes on a startling importance. The idea of the “time” being “neither wrong nor right” in the poem can be taken to reflect Frost’s perception of waiting for something in his life, longing for something which may never come (Lauren).
If the speaker in the poem is a female than the role of the moon takes on a more imperative meaning (Ashley). The moon could be the time of the month that a woman may or may not obtain pregnancy. The moon for a woman may symbolize a hope that she will get pregnant, but the only way this could be is if night symbolizes a woman’s fear of loneliness and isolation in society if she does not achieve pregnancy. If the speaker is a woman than the phase “I have been one acquainted with the night.” means she has tried many times to get pregnant. However she has failed and is familiar with the night that in the sense she knows how it feels to be isolated due to the fact that she can not get pregnant. In many poems rain symbolizes birth or a new begging, however rain in this poem is symbolic for pregnancy the phase “I have walked out in rain-and back in rain.” Means that she has been paginate numerous times before but something happened such as a miscarriage. The “saddest city lane” is a time in which she had a miscarriage or a lose of a child at birth. “I have looked down the saddest city lane.” “I have passed by the watchman on his beat and dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.” The reason why the speaker dropped her eyes in the face of the watchman is because she feels that it’s her fault that she lost a child due to a miscarriage. She is keeping all the pain inside and is putting herself deeper in to isolation. The “cry” symbolizes some body trying to reach out to her and help with her emotional distress. “One luminary clock against the sky Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.” symbolizes a longing for something which may never come such as the feeling that it is not her fault for the lose of her child. The time being neither wrong nor right could also symbolize that it may have not been the right time for her to have a child, but it wasn't the wrong time either its no ones fault.
The rhythm of “Acquainted with the Night” is extremely steady. The entire poem is in perfect iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme serves to draw the poem together as a whole. The first stanza rhymes in an A, B, A pattern. The next stanza rhymes B, C, and B. The rhyme of the first and last lines of the next stanza is introduced in the second line of the preceding stanza. This gives the poem a feeling of smooth continuity. Another aspect of the poem that adds to its smoothness is the nearly perfect iambic pentameter that it is written in. Since the purpose of a watchman is to enforce regularity, the dominance of the watchman’s power is shown through the smoothness and regularity of this poem.
This pattern continues until the very last stanza, which is a couplet that returns to the first (A) rhyme. This repetition of the initial rhyme draws the reader’s attention back to the beginning, bringing the poem full circle. Since the poem goes in a full circle it is symbolic for the phases of depression. For example when an individual gets depression and over comes it, most of the time the depression resurfaces just like the poem does in returning to the begging.
Frost‘s use of investing things with symbolism such as the night and the luminary clock is a masterful work of literature due to the fact that there are so many different meanings they can represent and hold true to. Also his rhythm sekm make his poem “acquainted with the night” have a deeper meaneing than just if he used symbolizem because the waitchman’s job can be felt subcanitolsly all the way thourgh the poem.
| Posted on 2007-05-14 | by a guest
Robert Frost was indeed one of the most important and influential writers in the history of American Literature. His unique style and incredible use of symbolic meanings give his readers a deeper understanding of his works. In his poem, “Acquainted with the Night.” Frost uses symbolism and rhythm skims, Frost conveys a lonesome feeling of isolation through the speaker, who has done some thing awful in his life and is ashamed of it. Regardless of his wrong doing, he still has hope that he can over come his dark side.
‘Night’ in many poems is a symbol for death. However night in Frost’s poem “Acquainted with the Night” bought itself to many different interpretations that may change the entire poem’s deeper meaning. For example the literal meaning for night is the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise. So if the reader sees night in the poem as just the actual definition he will not truly understand the poem because he will wonder why the speaker keeps saying “I have been one acquainted with the night.” Acquainted means (Informed or familiar), so in that sense every one in the world is acquainted with actual, physical night. So the reader knows that night must have a more profound symbolic meaning.
Night here can serve as a metaphor for the speaker’s depression, Depression that he most likely is ashamed of because the speaker in the poem says, “I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain (Kyoko, Amano).” when he says, “I have looked down the saddest city lane.” He is probable looking back at a time when his depression was the worst it had ever been (Lauren). Another indication of depression occurs when the speaker says, “I have outwalked the furthest city light.” Since in most poems light is symbolic for hope and night in this poem is symbolic for depression. Than the conclusion is that the speaker has gone so deep in to his depression that he can no longer see hope or a way out and so he is acquainted with the night.
Depression is not the only meaning night can have in this poem, however. Night may also represent the concept of the unexplored area of inner knowledge that every one has within (Kyoko). Since the speaker is acquainted with the night, he knows his darker inner self and for that he is truly unique, but he is also ashamed. “I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.” The watchman’s purpose in the poem is to enforce regularity of the people traveling the roads (Macomb). In other words he makes individuals take the road more traveled, Such as in frost poem “the road not taken” where there are two roads. One road is the road more traveled which is a symbol for conformity. The other road is the less traveled one and it symbolizes the uniqueness of an individual. So the speaker is ashamed to look at the watchman because of his inner darkness and is unwilling to explain to him why he is not taking the road more traveled. His unwillingness to explain is the reason for his shame.
The “Sound of feet” and an “interrupted cry” through the darkness are the two most vivid images in the poem. This lack of visual details makes the reader feel that they are either blind, or cloaked in complete darkness (Teresa). Most of the vivid visual details are implied. The only concrete visual detail is when the reader is presented with the image of the “luminary clock against the sky”. Since the clock is the only thing that is explicitly seen, it takes on a startling importance. The idea of the “time” being “neither wrong nor right” in the poem can be taken to reflect Frost’s perception of waiting for something in his life, longing for something which may never come (Lauren).
If the speaker in the poem is a female than the role of the moon takes on a more imperative meaning (Ashley). The moon could be the time of the month that a woman may or may not obtain pregnancy. The moon for a woman may symbolize a hope that she will get pregnant, but the only way this could be is if night symbolizes a woman’s fear of loneliness and isolation in society if she does not achieve pregnancy. If the speaker is a woman than the phase “I have been one acquainted with the night.” means she has tried many times to get pregnant. However she has failed and is familiar with the night that in the sense she knows how it feels to be isolated due to the fact that she can not get pregnant. In many poems rain symbolizes birth or a new begging, however rain in this poem is symbolic for pregnancy the phase “I have walked out in rain-and back in rain.” Means that she has been paginate numerous times before but something happened such as a miscarriage. The “saddest city lane” is a time in which she had a miscarriage or a lose of a child at birth. “I have looked down the saddest city lane.” “I have passed by the watchman on his beat and dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.” The reason why the speaker dropped her eyes in the face of the watchman is because she feels that it’s her fault that she lost a child due to a miscarriage. She is keeping all the pain inside and is putting herself deeper in to isolation. The “cry” symbolizes some body trying to reach out to her and help with her emotional distress. “One luminary clock against the sky Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.” symbolizes a longing for something which may never come such as the feeling that it is not her fault for the lose of her child. The time being neither wrong nor right could also symbolize that it may have not been the right time for her to have a child, but it wasn't the wrong time either its no ones fault.
The rhythm of “Acquainted with the Night” is extremely steady. The entire poem is in perfect iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme serves to draw the poem together as a whole. The first stanza rhymes in an A, B, A pattern. The next stanza rhymes B, C, and B. The rhyme of the first and last lines of the next stanza is introduced in the second line of the preceding stanza. This gives the poem a feeling of smooth continuity. Another aspect of the poem that adds to its smoothness is the nearly perfect iambic pentameter that it is written in. Since the purpose of a watchman is to enforce regularity, the dominance of the watchman’s power is shown through the smoothness and regularity of this poem.
This pattern continues until the very last stanza, which is a couplet that returns to the first (A) rhyme. This repetition of the initial rhyme draws the reader’s attention back to the beginning, bringing the poem full circle. Since the poem goes in a full circle it is symbolic for the phases of depression. For example when an individual gets depression and over comes it, most of the time the depression resurfaces just like the poem does in returning to the begging.
Frost‘s use of investing things with symbolism such as the night and the luminary clock is a masterful work of literature due to the fact that there are so many different meanings they can represent and hold true to. Also his rhythm sekm make his poem “acquainted with the night” have a deeper meaneing than just if he used symbolizem because the waitchman’s job can be felt subcanitolsly all the way thourgh the poem.
| Posted on 2007-05-14 | by a guest
.: Imran hates ara :.
the poem was written in 1928 before the depression, during a time of prosperity. it contrasts with the feeling of the poem which of course is sadness and depression among other things. take into account the feeling of being left out or even maybe hiding behind a veil. the narrator might have been posing behind the joyous feelings of the roaring 20's while actually feeling left out because of the feelings of depression in his mind.
| Posted on 2007-05-12 | by a guest
the poem was written in 1928 before the depression, during a time of prosperity. it contrasts with the feeling of the poem which of course is sadness and depression among other things. take into account the feeling of being left out or even maybe hiding behind a veil. the narrator might have been posing behind the joyous feelings of the roaring 20's while actually feeling left out because of the feelings of depression in his mind.
| Posted on 2007-05-12 | by a guest
.: Imran hates ara :.
the poem was written in 1928 before the depression, during a time of prosperity. it contrasts with the feeling of the poem which of course is sadness and depression among other things. take into account the feeling of being left out or even maybe hiding behind a veil. the narrator might have been posing behind the joyous feelings of the roaring 20's while actually feeling left out because of the feelings of depression in his mind.
| Posted on 2007-05-12 | by a guest
the poem was written in 1928 before the depression, during a time of prosperity. it contrasts with the feeling of the poem which of course is sadness and depression among other things. take into account the feeling of being left out or even maybe hiding behind a veil. the narrator might have been posing behind the joyous feelings of the roaring 20's while actually feeling left out because of the feelings of depression in his mind.
| Posted on 2007-05-12 | by a guest
.: Night :.
He enjoys the beauty of the night. He enjoys nature in general. The city makes him feel lonely and depressed. He walks away from the city, walks away from the lonelyness. He walks pass the watchman and shakes his head because the watchman is watching the city, rather than the country which also deserves to be watched. The luminary clock, even outside of the city is too bright, it interupts the beauty of the night.
| Posted on 2007-05-07 | by a guest
He enjoys the beauty of the night. He enjoys nature in general. The city makes him feel lonely and depressed. He walks away from the city, walks away from the lonelyness. He walks pass the watchman and shakes his head because the watchman is watching the city, rather than the country which also deserves to be watched. The luminary clock, even outside of the city is too bright, it interupts the beauty of the night.
| Posted on 2007-05-07 | by a guest
.: Insignificance :.
I think that this is a poem about isolation. He is a fly on the arse of an elephant. He feels completely insignificant among the human race. This man is talking about his entire life as a walk through darkness, and he has always walked it, and always will to what purpose?. This subject is very common. Reminds me of the scream by edvard munch and almost everything radiohead..
| Posted on 2007-04-29 | by a guest
I think that this is a poem about isolation. He is a fly on the arse of an elephant. He feels completely insignificant among the human race. This man is talking about his entire life as a walk through darkness, and he has always walked it, and always will to what purpose?. This subject is very common. Reminds me of the scream by edvard munch and almost everything radiohead..
| Posted on 2007-04-29 | by a guest
.: be true to yourselves :.
he's clinically depressed, meaning he is not happy nor extremely sad like he says about the luminary clock, 'the time was neither wrong nor right' its pure numbness and nothingness that he feels because of the repetition in his life (he repeats d first line) showing that he feels like he is going around in circles as he has 'walked out in rain and back in rain' BUT his association with Dante's Inferno may show that he is walking through the psychological hell of his mind...?? i duno but i think it's wrong to be making a judgement on poetry especially when you dont know waht its really about it's none of our business really..
| Posted on 2007-04-28 | by a guest
he's clinically depressed, meaning he is not happy nor extremely sad like he says about the luminary clock, 'the time was neither wrong nor right' its pure numbness and nothingness that he feels because of the repetition in his life (he repeats d first line) showing that he feels like he is going around in circles as he has 'walked out in rain and back in rain' BUT his association with Dante's Inferno may show that he is walking through the psychological hell of his mind...?? i duno but i think it's wrong to be making a judgement on poetry especially when you dont know waht its really about it's none of our business really..
| Posted on 2007-04-28 | by a guest
.: be true to yourselves :.
he's clinically depressed, meaning he is not happy nor extremely sad like he says about the luminary clock, 'the time was neither wrong nor right' its pure numbness and nothingness that he feels because of the repetition in his life (he repeats d first line) showing that he feels like he is going around in circles as he has 'walked out in rain and back in rain' BUT his association with Dante's Inferno may show that he is walking through the psychological hell of his mind...?? i duno but i think it's wrong to be making a judgement on poetry especially when you dont know waht its really about it's none of our business really..
| Posted on 2007-04-28 | by a guest
he's clinically depressed, meaning he is not happy nor extremely sad like he says about the luminary clock, 'the time was neither wrong nor right' its pure numbness and nothingness that he feels because of the repetition in his life (he repeats d first line) showing that he feels like he is going around in circles as he has 'walked out in rain and back in rain' BUT his association with Dante's Inferno may show that he is walking through the psychological hell of his mind...?? i duno but i think it's wrong to be making a judgement on poetry especially when you dont know waht its really about it's none of our business really..
| Posted on 2007-04-28 | by a guest
.: STOP THE ANALYSIS :.
Why does everyone feel the need to understand in concrete terms exactly what is going on in this poem? In my opinion the worst thing you can do to a piece like this is strapping it to a chair trying to force a confession. Why not just enjoy the ambiguity and appreciate the way it uniquely speaks to you.
-BEATNIK POET
| Posted on 2007-04-16 | by a guest
Why does everyone feel the need to understand in concrete terms exactly what is going on in this poem? In my opinion the worst thing you can do to a piece like this is strapping it to a chair trying to force a confession. Why not just enjoy the ambiguity and appreciate the way it uniquely speaks to you.
-BEATNIK POET
| Posted on 2007-04-16 | by a guest
.: Acquainted with the Night :.
You all are at quite a disadvantage. The whole text of the poem is not here. More than half of it is missing. Loneliness may be part of the theme of this poem, but I believe it concerns individualism and independent thinking (Frost's favorite themes). No one walks at night but the introvert, the Romantic, the poet. He doesn't want to explain to the watchman that he is not a robber -- he likes being out when no one else does. He likes going against he grain. The soul selects its own society.
| Posted on 2007-01-25 | by a guest
You all are at quite a disadvantage. The whole text of the poem is not here. More than half of it is missing. Loneliness may be part of the theme of this poem, but I believe it concerns individualism and independent thinking (Frost's favorite themes). No one walks at night but the introvert, the Romantic, the poet. He doesn't want to explain to the watchman that he is not a robber -- he likes being out when no one else does. He likes going against he grain. The soul selects its own society.
| Posted on 2007-01-25 | by a guest
.: time era :.
the poem was written in 1928 before the depression, during a time of prosperity. it contrasts with the feeling of the poem which of course is sadness and depression among other things. take into account the feeling of being left out or even maybe hiding behind a veil. the narrator might have been posing behind the joyous feelings of the roaring 20's while actually feeling left out because of the feelings of depression in his mind.
| Posted on 2007-01-24 | by a guest
the poem was written in 1928 before the depression, during a time of prosperity. it contrasts with the feeling of the poem which of course is sadness and depression among other things. take into account the feeling of being left out or even maybe hiding behind a veil. the narrator might have been posing behind the joyous feelings of the roaring 20's while actually feeling left out because of the feelings of depression in his mind.
| Posted on 2007-01-24 | by a guest
.: a differing opinion :.
I don't think this poem is simply about depression. There seems to be a reasoning behind it. I think the narrator is definately experiencing GUILT about something.
This is most obvious in the line
"And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain"
From this point of view, the "acquainted with the night" means a familiarity or an introduction to something dark and perhaps evil.
"I have walked out in rain-and back in rain."
Rain, in poetry tends to have a kind of gloomy, foreboding, and generally negative tone usually. The rain could be the guilt he feels for going on this walk late at night. Perhaps the narrator is going out to meet someone he is having an affair with, or perhaps is going out to buy drugs. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be something the narrator is extremely upset about. Just something that he knows is wrong and feels guilty about.
"I have outwalked the furthest city light."
"Light" usually conotates goodness and morality in some form. When he says he has "outwalked the furthest light" he has gone consciously gone astray. He has no "beacon of light" guiding his actions.
The narrator's encounter with the watchman suggests that he has possibly done something illegal and doesn't want to be interogated by entering into a conversation with the watchman. Or perhaps he just does not want to be thought badly of.
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-by
These lines suggest 1) that he has definately left someone (call BACK or say goodbye) and 2) that this person is now unconcerned with him and is focused on someone else. This would demonstate that the narrator is not of importance to this person and he is mildly upset about this. Maybe not because he cares about the person, but because his wrongdoings which cause him so much guilt are of no meaning to other parties involved. Perhaps this person that he left is a prostitute or mistress of some sort?
And further still at an unearthly height
One luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.
These lines show the indifference he feels toward his tresspasses. He doesn't exactly regret what he did, but he knows it's wrong. He has been introduced to something bad. He has "crossed over to the dark side". The word "acquainted" is important. It shows that it is more than just a chance encounter with this negative thing. He is aquainted, there is a familiarity in that. Like someone who has made a new friend who he plans on seeing again.
Basically this poem seems to me, to show someone who has done something that he knows to be wrong. He is slighly guilty of it, but more because of how other people will view him because of it. He is not really depressed, but more indifferent. And this encounter with "the night" will not be his last.
| Posted on 2007-01-19 | by a guest
I don't think this poem is simply about depression. There seems to be a reasoning behind it. I think the narrator is definately experiencing GUILT about something.
This is most obvious in the line
"And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain"
From this point of view, the "acquainted with the night" means a familiarity or an introduction to something dark and perhaps evil.
"I have walked out in rain-and back in rain."
Rain, in poetry tends to have a kind of gloomy, foreboding, and generally negative tone usually. The rain could be the guilt he feels for going on this walk late at night. Perhaps the narrator is going out to meet someone he is having an affair with, or perhaps is going out to buy drugs. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be something the narrator is extremely upset about. Just something that he knows is wrong and feels guilty about.
"I have outwalked the furthest city light."
"Light" usually conotates goodness and morality in some form. When he says he has "outwalked the furthest light" he has gone consciously gone astray. He has no "beacon of light" guiding his actions.
The narrator's encounter with the watchman suggests that he has possibly done something illegal and doesn't want to be interogated by entering into a conversation with the watchman. Or perhaps he just does not want to be thought badly of.
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-by
These lines suggest 1) that he has definately left someone (call BACK or say goodbye) and 2) that this person is now unconcerned with him and is focused on someone else. This would demonstate that the narrator is not of importance to this person and he is mildly upset about this. Maybe not because he cares about the person, but because his wrongdoings which cause him so much guilt are of no meaning to other parties involved. Perhaps this person that he left is a prostitute or mistress of some sort?
And further still at an unearthly height
One luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.
These lines show the indifference he feels toward his tresspasses. He doesn't exactly regret what he did, but he knows it's wrong. He has been introduced to something bad. He has "crossed over to the dark side". The word "acquainted" is important. It shows that it is more than just a chance encounter with this negative thing. He is aquainted, there is a familiarity in that. Like someone who has made a new friend who he plans on seeing again.
Basically this poem seems to me, to show someone who has done something that he knows to be wrong. He is slighly guilty of it, but more because of how other people will view him because of it. He is not really depressed, but more indifferent. And this encounter with "the night" will not be his last.
| Posted on 2007-01-19 | by a guest
.: :.
I feel this poem is about lonliness and depression too (like what the others said)because he feels he must hide something when he drops his eyes to the Watchman. It is nonetheless a great poem, but it is obviously about sadness, lonliness, depression, and self despair. When he states "I have outwalked the furthest city light", he must either be running from someone, or maybe even himself. Maybe he did something in life that was so terrible that he must leave, and drop his eyes to the Watchman as if he has something to hide, and does not want to share.
| Posted on 2006-05-29 | by Approved Guest
I feel this poem is about lonliness and depression too (like what the others said)because he feels he must hide something when he drops his eyes to the Watchman. It is nonetheless a great poem, but it is obviously about sadness, lonliness, depression, and self despair. When he states "I have outwalked the furthest city light", he must either be running from someone, or maybe even himself. Maybe he did something in life that was so terrible that he must leave, and drop his eyes to the Watchman as if he has something to hide, and does not want to share.
| Posted on 2006-05-29 | by Approved Guest
.: Analysis :.
This is a sonnet. Yes it is about isolation, loneliness, and depression, but there can also be another layer and connotation to the depression. "Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right," as well as other lines that explain that the speaker has been "acquainted with the night" aka darkness and death, and that he has experienced the most sadness suggest that he was contemplating suicide. This poem may also seem very simple, yet many words such as "luminary" have double-meanings.
| Posted on 2006-04-11 | by Approved Guest
This is a sonnet. Yes it is about isolation, loneliness, and depression, but there can also be another layer and connotation to the depression. "Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right," as well as other lines that explain that the speaker has been "acquainted with the night" aka darkness and death, and that he has experienced the most sadness suggest that he was contemplating suicide. This poem may also seem very simple, yet many words such as "luminary" have double-meanings.
| Posted on 2006-04-11 | by Approved Guest
.: Frost :.
This poem is about loneliness and self exploration. The poet values his time to himself and takes strolls through and far beyond the city. During the rain the speaker sees a watchman, but avoids the man because he prefers not to explain his behavior or ruin his solitude and infact does not even look at him. The speaker may feel lonely, but he does not adopt a melancholic tone. He finds happiness in himself during his enlightening stolls. The speaker is unconcerned for time, and only the moon dictates when the man should return. No numeric values are placed on night only the existence of the night itself worries the walker. The speaker seems to suggest that to find comfort in ourselves we must disconnect ourselves from soceity. The speaker finds soceity unimportant in his life and has no name for the "watchmen" and no body for the "interrupted cry".
A.N.
| Posted on 2006-04-05 | by Approved Guest
This poem is about loneliness and self exploration. The poet values his time to himself and takes strolls through and far beyond the city. During the rain the speaker sees a watchman, but avoids the man because he prefers not to explain his behavior or ruin his solitude and infact does not even look at him. The speaker may feel lonely, but he does not adopt a melancholic tone. He finds happiness in himself during his enlightening stolls. The speaker is unconcerned for time, and only the moon dictates when the man should return. No numeric values are placed on night only the existence of the night itself worries the walker. The speaker seems to suggest that to find comfort in ourselves we must disconnect ourselves from soceity. The speaker finds soceity unimportant in his life and has no name for the "watchmen" and no body for the "interrupted cry".
A.N.
| Posted on 2006-04-05 | by Approved Guest
.: WHAT ITS ABOUT :.
The poem is clearly about him being alone. As the feet stopping to silence tells the reader that frost is alone. But he talks about leaving the city in that “I have out walked the furthest city light” also the expression is intended to let the reader know of his disdain for the city and its populous elements or light. OK as a poet frost is an isolated person as most genius deep thinkers are usually not interested with the social norms. He has looked down at the saddest city lane tells the reader that a lane or street or to be interpreted as a road or path “his life path” the saddest city street” his disdain for the city and its population “as it is sad to him that he is isolated. He sees his life path or the road he never went down in the city street. The watchman is an authoritative figure witch is intended to signify his anti authority attitude and anti social personality with his disrespect to the watchmen. The watchman watches the street he loves and frost is disgusted and refuses to respect the city and its rules. The interrupted cry is a noise from another human being, witch is to him startling as he’s always alone, and witch expresses his loneliness and isolation. The other street is the other path he could have taken with the people of the city… But the people cry! This is where it gets tricky… the cry is a sign of frosts negative view of the other life path in the city! The cry comes over the hoses of familys sleeping happily or peacefully at ngith. The cry overshadows the social life. He then says not to call me back or say good bye! He won’t change his ways nor will he lay this situation to rest regardless of the emotional tones of other human beings hence his disdain for the common populous! And so “the further” still is in regards to the only light in the night… the moon! The moon is isolated too all by its self in the vast sky (despite the stars but its size makes it look alone) The only light the moon, his respect for the isolated moon and its opinion says its not time to join the rest of the world nor is it time to forget about it in his poetry. He sees this because the moon is alone but IT SHINES LIGHT (OR MAKES VISABLE THE CITY) ON THE CITY DISPITE ITS ISOLATION HENCE FROST’S POEM IS ABOUT SHINING HIS LIGHT ON THE CITY THROUGH HIS DESCRIPTION AND VALUE OF AND WHAT HE WANTS US TO SEE IN IT. THE WORD UNEARTHLY LETS US KNOW FROST LIKE THE MOON IS DETACHED FROM THE EARTHLYNESS OR THE PEOPLE. FROST LIKE THE MOON SHINES ALL OF HIMSELF INTO A GIVEN DESCRIPTIVE SITUATION AND IN HIM WE CAN SEE WHY HE CHOOSES WHAT HE DOES TO SHED LIGHT ON AND WHY. HE DOESN’T LIKE THE CITY… BUT HE DOESN’T MIND IT TOO MUCH… HE THINKS HE MAY HAVE CHOOSEN THE WORNG PATRH IN LIFE BUT DOESN’T REALLY BELIEVE IT AND LEARNS TO ACCEPT HIS CURRENT SITUATION. HE USES THE WORD CLOCK TO DESCRIBE THE MOON BECAUSE THE MOON SIGNALS NIGHT AND DAY WHEN IT IS GONE HENCE LONLINESS AND SOCIALNESS. HE LOOKS TO THE MOON- INTO HIMSELF- AND THEN HE RELAIZES THAT THE GRASS ISNT ALWAYS GREENER O NTHE OTHERSIDE. DESPITE HISLONLINESS HE CAN GET AQUAINTED TO IT NOW THAT THE CITIES CRYS HAVE BEEN SEEN. HE ACCEPTS HIS LIFE NOW HE KNOWS WHY HES LONELY.
| Posted on 2006-04-03 | by Approved Guest
The poem is clearly about him being alone. As the feet stopping to silence tells the reader that frost is alone. But he talks about leaving the city in that “I have out walked the furthest city light” also the expression is intended to let the reader know of his disdain for the city and its populous elements or light. OK as a poet frost is an isolated person as most genius deep thinkers are usually not interested with the social norms. He has looked down at the saddest city lane tells the reader that a lane or street or to be interpreted as a road or path “his life path” the saddest city street” his disdain for the city and its population “as it is sad to him that he is isolated. He sees his life path or the road he never went down in the city street. The watchman is an authoritative figure witch is intended to signify his anti authority attitude and anti social personality with his disrespect to the watchmen. The watchman watches the street he loves and frost is disgusted and refuses to respect the city and its rules. The interrupted cry is a noise from another human being, witch is to him startling as he’s always alone, and witch expresses his loneliness and isolation. The other street is the other path he could have taken with the people of the city… But the people cry! This is where it gets tricky… the cry is a sign of frosts negative view of the other life path in the city! The cry comes over the hoses of familys sleeping happily or peacefully at ngith. The cry overshadows the social life. He then says not to call me back or say good bye! He won’t change his ways nor will he lay this situation to rest regardless of the emotional tones of other human beings hence his disdain for the common populous! And so “the further” still is in regards to the only light in the night… the moon! The moon is isolated too all by its self in the vast sky (despite the stars but its size makes it look alone) The only light the moon, his respect for the isolated moon and its opinion says its not time to join the rest of the world nor is it time to forget about it in his poetry. He sees this because the moon is alone but IT SHINES LIGHT (OR MAKES VISABLE THE CITY) ON THE CITY DISPITE ITS ISOLATION HENCE FROST’S POEM IS ABOUT SHINING HIS LIGHT ON THE CITY THROUGH HIS DESCRIPTION AND VALUE OF AND WHAT HE WANTS US TO SEE IN IT. THE WORD UNEARTHLY LETS US KNOW FROST LIKE THE MOON IS DETACHED FROM THE EARTHLYNESS OR THE PEOPLE. FROST LIKE THE MOON SHINES ALL OF HIMSELF INTO A GIVEN DESCRIPTIVE SITUATION AND IN HIM WE CAN SEE WHY HE CHOOSES WHAT HE DOES TO SHED LIGHT ON AND WHY. HE DOESN’T LIKE THE CITY… BUT HE DOESN’T MIND IT TOO MUCH… HE THINKS HE MAY HAVE CHOOSEN THE WORNG PATRH IN LIFE BUT DOESN’T REALLY BELIEVE IT AND LEARNS TO ACCEPT HIS CURRENT SITUATION. HE USES THE WORD CLOCK TO DESCRIBE THE MOON BECAUSE THE MOON SIGNALS NIGHT AND DAY WHEN IT IS GONE HENCE LONLINESS AND SOCIALNESS. HE LOOKS TO THE MOON- INTO HIMSELF- AND THEN HE RELAIZES THAT THE GRASS ISNT ALWAYS GREENER O NTHE OTHERSIDE. DESPITE HISLONLINESS HE CAN GET AQUAINTED TO IT NOW THAT THE CITIES CRYS HAVE BEEN SEEN. HE ACCEPTS HIS LIFE NOW HE KNOWS WHY HES LONELY.
| Posted on 2006-04-03 | by Approved Guest
.: WHAT ITS ABOUT :.
The poem is clearly about him being alone. As the feet stopping to silence tells the reader that frost is alone. But he talks about leaving the city in that “I have out walked the furthest city light” also the expression is intended to let the reader know of his disdain for the city and its populous elements or light. OK as a poet frost is an isolated person as most genius deep thinkers are usually not interested with the social norms. He has looked down at the saddest city lane tells the reader that a lane or street or to be interpreted as a road or path “his life path” the saddest city street” his disdain for the city and its population “as it is sad to him that he is isolated. He sees his life path or the road he never went down in the city street. The watchman is an authoritative figure witch is intended to signify his anti authority attitude and anti social personality with his disrespect to the watchmen. The watchman watches the street he loves and frost is disgusted and refuses to respect the city and its rules. The interrupted cry is a noise from another human being, witch is to him startling as he’s always alone, and witch expresses his loneliness and isolation. The other street is the other path he could have taken with the people of the city… But the people cry! This is where it gets tricky… the cry is a sign of frosts negative view of the other life path in the city! He then says not to call me back or say good bye! He won’t change his ways nor will he stop pondering life’s significance regardless of the emotional tones of other human beings hence his disdain for the common populous! And so the further still is in regards to the only light in the night… the moon! The moon is isolated too all by its self in the vast sky (despite the stars but its size makes it look alone) The only light the moon, his respect for the isolated moon and its opinion says its not time to join the rest of the world nor is it time to forget about it in his poetry. He sees this because the moon is alone but IT SHINES LIGHT (OR MAKES VISABLE THE CITY) ON THE CITY DISPITE ITS ISOLATION HENCE FROST’S POEM IS ABOUT SHINING HIS LIGHT ON THE CITY THROUGH HIS DESCRIPTION AND VALUE OF AND WHAT HE WANTS US TO SEE IN IT. FROST LIKE THE MOON SHINES ALL OF HIMSELF INTO A GIVEN DESCRIPTIVE SITUATION AND IN HIM WE CAN SEE WHY HE CHOOSES WHAT HE DOES TO SHED LIGHT ON AND WHY. HE DOESN’T LIKE THE CITY… BUT HE DOESN’T MIND IT TOO MUCH… HE THINKS HE MAY HAVE CHOOSEN THE WORNG PATRH IN LIFE BUT DOESN’T REALLY BELIEVE IT.
NOW WHAT ABOUT THE POEMS NAME AQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT? WHY DID IT TAKE ALL OF THIS DEEP INTOSPECTION TO GET AQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT. THE NIGHT IS A TIME WHEN PEOPLE ON THE STREETS ARE ALONE.. OR AT LEASTE NOT MANY ARE OUT ON THEM. FROSTS LACK OF LIKE FOR THE POPULOUS. TO GET AQUAINTED MEANS TO GET FRIENDLY EXCEPT UNDERSTAND, BE AT PEACE WITH, FAMILIURE ETC. NOW THAT HE REALIZES HIS LIFES ISOLATION AND ITS REALTION TO REALITY HE CAN EXCEPT HIS CHOICES. NOW HE IS AQUAINTED WITH THE LONELY NIGHT BUT ONLY AFTER REALIZING WHY HES AWAKE.
| Posted on 2006-04-03 | by Approved Guest
The poem is clearly about him being alone. As the feet stopping to silence tells the reader that frost is alone. But he talks about leaving the city in that “I have out walked the furthest city light” also the expression is intended to let the reader know of his disdain for the city and its populous elements or light. OK as a poet frost is an isolated person as most genius deep thinkers are usually not interested with the social norms. He has looked down at the saddest city lane tells the reader that a lane or street or to be interpreted as a road or path “his life path” the saddest city street” his disdain for the city and its population “as it is sad to him that he is isolated. He sees his life path or the road he never went down in the city street. The watchman is an authoritative figure witch is intended to signify his anti authority attitude and anti social personality with his disrespect to the watchmen. The watchman watches the street he loves and frost is disgusted and refuses to respect the city and its rules. The interrupted cry is a noise from another human being, witch is to him startling as he’s always alone, and witch expresses his loneliness and isolation. The other street is the other path he could have taken with the people of the city… But the people cry! This is where it gets tricky… the cry is a sign of frosts negative view of the other life path in the city! He then says not to call me back or say good bye! He won’t change his ways nor will he stop pondering life’s significance regardless of the emotional tones of other human beings hence his disdain for the common populous! And so the further still is in regards to the only light in the night… the moon! The moon is isolated too all by its self in the vast sky (despite the stars but its size makes it look alone) The only light the moon, his respect for the isolated moon and its opinion says its not time to join the rest of the world nor is it time to forget about it in his poetry. He sees this because the moon is alone but IT SHINES LIGHT (OR MAKES VISABLE THE CITY) ON THE CITY DISPITE ITS ISOLATION HENCE FROST’S POEM IS ABOUT SHINING HIS LIGHT ON THE CITY THROUGH HIS DESCRIPTION AND VALUE OF AND WHAT HE WANTS US TO SEE IN IT. FROST LIKE THE MOON SHINES ALL OF HIMSELF INTO A GIVEN DESCRIPTIVE SITUATION AND IN HIM WE CAN SEE WHY HE CHOOSES WHAT HE DOES TO SHED LIGHT ON AND WHY. HE DOESN’T LIKE THE CITY… BUT HE DOESN’T MIND IT TOO MUCH… HE THINKS HE MAY HAVE CHOOSEN THE WORNG PATRH IN LIFE BUT DOESN’T REALLY BELIEVE IT.
NOW WHAT ABOUT THE POEMS NAME AQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT? WHY DID IT TAKE ALL OF THIS DEEP INTOSPECTION TO GET AQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT. THE NIGHT IS A TIME WHEN PEOPLE ON THE STREETS ARE ALONE.. OR AT LEASTE NOT MANY ARE OUT ON THEM. FROSTS LACK OF LIKE FOR THE POPULOUS. TO GET AQUAINTED MEANS TO GET FRIENDLY EXCEPT UNDERSTAND, BE AT PEACE WITH, FAMILIURE ETC. NOW THAT HE REALIZES HIS LIFES ISOLATION AND ITS REALTION TO REALITY HE CAN EXCEPT HIS CHOICES. NOW HE IS AQUAINTED WITH THE LONELY NIGHT BUT ONLY AFTER REALIZING WHY HES AWAKE.
| Posted on 2006-04-03 | by Approved Guest
.: :.
i agree with the post below me, i feel that this poem is about being lonesome or at that matter being depressed and lost. The line for the poem "I have outwalked the furthest city light." is basically saying to me that this man is trying to escape something, depression is the first thing that came to my mind. I think the message of being depressed or alone is what Frost is trying to put out there.
| Posted on 2006-03-29 | by Approved Guest
i agree with the post below me, i feel that this poem is about being lonesome or at that matter being depressed and lost. The line for the poem "I have outwalked the furthest city light." is basically saying to me that this man is trying to escape something, depression is the first thing that came to my mind. I think the message of being depressed or alone is what Frost is trying to put out there.
| Posted on 2006-03-29 | by Approved Guest
.: Acquainted with the night :.
The analysis above me sucks
This sounds like a poem about loneliness or being alone. He has walked down the saddest city lane. If he was with someone he probably wouldn't be sad. It sounds lonely. He dropped his eyes when he came to the watchman. He obviously didn't want to talk to anyone. Still sad and lonely. Stopped the sound of feet...there was no one else near enough to make the sound of footfalls. The 'cry' came from far away and there was no answer. Still sad and alone. He uses a good rhythm, I dont know what it is, but it reads well. He has a strange rhyming scheme but it sounds right.
| Posted on 2006-02-28 | by Approved Guest
The analysis above me sucks
This sounds like a poem about loneliness or being alone. He has walked down the saddest city lane. If he was with someone he probably wouldn't be sad. It sounds lonely. He dropped his eyes when he came to the watchman. He obviously didn't want to talk to anyone. Still sad and lonely. Stopped the sound of feet...there was no one else near enough to make the sound of footfalls. The 'cry' came from far away and there was no answer. Still sad and alone. He uses a good rhythm, I dont know what it is, but it reads well. He has a strange rhyming scheme but it sounds right.
| Posted on 2006-02-28 | by Approved Guest
.: :.
I agree with what everyone has said, it is about being alone and depressed and into self despair... but i have taken a slightly differnt angle with being "aquainted with the night" this is just an idea, but isnt it possible that this character suffers from insomnina, frost begins and ends with i have been one aquainted with the night, this could mean that night is a big part of his life. I think that it is a very good possibillity that this man, an insomniac, spends most of his sleepless hours wandering the streets at night, no one is out, except for a police man on patrol, and he drops his eyes, even though he has nothing to hide... he is tormented by insomnia which may in turn have caused him to be depressed
| Posted on 2006-02-09 | by Approved Guest
I agree with what everyone has said, it is about being alone and depressed and into self despair... but i have taken a slightly differnt angle with being "aquainted with the night" this is just an idea, but isnt it possible that this character suffers from insomnina, frost begins and ends with i have been one aquainted with the night, this could mean that night is a big part of his life. I think that it is a very good possibillity that this man, an insomniac, spends most of his sleepless hours wandering the streets at night, no one is out, except for a police man on patrol, and he drops his eyes, even though he has nothing to hide... he is tormented by insomnia which may in turn have caused him to be depressed
| Posted on 2006-02-09 | by Approved Guest
.: Loneliness :.
The line "I have been one aquainted with the night," has an oddity in it which is the word one. The word one enhances the feel of loneliness. The narrator is only aquainted with night which is darkness which is nothingness. Time "was neither wrong nor right", the narrator is nowhere.
| Posted on 2006-01-15 | by Approved Guest
The line "I have been one aquainted with the night," has an oddity in it which is the word one. The word one enhances the feel of loneliness. The narrator is only aquainted with night which is darkness which is nothingness. Time "was neither wrong nor right", the narrator is nowhere.
| Posted on 2006-01-15 | by Approved Guest
.: Homelessness :.
Not only is it about loneliness and isolation on an emotional level, but scholars and critics observe that Frost is indeed speaking about a disconnect between God or nature -- A Metaphysical Homelessness. It can also be taken as a literal writing on homelessness, as not only the cries do not beckon the wanderer back, but may actually be calling him away. Notice also the setting of the poem and the use of the word "acquainted" instead of "accustomed." :) Have fun looking for this in the poem, as it is much more convincing from one's own eyes.
| Posted on 2005-04-03 | by Approved Guest
Not only is it about loneliness and isolation on an emotional level, but scholars and critics observe that Frost is indeed speaking about a disconnect between God or nature -- A Metaphysical Homelessness. It can also be taken as a literal writing on homelessness, as not only the cries do not beckon the wanderer back, but may actually be calling him away. Notice also the setting of the poem and the use of the word "acquainted" instead of "accustomed." :) Have fun looking for this in the poem, as it is much more convincing from one's own eyes.
| Posted on 2005-04-03 | by Approved Guest
.: Acquainted With the Night :.
This sounds like a poem about loneliness or being alone. He has walked down the saddest city lane. If he was with someone he probably wouldn't be sad. It sounds lonely. He dropped his eyes when he came to the watchman. He obviously didn't want to talk to anyone. Still sad and lonely. Stopped the sound of feet...there was no one else near enough to make the sound of footfalls. The 'cry' came from far away and there was no answer. Still sad and alone. He uses a good rhythm, I dont know what it is, but it reads well. He has a strange rhyming scheme but it sounds right.
| Posted on 2004-10-11 | by larrysgirl5548
This sounds like a poem about loneliness or being alone. He has walked down the saddest city lane. If he was with someone he probably wouldn't be sad. It sounds lonely. He dropped his eyes when he came to the watchman. He obviously didn't want to talk to anyone. Still sad and lonely. Stopped the sound of feet...there was no one else near enough to make the sound of footfalls. The 'cry' came from far away and there was no answer. Still sad and alone. He uses a good rhythm, I dont know what it is, but it reads well. He has a strange rhyming scheme but it sounds right.
| Posted on 2004-10-11 | by larrysgirl5548
.: :.
the notion of time and distance is also interesting in this poem... we can also see that this is almost a cyclical thing, due to the fact that the first line is the exact same one as the last one (though upon reading the final sentence, we are more informed on this social world, or lack there of, which has been portrayed by Frost).
the notion of distance is emphasised by words such as walked, outwalked, passed, stood still, far away, further... all of these give us the impression that Frost is indeed leaving the city to rejoin his natural enviroment, which is nature, and "pastures"...
the 'depression' (pardon the expression) is added too (on top of the general feel of the poem), by expressions such as 'the furthest city', or ' the saddest city'...
when it is stated that he has 'outwalked the furthest city lights' we get a sense of the fact that he is trying to get away, to find a meaning, to escape the city, the lights, the civilisation which has taken over the world which he adores and admires so much...
i believe that the notion of the night is also important. at night we have a different vision, we see things in a different light... and it is a time where most (single) people are alone, and might take the time to reflect on life, or simply ponder about what they are doing, and this comes out through the Frost's writing...
| Posted on 2004-09-20 | by Approved Guest
the notion of time and distance is also interesting in this poem... we can also see that this is almost a cyclical thing, due to the fact that the first line is the exact same one as the last one (though upon reading the final sentence, we are more informed on this social world, or lack there of, which has been portrayed by Frost).
the notion of distance is emphasised by words such as walked, outwalked, passed, stood still, far away, further... all of these give us the impression that Frost is indeed leaving the city to rejoin his natural enviroment, which is nature, and "pastures"...
the 'depression' (pardon the expression) is added too (on top of the general feel of the poem), by expressions such as 'the furthest city', or ' the saddest city'...
when it is stated that he has 'outwalked the furthest city lights' we get a sense of the fact that he is trying to get away, to find a meaning, to escape the city, the lights, the civilisation which has taken over the world which he adores and admires so much...
i believe that the notion of the night is also important. at night we have a different vision, we see things in a different light... and it is a time where most (single) people are alone, and might take the time to reflect on life, or simply ponder about what they are doing, and this comes out through the Frost's writing...
| Posted on 2004-09-20 | by Approved Guest
Post your Analysis
122 Free Video Tutorials
I make free video tutorials on youtube such as Basic HTML and CSS,
and Learn PHP..
Free Online Education from Top Universities
Yes! It's true. College Education is now free!
Most common keywords
Acquainted With The Night Analysis Robert Frost critical analysis of poem, review school overview. Analysis of the poem. literary terms. Definition terms. Why did he use? short summary describing. Acquainted With The Night Analysis Robert Frost Characters archetypes. Sparknotes bookrags the meaning summary overview critique of explanation pinkmonkey. Quick fast explanatory summary. pinkmonkey free cliffnotes cliffnotes ebook pdf doc file essay summary literary terms analysis professional definition summary synopsis sinopsis interpretation critique Acquainted With The Night Analysis Robert Frost itunes audio book mp4 mp3 mit ocw Online Education homework forum help
Poetry 133
Poetry 69
Poetry 6
Poetry 107
Poetry 180
Poetry 146
Poetry 144
Poetry 78
Poetry 69
Poetry 66
Poetry 93
Poetry 42
Poetry 42
Poetry 100
Poetry 40
Poetry 213
Poetry 10
Poetry 185
Poetry 61
Poetry 32