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Aquainted With The Night Robert Frost

Night Seasons

In the poem “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost ,the Night is the dominating symbol of the meaning pertaining to feeling lonesome, isolated, alienated and depressed. The dramatic imagery in this poem creates a tone of despair for the reader.   The tone of a poem is generally equivalent to the mood it creates in the reader. The title speaks volumes alone, in that being acquainted with something or someone is to be close to or familiar with. The Night in this poem can be read literally and figuratively; the author speaks as though he takes frequent walks at night alone but figuratively he walks through depression, loneliness, and isolation. This poem talks about the night seasons of human life that many people experience at some point in life.
The speaker of this poem, being unable to go to sleep, decides to take a midnight walk as a way of trying to escape his troubles. “I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain - and back in rain.” These two verses at the beginning of the poem lay a foundation for the mental state of the writer. The night in this poem draws the reader to a place of sadness and despair. He states that he has walked out in rain, and back in rain meaning, literally, he has walked in the rain and emotionally he has walked in the rain. His tears have not been dried but continue to fall as relentlessly as the rain outside, as heavy as his soul is the rain that falls on his body. He speaks of how long he has lived or walked in this state of depression when he states, “I have out walked the furthest city light.”   He has tried to escape his sadness by walking until he reaches the furthest light of the city. Dreadfully he is unable to getaway from what he feels.
"I have looked down the saddest city lane” can be seen to refer to a time when the speaker's hopelessness was particularly strong. As one could imagine the saddest city lane would be dark wet abandoned dirty and destitute.
He has been to the...

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