"Acquainted With the Night" Sample Essays

Brenda Robles

“Acquainted With the Night”

            In Robert Frost’s poem, “Acquainted with the Night,” the poet lets the reader know all that he has experienced during the night. The narrator creates the feeling of loneliness and sadness. By using literary elements such as repetition and parallelism the poet places an emphasis on his actions in the night.

            Since the poem is about a man walking alone in the night the reader receives the feelings of loneliness and sadness:

            But not to call me or say good-by;

            And further still at an unearthly height

            One luminary clock against the sky. (10-12)

The narrator has no one that cares about him. Only the moon is out, creating an atmosphere of sadness. Even after the man has seen so many places, “I have out walked the furthest city light” (3), his feelings still remain.

            The poet uses literary elements such as repetition and parallelism to make the poem understandable. By repeating, “I have been one acquainted with the night” (1&14) at the beginning of the poem and at the end, the narrator makes a strong statement and wants to make sure that the reader gets it. The poet uses parallelism to put an emphasis on his actions in the night:

            I have been one acquainted with the night

            I have walked out in the rain—and back in rain

            I have out walked the furthest city light

            I have looked down the saddest city lane

            I have passed by the watch man on his beat (1-5)

By repeating the words “I have,” the narrator lets the reader know he’s walked in the night many times.

            In “Acquainted with the Night,” Robert Frost creates feelings of loneliness that can be explained only through the night. Even though, in reality, one does not get acquainted with the night, Robert Frost uses personification to let the reader understand his feelings about the night.