Analysis of Emily Dickinson´s We Grow Accustomed to the Dark and Robert Frost´s Acquainted with the Night

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Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost are both very distinguished poets in America. Dickinson lived in the mid 1800s and was an introvert in Massachusetts for most of her life. Frost was alive in the 1900s and lived most of his life in Massachusetts. Even though both are from different points in history, they have similar themes of isolation and nature in the their writing. In Frost’s “Acquainted with the Night” and Dickinson’s “We grow Accustomed to the Dark” have to do with darkness and night. In most poetry the night is symbolic of the darker aspects of human nature. For all types of people darkness means something different. These authors each carry a unique view of the night through the personas of their poems as well as the applying imagery and structure.
Dickinson has strong imagery, distinct structure, and a point of view that presents the concern related to darkness. Starting with “we,” Dickinson allows the reader to share the same feeling of nervousness as the author by entering into the unknown that the darkness brings together. Darkness is something one must alter

to “grow accustomed to” (Dickinson 1). Darkness leaves the reader feeling “uncertain” in the beginning, but our uncertainty turns into bravery as Dickinson’s tone modifies when our vision becomes “fit to the Dark.” When one alters themselves to the surroundings, we “meet the Road—erect”(Dickinson 8) just as we meet challenges of life-prepared. An innovator may “hit a Tree / Directly in the Forehead”(Dickinson 14-15) but the problem may be easy to overcome. Eventually, as “Darkness alters”(Dickinson 17) or “sight / Adjusts... / Life steps almost straight”(Dickinson 18-20). This change in attitude from nerves to inspiration helps aid the dashes which slows t...

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...med the time was neither wrong nor right. / I have been one acquainted with the night.”(Frost 13-14) to talk about that at some point we must all experience the night he has described in the poem.
In “We Grow Accustomed to the Dark” and “Acquainted with the Night” the darkness or night is the most prominent topic throughout the poems but have different meanings. While both poets address this topic in their poems, Dickinson transitions from an attitude of nerves to one of inspiration, while Frost turns to the night as a getaway from harsh society. The night is used in both as negative symbol. The use of imagery and structure are very important to help get the message of darkness across to the readers. Even though the authors have a similar theme, Frost is specific and to the point, while Dickinson’s makes her poetry more broad and can relate to a variety of readers.

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