Darkness In Denise Levertov's Eye Mask

In Denise Levertov’s Eye Mask, the dark acts as a source of comfort and life. The speaker thrives off of the darkness and is not ready for what light will bring.

The text says that darkness is a source of comfort. The poem begins with the line, “In this dark I rest” (Levertov 1). The word rest is stopping movement to relax, to refresh, and to recover strength. The text implies that the speaker is able to relax and find strength within the dark. The connotation of rest suggests comfort; therefore, the speaker is comfortable in the dark. Comfort insinuates familiarity. The speaker is familiar with the dark, which explains why he/she is able to find rest within it. Rest is ceasing to engage in a stressful activity, which indicates that the light causes stress to the speaker. The speaker is "unready" for this stress, so the speaker finds comfort in the dark. The text also hints to a specific darkness. It uses the word “this” to imply that it is a certain kind of darkness that is comforting the speaker. Later in the poem, the speaker talks about silk, “Black silk, shelter me” (5). The silk is black and so is the dark. Silk is also a material that fills up as much space as it can and gets in all the spaces. The darkness is filling up every possible spot it can and trying not

to let any light in. The light can’t reach the speaker under the silk. The darkness is a barrier that provides security for the speaker, who is not ready for the light. The speaker stays in the dark as long as he/she can. The text says that the light will eventually come, “unready for the light which dawns” (2). Dawn is the first appearance of light. The speaker is unready for this, so he/she is waiting till the last possible second before surrendering itself to the light and getting rid of the comfort he/she felt in the dark.

The text explains how darkness is a source of life for the speaker. The speaker thrives in the darkness. The speaker is able to, “grow in the dark like a root” (10). A root is the part of a plant that attaches it to the ground for support, typically underground, bringing nourishment to the rest of the plant through branches. The roots provide life to the plant. It brings the plant everything it needs to survive. The speaker’s source of life is the darkness, which can be compared to how the roots of a plant are underground. That is where it is dark and where it finds life. It receives everything it needs from the darkness, which allows it to thrive the longer it rests in it. A root is also the basic source or origin of something. It is the core of the plant. It is the heart of plant. The text says the darkness is at the root of the speaker, which implies that darkness is at the core of the speaker. The darkness is in the speaker’s heart. The darkness is the essence the speaker flourishes on.

The text indicates that darkness is a necessity for the speaker. It is not just something the speaker wants, it is something the speaker needs. The speaker uses the word “need” in regards to the darkness (6). The definition of need is expressing necessity because it is essential or important. It is essential for the speaker to have darkness to live. The speaker also uses the word “must” to state necessity (9). To grow the speaker needs the dark. He/she must stay in the dark to soak up all the nutrients that the roots provide. The dark is a necessity for the speaker.

The words in the text suggest that the speaker is not ready for the light. The speaker tells us that he/she is not ready for the light to come in contact with the eyes or the heart (8). He/she wants those organs to stay in the dark, but our eyes are constantly searching for light. It is impossible to see anything at all in total darkness. Total darkness means the absence of light, and eyes depend on light to see. Low light conditions cause the iris to expand the pupil as wide as possible. This dilation lets as much light as possible into the eye. The heart is not exposed to any light, yet the speaker says he/she is unready for the light to enter the heart. The speaker is suggesting that there is another light that he/she is unready for. The speaker says that he/she is, “not ready, not ready at all” (11). The light is “eager” to come to the speaker, but the speaker wants to stay in the dark. The speaker does not want to let the light in.

The poem brings a point about light and dark that is not always expressed.

The speaker doesn’t want to let the light in. The speaker continues to repeat words like “unready” and “not ready" to show the lack of preparation. The speaker admits that it is necessary for he/she to “grow in the dark” before letting the light in. The title itself sheds light onto how the speaker wants to stay in the dark as long as possible. The significance of the poem is that it shows a new way of looking at the dark. The dark is usually not seen as a comfort, but to the speaker it is. The dark is the good thing and the light is the bad thing. The speaker does not want the light and all that comes with

it.