Acquainted with the Night

"Acquainted with the Night" is a poem written by Robert Frost. This poem is a Shakespearean sonnet. This captivating poem is about a person who knows the night very well. Frost explains this in the very first line of the poem when he states, "I have been one acquainted with the night" (1). Through the course of the poem, Frost describes and explains both the sadness and darkness of the night.

The speaker of this poem knows what night is like. He also knows everything that happens after nightfall. When he thinks about what happens throughout the night and what the night is like, he begins to experience sadness. Frost describes the unhappiness of the night by writing "I have looked down the saddest city lane./ I have passed by the watchman on his beat/ And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain" (4-6). It is not only the night that makes him feel sad and depressed; it is also the fact that he is by himself during his adventures through the hours of darkness.

The speaker feels lonely at night while he is wandering around in the darkness. The repetition of the word "I" throughout the poem shows that he has no one with him at night. Being all alone makes him feel lonesome. By him being alone, he has more time to better understand and learn about the night.

Another repetition in the poem is where Frost describes how well he knows the night. He wrote, "I have been one acquainted with the night."(1, 14). Robert Frost writes this twice, once at the very beginning of the poem and again at the very end of the poem. He writes this twice to make a point to the reader. He wants to make sure the reader understands how well the speaker knows and understands the night.

Robert Frost does an exceptional job of clearly expressing the theme of this poem to the readers. He wants the reader to understand that the speaker of the poem is lonely on his journeys at night. Furthermore, Frost wants the reader to know that dark and depressing events happen after night falls. Through out the poem, Robert Frost tries to get across to the reader that the speaker believes that the night is neither bad nor good. He also explains in his words that he understands the night in a way not many people can.