“Acquainted with the Night” begins with a determined and solemn speaker who explores a city alone in the night, a favorable pastime for anyone seeking seclusion. Despite their desire for solitude, the speaker feels a spark of excitement when interaction with others seems possible, as evidenced in the poem’s form. However, our poet, Robert Frost, displays an uncanny knack for misleading his readers, and unless we meticulously pick his poem apart, we will overlook key aspects of the speaker 's character. Case in point: “Acquainted with the Night” initially appears to be about a lonely individual 's desire for human companionship, when in actuality, the speaker does not even realize that human companionship is what they desire the least.
To begin, …show more content…
They certainly had an opportunity to establish some contact when they passed the watchman, but they did not, for a reason they were unwilling to explain. Sometimes instigating conversation or friendship can take a certain amount of bravery, and our speaker is certainly that. Again, line three of our poem says, "I have outwalked the furthest city light" (3). Walking off the beaten path certainly requires a fair amount of bravery. Additionally our speaker claims to have seen the "saddest" (4) places in the city, presumably where others don 't dare venture. Which all serves to prove that our speaker is in fact brave. Still, however, the speaker drops their gaze from the watchman 's, not because they lack bravery, but because they are unwilling to explain something else. Nightly excursions are certainly a difficulty to explain, for the speaker is unable to explain their attraction to …show more content…
They apply to it, quite flattering descriptions, such as "unearthly" (11) and "luminous" (12). They thereby attach importance to the clock, and you would therefore expect the purpose of clocks, telling time, would be equally important to our speaker. Surprisingly, however, the speaker states that that the clock, "Proclaimed the time was neither right nor wrong" (13). The speaker disregards the importance of time, for they are, after all, a nomad of the night, who time can have no bearing on. The most important aspect of the speaker’s words though, is what they say about their character. By their descriptions of the clock, we can see that they have glorified time in their mind, in the same way most people do, but by their disregard of time itself, we see that they have no real interest in what other people do. Similarly, the speaker has glorified friendship in their mind, and they are even excited when companionship may be thrust upon them. However, they feel no real desire for friendship. For it is not from lack of bravery that our speaker never instigates contact, but it is because, that like the clock 's time, they do not care about friendship, they only think they do.
The final sentence of “Acquainted with the Night,” is the final thought, and reverts back to only a single-sentence. Our poem has come full circle, speaker has resumed their contemplation of themselves,
To begin, …show more content…
They certainly had an opportunity to establish some contact when they passed the watchman, but they did not, for a reason they were unwilling to explain. Sometimes instigating conversation or friendship can take a certain amount of bravery, and our speaker is certainly that. Again, line three of our poem says, "I have outwalked the furthest city light" (3). Walking off the beaten path certainly requires a fair amount of bravery. Additionally our speaker claims to have seen the "saddest" (4) places in the city, presumably where others don 't dare venture. Which all serves to prove that our speaker is in fact brave. Still, however, the speaker drops their gaze from the watchman 's, not because they lack bravery, but because they are unwilling to explain something else. Nightly excursions are certainly a difficulty to explain, for the speaker is unable to explain their attraction to …show more content…
They apply to it, quite flattering descriptions, such as "unearthly" (11) and "luminous" (12). They thereby attach importance to the clock, and you would therefore expect the purpose of clocks, telling time, would be equally important to our speaker. Surprisingly, however, the speaker states that that the clock, "Proclaimed the time was neither right nor wrong" (13). The speaker disregards the importance of time, for they are, after all, a nomad of the night, who time can have no bearing on. The most important aspect of the speaker’s words though, is what they say about their character. By their descriptions of the clock, we can see that they have glorified time in their mind, in the same way most people do, but by their disregard of time itself, we see that they have no real interest in what other people do. Similarly, the speaker has glorified friendship in their mind, and they are even excited when companionship may be thrust upon them. However, they feel no real desire for friendship. For it is not from lack of bravery that our speaker never instigates contact, but it is because, that like the clock 's time, they do not care about friendship, they only think they do.
The final sentence of “Acquainted with the Night,” is the final thought, and reverts back to only a single-sentence. Our poem has come full circle, speaker has resumed their contemplation of themselves,