Depression In Robert Frost's Acquainted With The Night

Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost is about depression. The poet describes his depression as night. Night is used as a noun and personified. In line 1, “I have been one acquainted with the night”, the poet personifies the night as a person he is aware or familiar with. The poet uses the word “one”, to symbolize he is not the only one who have acquainted with the night. Line 2, “I have walked out in rain-and back in rain” suggest the poet was traveling in the rain and that it must have been raining for a long time. “Rain” was used twice in this line which can mean traveling in the rain was very troublesome for the poet. The poet seems to be walking a low base on line 3, “I have outwalked the furthest city light”. In this stanza, the poet started each line with “I”, this repetition suggests he was alone. “Night”, “rain”, and “outwalked the furthest city light” further support the poet’s loneliness. …show more content…
The poet is probably feeling depress and therefore, the street looks sad to him. Using the word “saddest” can imply the severity of his depression. The street is probably empty too since its raining and most people prefer to be indoor during the rain. In line 5, “I have passed by the watchman on his beat”, the poet finally points out another person other than himself. The word “beat” usually correlate with the heart and being alive. It can mean that the watchman is alive and is doing what he is supposed to do while the poet sound uncertain on what he, himself is supposed to do. The poet wrote “And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain”, shows that he is avoiding eye contact with the watchman. Avoiding eye contact shows that the poet does not want to draw the watchman attention which can lead to interaction. “Unwilling to explain”, the poet seems to have something to tell but doesn’t want to talk about it at the same