Onomatopoeia is a prominent element in the poem “The Sound of Night” written by Maxine Kumin. “The Sound of Night” highlights the sense of sound in place of vision. The reader imagines the sounds being described rather than visualizing what the scene might look like. Kumin’s use of onomatopoeia aids in magnifying the theme and tone of this poem by creating an audible experience which immerses the reader. The main theme of “The Sound of Night” is the premise that when one sense is removed, then the others are heightened. In the poem, the sense of sight is removed so sound is magnified. Kumin uses lines such as, “squeak, chirp, dip, and skim on skates of air” (6), to cause the reader to imagine hearing sounds in the darkness in the woods near
