He fully knows the varying aspects of night. He has seen it in rain. He was gone to the edge of a city where its light ends in night. He knows the saddest city lane in night. From night, he knows the real indifference of time towards human beings.

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1. Summary of Acquainted With the Night
2. Analysis of Acquainted With the Night

Following are the themes in the poem:

Loneliness – It is the major theme of the poem. Like many Frost’s poem, its speaker is also alone. The kind of reflection is being made in the poem, the loneliness is the first factor for it.

Isolation – The speaker of the poem is describing the essential state of human being which is isolation. All human beings in their true reflection are isolated individuals.

Discomfort – The speaker seems to be not comfortable with the situation in which he is. He avoids eye contact with the watchman too.

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1. Summary of Acquainted With the Night
2. Analysis of Acquainted With the Night

Following are the literary devices used in this poem:

1. Alliteration – It is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same sentence. i.e. “I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet.”
2. Enjambment – It is the continuation of a syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause. Frost uses it most of the time. For example, “I have passed by the watch on his beat/and dropped my eyes.”
3. Symbolism – It is the use of anything symbolic to extend a greater meaning. In the poem, “night” comes to symbolise the isolation and loneliness of the speaker; “luminary clock” is the passage of time which stops for nothing.
4. Metaphor – It is a figure of speech which implies a different meaning apart from its literal meaning. “clock” in the poem is not literal. It stands for the passage of time. “Night” is also an extended metaphor in the poem which means isolation of the speaker and the pessimism which it brings.

Read:

1. Summary of Acquainted With the Night
2. Analysis of Acquainted With the Night