Depression In Robert Frost's 'Acquainted With The Night'

Aaleah Brown
Mr. Gunderson
Honors English 3, Period 4
08 November 2013
The Walk
“I have passed by the watchman on his beat and dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain” (II. 5-6). Depression causes a person to distance themselves from the world. It also causes them to not want to associate themselves with people. In the poem, “Acquainted with the Night,” by Robert Frost, a persona seems to be walking aimlessly alone at night in the rain. The persona passes a watchman whom he refuses to associate himself with, so he drops his eyes. The persona also hears “an interrupted cry” that isn’t meant for him, showing how lonely he is. Robert Frost uses many metaphors and symbols to represent things such as depression and hope. In fact, in the poem,
diction and imagery are combined to create the gloomy, depressing theme of loneliness and depression.
Frost uses diction to emphasize the theme of depression and loneliness.
He does this by using many words to express the theme. Words such as “furthest city light,” (1.3) for example, imply depression or loneliness. The noun suggests depression and despair in many ways. The persona is not only depressed, but when he gets far enough into his depression, there is no light, or happiness, in his life. One that is depressed secludes themselves from any company and purposely distances themselves from society. The verb “dropped” (1. 6) demonstrates this hopelessness by dropping his eyes when he passes by a watchman, the only man he’s seen since he started walking. Dropping his eyes signifies that he refuses to associate himself with anyone, and he just wants to completely avoid all contact with anyone he meets on his walk. The verb “acquainted” (1. 1&14) is evidence that the persona accustomed to the night. He really wasn’t “acquainted” with the night. He knows the night and has had a lot of experience with it, but isn’t an “intimate friend” of his. The reader knows that the reader has had experience with the night because he has “Walked out in rain—and back in rain” (1.2). Similarly, “saddest city lane” also has implications of custom. He has taken walks like this many times before due to his depression. When it comes to despair, it’s hard to escape it. The theme of depression demonstrates how sadness can cause a person to feel abandoned and
lonely.
Throughout the poem, Frost uses diction, along with imagery, to emphasize the theme of loneliness and depression.
He does this by using several poetic devices that help create images into the readers’ mind. For example, the noun “luminary clock” in line 12 is the brightest representation in the entire poem. Frost uses the luminary clock as a metaphor, comparing the moon to a clock. The light from the moon “reaches” the persona even when he has “outwalked the furthest city light” (I. 1). The author also uses alliteration in line 7 to plant the image of the persona coming to a complete stop, standing still, making no noise. Frost also uses certain words to call attention to the theme. For instance, words such as “an unearthly height,” give the reader a sense of something being far away. The persona is far into his depression and is now feeling am immense amount of loneliness. As he’s walking, he hears “an interrupted cry,” (I.8) only to find out that it isn’t for him. This causes the persona to feel far away from everyone. The words, “walked out in rain—and back in rain” sets a gloomy and depressing image in the readers mind. This line from the poem explains how the persona has gone on this lonely, miserable walk many times again. Frost uses repetition in this line to stress that the persona has been in and out of depression. He also uses repetition to make the walk seem long and weary. The persona has walking in and out of the rain and feels as if he is being rained on with
overwhelming emotions. The use of imagery allows the reader to picture each and every thought of the persona.
Clearly, imagery and diction convey the theme of depression and loneliness. Loneliness and depression causes man to feel as if they are in the dark and have no one to talk to. In the persona’s case, he has felt alone and went on frequent, tedious walks by himself. He would walk past the watchmen and put his head down, “unwilling to explain” (1.6). This makes the reader wonder if the persona really did feel alone or if he just wanted to be alone. Sometimes when a person is far into their depression, they feel alone, but also just want to be isolated from those around them. Frost helps the reader understand that he is “acquainted with the night,” however; he is not a close friend with it. He only visits the night when he is down in the dumps. Depression has a drastic affect on whoever its victim is. Once depression takes over, it consumes the mind. According to an anonymous speaker, “What consumes your thoughts, consumes your mind; what consumes your mind, consumes your life.”