Acquainted with the Night (1928)

The narrator describes his loneliness as he walks the isolated city streets at night. He has walked beyond
the city limits and along every city lane, but has never found anything to comfort him in his depression.
Even when he makes contact with another person (such as the watchman), the narrator is unwilling to
express his feelings because he knows that no one will understand him. t one point he hears a cry from a
nearby street, but reali!es that it is not meant for him" no one is waiting for him. He looks up at the moon
in the sky and acknowledges that time has no meaning for him because his isolation is unending.
Analysis
This poem is written in strict iambic pentameter, with the fourteen lines of a traditional sonnet. #n terms of
rhyme scheme, $rost uses the %ter!a rima& ('third rhyme') pattern of ( )*) ** , which is
exceptionally difficult to write in English.
This poem is commonly understood to be a description of the narrator+s experiences with depression. The
most crucial element of his depression is his complete isolation. $rost emphasi!es this by using the first,
person term %#& at the beginning of seven of the lines. Even though the watchman has a physical presence
in the poem, he does not play a mental or emotional role- the narrator, the sole %#,& remains solitary.
.imilarly, when the narrator hears the %interrupted cry& from another street, he clarifies that the cry is not
meant for him, because there is no one waiting for him at home.
The narrator+s inability to make eye contact with the people that he meets suggests that his depression has
made him incapable of interacting in normal society. /hile normal people are associated with the day
(happiness, sunlight, optimism), the narrator is solely ac0uainted with the night, and thus can find nothing
in common with those around him. The narrator is even unable to use the same sense of time as the other
people in the city- instead of using a clock that provides a definitive time for every moment, the narrator
relies solely on %one luminary clock& in the sky.
#ronically, since night is the only time that he emerges from his solitude, the narrator has even less
opportunity to meet someone who can pull him from his depression. His ac0uaintance with the night
constructs a cycle of depression that he cannot escape.
$rost adds to the uncertainty inherent in the poem by incorporating the present perfect tense, which is used
to describe something from the recent past, as well as something from the past that is still ongoing in the
present. #t seems as if the narrator+s depression could be from the recent past because of the phrase- %#
have been1& However, the verb tense also suggests that his depression could still be a constant, if unseen,
force. /ith that in mind, it is unclear whether the narrator will truly be able to come back to society or if
his depression will resurface and force him to be, once again, ac0uainted with the night
Further Analysis
2obert $rost+s Acquainted with the Night is a description of a speaker wandering through the night,
trying to escape the isolation and depression he has encountered in his daily life.
The %ac0uainted& used in the title sums up the relationship between the poem+s sub3ect and the night. The
word shows that the two acknowledge each other, but implies some embarrassment and an awkward
relationship. The night seems to be attached to the speaker, who cannot get alone time. The speaker is
forced to accompany the loneliness, something that is inevitable. This relationship is paralleled by the
irony of an urban setting. )ities are often centers of social and intellectual life, yet in his poem $rost
portrays the urban setting as empty and lonely. These two aspects, which are present throughout the poem,
help establish $rost+s desolate and negative tone.
#n the first stan!a, the helpless feeling is made immediately evident. #n line 4, the speaker
%5outwalks6 the furthest city lamp&. Here, $rost, by contrasting the streetlamp with the desolate darkness,
enhances the difference between the two and creates a feeling of being beyond hopelessness. The light,
representing day, meaning, and happiness, becomes unattainable. The lack of hope is associated with the
speaker+s sense of solitude- $rost repeats %#& at the beginning of stan!as and further creates a methodical,
drone tone with the speaker walking %out in rain7 and back in rain&. The rain, additionally, symboli!es the
rhythmic and inevitable downpour of sorrow. However, water also has a cleansing effect. (y using rain,
$rost seems to imply that the desolation and isolation has become a welcome effect as the speaker in
unable to avoid it.
The speaker+s reluctance to acknowledge the %watchman on his beat& shows that though the
speaker needs interaction, he is unable to reach out for help. (ecause humans are innately social animals,
this shows that something is wrong with him and, on a broader scale, humanity in general. The failure of
the watchman to reach out to one who clearly is in need, $rost critici!es society+s tendency to overlook
peers.
8ines 9,: are full of backwards syntax and sound imagery. #nstead of stopping before hearing a
call, the speaker is able to anticipate the call and stops before it. The%interrupted cry would also make
much more sense as a cry that interrupts the speaker+s lonely stroll. This irregular syntax shows the
irregularity of the world $rost portrays, in which things are unpredictable. The use of sound in the stan!a
(footsteps and the cry) and the physical distance (%far away& and%another street&) of the speaker draw
attention to the expanse and silence of the surroundings. That he cannot find help from anyone else
accentuates his emotional distance from others.
The mention but ambiguity of time in the next stan!a serves as an indication to the inevitability of
immense sorrow, as it can be unexpected and last for an indefinite length of time. $urthermore, the moon+s
being %against& the sky rather than %in& the sky as generally used shows that the end exists, but is
unattainable. This limit of height, along with the vagueness of the time, contributes to the feeling of
hopelessness as even simple 0uestions cannot be answered and visible goals cannot be achieved.
$rost uses a regular, ter!a rima rhyme scheme ((()()*)**), iambic pentameter,
sonnet format and repetition to show the cyclic nature of sorrow. The structured, methodical flow of the
poem connects the stan!as and mirrors the regularity and inescapability of the cycle of sorrow. #ambic
pentameter+s steady stressed and unstressed syllables are similar to the footsteps of the speaker as he
moves through the silence. The repetition of used in the title, %in rain& in line ;,%#& in the first two stan!as
and circular rhyme show the cyclic, slow flow associated with loneliness. The repetition also shows the
lack of excitement and 3oy in the speaker+s life.
$inally, $rost uses punctuation to show the solitude and depression the sub3ect feels. #n the first
few and last stan!as, the short sentences show frustration and disappointment, allowing time for the reader
to sigh between lines. #n the other stan!as, the en3ambment used pushes the poem along, implying the
inability of the speaker to escape the solitude in which he is trapped.