Acquainted with the Night

Acquainted with the Night
Robert Frost
(1874-1963)

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain – and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-by;
And further still at an unearthly height
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.



There are many things about this poem that stand out to me. The first is that it has a rhyme sequence, as many of the poems in these packets do not. It uses repetition of the idea of being acquainted with the night. On a literal sense, Frost could be saying that he is frequently alone walking at night, and cannot explain why, for it serves as a way for him to gather thoughts up alone without having to be called back to a house (houses from another street). However, the night could refer to a confusion, a period in his life in which he was in the dark- which could be explained by the line "proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right", as though it really was not a definite time for him to be able to make any sort of actions- Also the line "I dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain"- unwilling to explain the point in life he was at, and the lost feeling he had, along with the inability to know which way to go next.