Compare And Contrast We Grow Accustomed To The Dark By Emily Dickinson

Night and darkness are often used interchangeably, usually carrying a negative connotation. Although one may assume that the idea of darkness means one thing: darkness, it is evident that some people stretch the meaning of this idea. For example, in We Grow Accustomed to the Dark, Dickinson uses the idea of darkness to showcase the uncertainty of life, while in another piece of literature, Acquainted with the Night, Frost has darkness symbolize depression. While these two poems have some similarities, they have even more differences, both of which are apparent from Dickinson’s and Frost’s use of imagery, point of view, and structure. Dickinson and Frost both use an extensive amount of imagery in their poems. Some similarities in imagery include the absence of light, which the poets use to relay their views on their own meaning of darkness. Dickinson writes “When light is put away” and “ When not a Moon discloses a sign—Or a Star—comes out” which is similar to

Dickinson and Frost both support their overall meanings of darkness through point of view, while at the same time contrasting one another. Dickinson uses the word “we” while Frost uses the word “I”. This is perfectly correlated with their meanings of darkness. As mentioned in the last paragraph, Dickinson believes that darkness is uncertainty, and that all humans go through uncertainty, but support from loved ones helps keep them going. By saying “We grow accustomed to the Dark”, Dickinson is showing how “we” as humans all go through uncertainty, but we get through it together. Frost, however, with the idea that darkness means depression, only uses the word “I”, which again shows how alone the speaker is. By stating “I have been one acquainted with the night”, Frost once again exhibits the idea that darkness, or depression, is often fought alone, and is not something universal that everyone goes through, unlike Dickinson’s