Although both of the poems feel eerie with the theme of darkness and night, Emily Dickson and Robert Frost conceive different meaning through their writing. The implementation of darkness can be compared and contrasted through the elements of point of view, structure, and imagery. The affect of the night and its surrounding darkness can be analyzed through the point of view of both works. In each poem, Dickson and Frost utilize first person as the point of view, establishing credibility that the narrator has experienced the cruelty of the night and what it offers emotionally to him/herself. Dickson, however, writes using plural pronouns while Frost only employs the singular pronoun of I’s. By using a plural point of view, Dickson demonstrates to the reader that the darkness or night is inescapable by nature and, hence, is encountered by humanity as a whole, including herself; meanwhile, Frost’s use of singularity exudes solitary and loneliness, done by choice. Dickson, with the use of her point of view, gives off a scary tone to the reader while Frost implies a much more depressing …show more content…
Through the sets of stanzas both poets have in their work, they constructed a timeline centered on the night. Through the progression of Dickson’s poem, the character shifts from hopelessness to hopefulness because of suddenly finding a route back to sight; however, Frost’s lines all contain the same feeling of depression and loneliness, which seems never-ending. By the time progression, however, both poems reveal that the darkness is simply a part of life. In Dickson’s poem, the rhyme scheme is free verse, providing a sense of being lost and unsure in response to the overwhelming darkness. On the other hand, Frost uses a structured rhyme scheme, showing that he already adapted to this lonely darkness of the night. Both poets reveal the experience with the darkness through their poem