Understanding the different themes portrayed by the poets in their literary works is often critical for comprehension of the intended message presented by the poets. The various themes focused on by the poets often touches on the experiences of individuals regardless of their language or race. The themes usually present the meaning of the story or poem. The theme often connects to the internal journey of the protagonist of the poem. The different poets typically exhibit the preference for the portrayal of different themes in their poetic works. Imagery and symbolism serves as the critical approach to presentation of the various themes in poetic works as evident in T. S Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, Robert Frost’s “Acquainted with the Night” and Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark, Not Day”. The majority of the poets exhibit their preference for referencing darkness or night towards the expression of sadness, melancholy, despair, grief, madness, loss, pain and even death.
Sadness and darkness often relate strongly to poetry. Since the ancient times, people have exhibited the preference for wearing black attires towards the expression of grief. Happiness is often associated with sunshine while the majority of the poets associate depression with darkness or the night. There is usually a certain romance in melancholy and darkness. The night often serve as an expression of the associated mystery concerning the hidden and unknown. The dark poems or those focusing on the night usually play a critical role in romanticizing sadness and depression.
Eliot emphasizes the theme of death in the poem symbolized by her mentioning of “dusk.” In Eliot’s poem, the allusions preset within the text plays a critical role in ensuring the provision of the reader with the underlying descriptors (Eliot, 78). The descriptors tend to allow the reader to associate the emotional state of Prufrock with outside references. The poem starts by mentioning Michelangelo that annotates expressions of indecision. The poet presents slow transitions within the poem which in turn transitions into allusions expressing the theme of death. The symbolism of death is apparent in the poet’s mentioning of some of the aspects that include “dusk,” “asleep…Tired… or it maligers.” The reference to “dusk” in this case tends to play a significant role in inspiring images of despair, illness, and the ultimate death. The allusions of “Prince Hamlet” within the poem further allows the reader to relate the poem to the tragic ending of “Hamlet.”
As evident in Eliot’s poem, the poet ensures the effective use of dusk/night towards expressing the emotional state and to symbolize death. The poet presents many descriptors of both the emotional and physical state of Prufrock. The descriptors relate strongly to the poet’s description of the excuses for Prufrock’s indecisive nature. “I should have been a pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas” (Eliot, 78). The excerpt emphasizes the emotional feeling of Prufrock and his inability to progress through the society. The imageries and symbolism in the poem thus play a critical role in highlighting the emotional and physical state of the Prufrock within the poem which alludes to his inability to progress through the society. The failure of Prufrock to progress is apparent in the challenges that he encounters in the establishment of a proper relationship with his lover.
Eliot’s poem further depicts some level of self-doubts in Prufrock alongside the pessimistic outlook of both his future and that of the society and the world. The cynical view plays a significant role in rendering him unable to declare his love for the unidentified woman. Prufrock labels himself as “almost ridiculous,” “almost…the Fool.” Though he exhibits awareness of the possibility of personal fulfillment, Prufrock is afraid of acting, incapable of claiming himself a more meaningful existence. The melancholy within the poem thus serves more like a focus on the exploration of the internal mind rather than the external world. Despite its influence on the external societal issues that encompasses war, imperialism, and industrialization, the modernist style adopted by Eliot in the poem focuses more on expressing the personal psyche. The poem features the dramatic monologue characterized by the rare input of interpersonal dialogue. The act of turning the narrative inward by the poet ensures the effectiveness in exposing the extent to which the world at large bears the potential of influencing the individual mind and body. The symbolic nature of darkness and night within the poem thus facilitates the ability of the readers to connect personally with the internal conflicts of the speaker and in turn understand the external conflicts of the early 20th century.
Robert Frost’s “Acquainted with the Night” seems short and simplistic although the poet ensures the effective use of imagery, symbolism, and metaphors on numerous occasions towards expressing what is not depressing as apparent from the first read (Frost and John, 1). Robert Frost exhibits the preference for using vivid but straightforward imagery towards describing the feeling associated with walking through the city at night. The poet describes the sound of a scream, neither calling him nor saying goodbye. The poet’s descriptions enable the readers to picture the raindrops on their skin as they walk back and forth in the rain. The poet further uses various imageries and symbolism to express the physical and emotional feelings associated with the rather sad state of the city.
The numerous references to the “night” within the poem thus symbolizes the acquaintance of Frost with sorrow. Despite his acquaintance with grief, it is apparent that he still accepts its existence and rather than ignoring or pushing it aside as part of life, something associated with those walking only at daytime. Therefore, it is apparent from the poem that Frost makes minimal efforts towards ignoring the elements responsible for driving men mad and instead depict their acceptance.
The poet further makes extensive use of syntax within the poem. The use of syntax is apparent in the extent to which the poet emphasizes, “I have been acquainted with the night” or “I have outwalked the furthest city light” (Frost and John, 1). The references play a critical role in increasing the awareness of the readers that the drought of expression is a never-ending cycle and continually happens. The use of syntax by the poet, in this case, is essential for the formation of the structure of the story narrated by the writer. The poet seems to inform the readers that he has been there and the expressions within the poem represent his experiences.
Moreover, there is the necessity for noting that Robert Frost had faced numerous hardships in his life and suffered from depression. The poem thus serves as a perfect way of representing part of his life characterized by loneliness and being in a dark place. The poet ensures his effective giving of the readers the existing connection and greater understanding of his life. The act of writing the poem in the first person serves as an ideal approach to reflecting on his life. The poet had gone through numerous hardships throughout his time. The poem thus plays a vital role in giving the slightly dark, depressing feel to his life through expression of the difficulties that the poet has endured. Learning from the rather horrible situations that Frost was in plays an essential role in giving everyone proper comprehension of his style of writing and his preference for using the sad tone.
Additionally, it is apparent that the numerous references to darkness characterize Frost’s poem. The poem serves as a metaphor for the gloomy depression associated with loneliness and depression. However, it is apparent that the light arising from the moon is still capable of reaching past the lights of the humanity and city hence symbolizing hope. “I have been one acquainted with the night” (Frost and John, 1). The line tends to focus on the establishment of the poem’s setting that is the night. The poet uses the night as an extended metaphor for depression. It is apparent from the poem that the narrator has been acquainted with grief and not just the literal night. The different episodes within the poem thus represent the individual metaphors for depression.
The act of Frost out walking the city lights further serves as another metaphor for depression. “I have outwalked the furthest city light.” (Frost and John, 1, L3). However, it is apparent that the line tends to take it further as it not only speaks of the speaker’s depression but highlights the fact that his getting further than his depression there exists no happiness or light in his life. The line further highlights the fact that the poet is incapable of finding happiness or light in his life from either the civilization or the cities.
The phrase “luminary clock” serves as a metaphor that ensures the effective comparison of the moon to a clock. “One luminary clock against the sky” (Frost and John, 1, L12). The moon serves as the brightest image in the poem. The bright nature of the moon is apparent in the fact that its light is capable of reaching the speaker despite his presence beyond the city lights. The depth of the moon’s light further symbolizes the extent to which the natural world prevails over civilization.
Despite the dominance of the moon in darkness as evident in its ability to grant the speaker light, it remains incapable of curing depression suffered by the speaker. “Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.” (Frost and John, 1, L13). The orator further ensure the use of personification in stating that the moon “proclaims” that the time is “neither wrong nor right” hence failing to satisfy the speaker.
In Gerard Manley Hopkins’, “I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark, Not Day,” it is evident that the poet ensures the use of darkness and night towards illustration of different aspects of life. The poem mainly focuses on describing the second coming of Christ. The first line represents the poet’s illustration of the heaviness of the darkness using alliteration in “feel the fell” (Hopkins, Gerard and Tony, L1). The weight of the metaphorical shadows tends to be constrictive and repressive. The darkness serves as a manifestation of the world without God. The darkness undermines the speaker’s ability to see clearly as God’s guidance is necessary for the effective functioning of the individuals. The “black hours” (Hopkins, Gerard and Tony, , L2) that the speaker acknowledges to have wasted serves as a representation of the time spent on Earth stumbling. The “light’s delay” (Hopkins, Gerard and Tony, , L4) represents an allusion to the second coming that has yet to take place as mentioned in the book of Revelation. The light serves as a metaphor for the second coming of Christ and God as the world is to be consumed by flames.
The poem mainly commences with the speaker waking in the night. The image of darkness and light serves as metaphorical connotations of God and the second coming of Christ. The darkness serves as a vital approach to evoking a carnal, bodily entrapment. The “fell” of dark mainly references the animal hide. The speaker reports of his struggling with the dark for hours that eventually transform into years in the following lines. The speaker further communicates of the apparent thwarting of his ability to communicate with God as evident in the act of sending cries like the “dead letters.”
The second stanza of the poem sees the speaker express the pain associated with the failure to save one from the depths of Hell after Christ’s second coming . The “heartburn” (Hopkins, Gerard and Tony, L9) tends to describe the brokenness and pain of those rejected at the Gates of Heaven. It is often expected that people go to sleep at night and wake only in the morning at the arrival of a new day. However, from the poem, it is apparent that the speaker wakes up and is incapable of going back to sleep thus depicting the fact that he is doomed to lie awake in the “black hours.” The reference to black hours serves as a reference to both the literal night and the speaker’s depression.
However, there is the necessity for noting that the sleepless night referenced by the poet does not serve as an isolated incidence. “when I say / Hours I mean years, mean life” (Hopkins, Gerard and Tony, ). The depression suffered by Hopkins relates strongly to his religious vocation as he was a Jesuit priest and hence serves as an expression of his feeling that his prayers remain unanswered like the “dead letters” that are returned to the sender unopened. The references to the darkness within the poem thus connotes the depression and doubt weighing upon him like indigestion or heartburn.
In conclusion, it is apparent that the different poets exhibit the preference for using “night” towards the representation of the diverse emotional states and challenges encountered by individuals at different stages of their lives. The review of the use of darkness and night in T. S Eliot, Robert Frost, and Gerard Manley Hopkins reveals that the use of night, darkness, or dusk serves as an essential approach to the representation of the emotional states and suffering endured by either the members of the society or themselves in their lives. The reference to night in poetry thus serves as a perfect approach to the expression of sadness, melancholy, despair, grief, madness, loss, pain and even death.
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