Poem by Robert Frost (Acquainted with the Night)

Acquainted with the Night is a famous poem by Robert Frost. Here it is:

Acquainted with the Night

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-bye;

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.

The poem Acquainted with the Night consists of five stanzas. The first four have three verses and the final one has two. It is a sonnet, but not a traditional one because it is written in five stanzas rather than one. However, each verse has ten syllables and the rhyme scheme is that of the Petrarchan Sonnet.

Robert Frost describes the isolation and sorrow of a person who wanders at night. The person's feelings are as inescapable as the night, and the feelings become particularly strong at this dark, quiet time. Many people have acquaintances such as co-workers and neighbours, but in this case, the person is acquainted with the night, which represents the negative emotions of sorrow and isolation. It is a powerful poem that reminds us not only of the person described in the poem but of others in similar situations.