We grow accustomed to the Dark vs. Acquainted with the Night Essay

. In Emily Dickinson’s “We grow accustomed to the Dark” and Robert Frost’s Acquainted with the Night, darkness is the key factor. But in that sole similarity lays their differences. In one poem the author seeks to find light in order to come out of the darkness they are in, and in the other poem the author doesn’t seek light at all. In fact they accept the darkness and just live with it not fighting it off. Within the poems, Dickinson and Frost utilize imagery, metaphors, and verse form to show the reader how darkness applies to their life and how the poems differ from one another. When starting their poems, the authors do so oppositely. Dickinson means for her words to be taken literally, while Keats begins metaphorical. When Dickinson says “We grow accustomed to the Dark- When Light is put away,” (line1-2) with her imagery, she is describing how human bodies literally adjust to little light. As opposed to Frost who starts with “I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain-and back in rain.” These lines are completely metaphorical and suggested the darkness and some sadness from the words night and rain. From the imagery provided by both authors throughout the poems the reader can better understand what the author is saying. For instance when Dickinson says “As when the Neighbor holds the lamp To witness her Goodbye,” (line 3-4) the reader can see someone holding a lamp on a porch to wish their guest goodbye. When she says, “The Bravest-grope a little-and sometimes hit a Tree.” The reader can see someone hitting a tree so later it is clearer to the reader when she says, “But as they learn to see.” When she makes a reference to learning she means you learn to avoid the obstacles the tree represents. As for Frost imagery, he makes references to a city. This exemplifies the Ironic fact that he is in a city which has many