Acquainted with the Night : Key info
Acquainted with the Night is a notable literary work by Robert Frost. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Acquainted with the Night.
Key info
Key Facts
- Full Title: Acquainted with the Night
- Author: Robert Frost (1874–1963)
- Title of the Author: Poet of New England Life; Master of Rural Realism and Symbolism
- Source: Appeared in Frost’s poetry collection West-Running Brook (1928)
- Written Time: Around 1920
- First Published: 1928
- Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (New York)
- Genre: Lyric Poem; Dramatic Monologue; Symbolic and Psychological Poem
- Form: Terza Rima (three-line stanzas) inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy
- Rhyme Scheme: ABA BCB CDC DAD AA
- Tone: Lonely, melancholic, introspective, and calm
- Point of View: First-person narrative (the poet as the lonely wanderer)
- Climax: When the poet hears a distant “cry” that is “not to call me back or say good-bye,” showing his total isolation
- Famous Line: “I have been one acquainted with the night.”
- Setting:
- Time Setting: Nighttime — symbol of darkness, loneliness, and inner conflict
- Place Setting: A quiet city street — symbolising the human soul lost amid modern life and alienation
Key Notes
- Luminary Clock: The moon in the sky is called the “luminary clock.” It symbolizes time and fate. The moon seems to say that time is “neither wrong nor right,” meaning that the meaning of life is not fixed; everything is uncertain and subjective.