We Grow Accustomed to the Dark... - 2215 Words

We grow accustomed to the dark... Darkness is a recurring image in literature that evokes a universal unknown, yet is often entrenched in many meanings. A master poet, Emily Dickinson employs darkness as a metaphor many times throughout her poetry. In â€Å"We grow accustomed to the dark† (#428) she talks of the â€Å"newness† that awaits when we â€Å"fit our Vision to the Dark.† As enigmatic and shrouded in mystery as the dark she explores, Dickinsons poetry seems our only door to understanding the recluse. As she wrote to her friend T.W. Higginson on April 15, 1862, â€Å"the Mind is so near itself – it cannot see, distinctly†(Letters 253). In this musing, she acquiesces to a notion that man remains locked in an internal struggle with himself. This inner†¦show more content†¦However, the poem has fluidity despite its apparent scarcity of rhyme. After examining the alteration of syllables in each line, a pattern is revealed in this poem c oncerning darkness. The first nine lines alternate between 8 and 6 syllables. These lines are concerned, as any narrative is, with exposition. These lines set up darkness as an internal conflict to come. The conflict intensifies in lines 10 and 11 as we are bombarded by an explosion of 8 syllables in each line. These lines present the conflict within ones own mind at its most desperate. After this climax, the syllables in the last nine lines resolve the conflict presented. In these lines, Dickinson presents us with an archetypal figure that is faced with a conflict: the â€Å"bravest† hero. These lines present the resolution in lines that alternate between 6 and 7 syllables. Just as the syllables decrease, the falling action presents us with a final insight. This insight discusses how darkness is an insurmountable entity that, like the hero, we must face to continue â€Å"straight† through â€Å"Life† (line 20). The next seemingly arbitrary decision is Dickinson s capitalization. The capitalization at the beginning of the sentence must be capitalized; therefore, well focus on the capitalizations that lie within each sentence. In this poem, each of these words is a noun. Past this simple reading, what may we deduce from these capitalizations? Each stanza presents a different set of capitalized objectsShow MoreRelatedComparing Emily Dickinsons We Grow Accustomed to the Dark and Robert Frosts Acquainted with the Night646 Words   |  3 PagesIn Emily Dickensons We Grow Accustomed to the Dark, and in Robert Frosts Acquainted with the Night, the poets use imagery of darkness. The two poems share much in common in terms of structure, theme, imagery, and motif. Both poems are five stanzas long: brief and poignant. The central concepts of being accustomed to something, and being acquainted with something convey a sense of familiarity. However, there are core differences in the ways Dickenson and Frost craft their poems. 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