Acquainted with the Night Sonnet Analysis-Maddie Wheeler

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.

This sonnet by Robert Frost features terza rima, meaning a rhyme scheme of aba, bcb, cdc, with the last two lines both rhyming with the middle line of the preceding stanza. The meter is iambic pentameter without any instance of substitution. The volta of this sonnet is in the last two lines, as in many sonnets. The general topic of this poem is light and dark, as you would expect, but it also has a lot to do with loneliness and distance from the world. I chose this poem because I really like Robert Frost, and I also really appreciate poems that can be subjective to whatever you want. Any life experiences light, dark, distance, and feeling alone, and this poem allows you to appreciate those things and gain the view point of another. I enjoy poems that are full of metaphor, because you can get anything out of it that you want, and metaphors often lead you to make the decision that you were on your way to making anyway. This poem has done this for me, and I'm sure for many other people.