Acquainted with the Night Flashcards
by Robert Frost — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: Acquainted with the Night
What is the speaker doing throughout the poem?
Walking alone through a city at night in the rain, venturing beyond the city lights and eventually returning.
What weather conditions accompany the speaker's walk?
Rain -- he walks out in rain and back in rain, emphasizing the relentlessness of the dreary conditions.
What does the speaker do when he passes the watchman?
He drops his eyes, unwilling to explain why he is walking alone at night.
What sound does the speaker hear from another street?
An interrupted cry that comes over houses from another street, but it is not meant for him.
Why does the speaker stop walking and stand still?
He stops the sound of his own feet when he hears a far-away interrupted cry, listening to determine if it concerns him.
How does the poem end?
With the same line that opens it: "I have been one acquainted with the night," creating a circular structure.
Who is the only other person the speaker encounters?
The watchman on his beat -- a night patrolman making his rounds through the city.
What does the speaker's avoidance of the watchman reveal about him?
It reveals his shame and desire to remain isolated; he cannot or will not justify his solitary wandering to another person.
Is the speaker's walk described as a one-time event or a recurring habit?
A recurring habit -- the repeated "I have" phrasing and the word "acquainted" imply long, familiar experience with night walking.
What point of view is the poem written in?
First person, using "I have" statements throughout, giving the poem a confessional, personal tone.
How does the poem convey the theme of isolation?
The speaker walks alone, avoids the watchman, and the distant cry is not meant for him -- every potential human connection is absent or refused.
What does it mean that the time was "neither wrong nor right"?
It suggests the universe is morally indifferent to the speaker's suffering -- no cosmic authority judges or comforts him.
How does the circular structure of the poem reinforce its themes?
Opening and closing with the same line suggests the speaker's acquaintance with darkness is inescapable and ongoing, like depression itself.
What does "outwalked the furthest city light" suggest thematically?
It suggests the speaker has moved beyond the reach of civilization, comfort, and human connection into a deeper, more profound darkness.
What rhyme scheme does the poem use, and where does it originate?
Terza rima (ABA BCB CDC DAD AA), a form invented by Dante for the Divine Comedy's journey through Hell.
What is the effect of the anaphora ("I have") repeated throughout the poem?
It creates a cumulative, confessional rhythm that emphasizes the speaker's long and repeated experience with solitude and darkness.
How many lines does the poem have, and what poetic form does that suggest?
14 lines in iambic pentameter, making it a sonnet -- though it uses terza rima instead of a traditional sonnet rhyme scheme.
What is the primary extended metaphor in the poem?
Night serves as an extended metaphor for depression, emotional darkness, and despair that the speaker knows intimately.
What does "acquainted" mean in the context of the poem's title?
Having personal knowledge or experience of something -- here implying a formal, ongoing relationship with darkness rather than a passing encounter.
What does "luminary" mean in "a luminary clock against the sky"?
Giving off light; glowing. It refers to an illuminated timepiece in the sky, most likely the moon.
What does "unearthly" suggest in "at an unearthly height"?
Supernatural or beyond the earthly realm -- emphasizing the clock's otherworldly, detached position above human concerns.
Complete the line: "I have walked out in rain -- and _____."
"back in rain" -- showing the rain (and the emotional state it represents) is inescapable, present at both departure and return.
What does the speaker mean by "dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain"?
He looks away from the watchman because he cannot articulate or justify his solitary night wandering -- his pain is private and incommunicable.
What is the significance of the cry being "not to call me back or say good-bye"?
It underscores the speaker's total disconnection -- even a human cry from another street has nothing to do with him, deepening his isolation.