In Emily Dickinson's untitled 419th poem, most commonly known by its first line, "We grow accustomed to the darkness-", the speaker describes two distinct situations in which people must gradually adapt to "darkness". The first part is quite lucid, using concrete images to describe a simple nocturnal farewell that describes the time it takes for the eyes to adjust to the lack of light; However, although the final stanzas comment on the same theme of reorienting oneself in darkness, this latter part is steeped in symbolism and ostentatious abstraction. Only by examining the similarities and differences of the two can a clear message be extrapolated from the poem. Using the ease and palpability of the poem's first two stanzas as a foundation, Dickinson makes the metaphorical analogy that people need time and courage to adapt not only to the physical darkness of night, but also to the emotional darkness of the mind. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The poem begins with two stanzas containing concrete, perceptible images that establish the mood, theme, and basis of the message the poem will construct. on. He begins with broad strokes (“We grow accustomed to the darkness –/When the light is put away”) and goes on to describe how we “adapt our vision to the darkness –” as the “novelty of the night” demands - ». In these few banal observations, the speaker immediately establishes a community point of view, thus implying a collective importance to the act of adaptation to darkness. By using the word "dark", the speaker abandons softer, darker synonyms like "night" in favor of a word that has massively negative connotations, ranging from sadness to evil and even death. The capital letter intensifies the power and absoluteness of the word – an effect that is compounded by the phrase “the light is put away.” The verbal formulation of “put” implies that light, and therefore darkness, is beyond our control. “Dark” also suggests feelings of isolation (a lack of light consequently implies a lack of people), as well as dismal skepticism (we can't be sure of much without our sight). Both of these emotional connotations are amplified by the specific scene Dickinson creates. “The neighbor holds the lamp / To say goodbye – / For a moment –” and, unsuited to the darkness, “We take an uncertain step.” Like darkness, farewell forces the literal isolation of “We” and makes this same collective distinctly fearful. The worry and sadness created by the diction and imagery of the first two stanzas are reinforced by their structure. The stanzas have no rhyme scheme; such a form would detract from the anxiety and worry found in other parts of the poem. The poem's repeated use of dashes at line breaks and in the middle of sentences creates a frenetic slant in the narration (as in the line "A Moment -/ We uncertain step"). When read aloud, the dashes create an intriguing choice for readers: speed up in haste and attribute a frantic nature to the speaker's uncertainty, or leave an ominous pause and contribute to the tremulous and to the overall gloomy feel of the poem. The dashes also create moments of pause in an otherwise steady rhythm and rhythm of alternating iambic tetrameter and trimeter. Yet this raises an interesting question: why use such a strict measure when it betrays other facets of the poem? The answer is twofold. The speaker says that we "meet the Road - set up -", whichimplies that there is a relatively well-trodden path out of physical darkness and courage to call upon for the journey. Following this, regular iambic walking could be used to mimic the simple steps one can take to emerge from physical darkness; you just have to put one foot in front of the other. But there's also a simpler option: it was made to be broken. In the final two stanzas of the poem, the structure undergoes several key changes not only indicating that different "greater darknesses" are being discussed, but also helping to elucidate key facets of these new nights. Typically, form begins to interact with poetry on a sensual level. When the speaker describes how some try to emerge from the darkness "And sometimes hit a tree/Right in the forehead," the meter and rhythm mimic these tactile interactions. There are several overlapping accents in "sometimes knocked", so the sound when pronounced is noticeably harsher - as if an actual knock had taken place. The symmetry of "Directly in the Forehead" actually resembles two objects about to collide and the difference in meters between its iambics and the imperfect accents of the preceding lines - as well as having five short syllables preceding two long - makes the line positively striking. These two formal points mimic the actual content of the verse, creating an increased connection between the poem and the reader, indicating that these obscurities are much more sensual and personal in nature. Rhyme is also used to symbolize aspects of adaptation to these new darknesses. The second line of the fourth stanza, ending with "Tree", actually synchronizes in rhyme with the fourth line, "But as they learn to see -". The second and third lines of the last stanza also rhyme: "something in sight / Adjusts itself to midnight -". These rhymes indicate the nearness of the realization of the true vision; in the first example, they are learning to see and are one line away from each other; in the second example, the adjustment is made and the lines create a verse. However, the role of the last line in this new model creates an additional dimension to the reading: “And life goes almost straight”. If life goes straight, one might expect a rhyme to accompany this happy ending – and yet there is none. Instead, although the suffix "ight" is repeated in the last line as in the previous two, there is no rhyme. It's surprisingly close, but not quite, to a rhyme - just as life can "almost" emerge from darkness. The form of the final stanzas indicates that the poem's new darkness is more intimate and tragic in nature, but to verify its exact composition as mental darkness requires unpacking the abstract images Dickinson uses to describe it. For example, the concept of plural “darkness” that is “greater” – more painful, darker – than the “darkness” previously described is an invaluable characterization. The darkness is also referred to as "parties of the brain", and when "the bravest" try to escape it, they end up being hit in the "forehead". The metaphor of "evenings" as well as the plurality of darkness suggests that this darkness recurs regularly, and the use of two cerebral nouns, "brain" and "brow", indicates that it occurs in the mind. This reading of darkness is supported by the following lines: "When not a Moon reveals a sign - / Or a Star - come out - within -". The moon and star, possible solutions to physical darkness, are converted into indefinite nature and used as metaphorical solutions to the many evenings.