Poetry Analysis: We Grow Accustomed to the Dark

Poetry Response

We Grow Accustomed to the Dark by Emily Dickinson

Page 73

Title: We Grow Accustomed to the Dark

Paraphrase:

Stanza 1: First 2 lines is saying that our eyes get used in the dark even though when light is put away. Figuratively speaking, it is telling us how people get adjust and adapt to events in life. Darkness can be associated to life problems. Lines 3-4 is associating goodbyes to a life struggle that people may go through. People come and go and we must adjust and keep living on.

Stanza 2: When we get accustomed to the dark, we need a moment to get used to the light again. Just like in Life, we need to adapt to new things however we must be cautious. New situations can cause us to be cautious and uncertain, just like how our eyes slowly adjust to light. Once we had the moment to adjust, our vision is clear. Figuratively, once we get our life together, we see the road ahead. The road could be a metaphor to our future.

Stanza 3: Stanza 3 is talking about emotional struggles. Conflict of the Mind. Our human form is not lingering in the dark. Instead the darkness is connected to our emotional and physiological stability. Most of our decisions comes from our brain. If our brain is surrounded by darkness, we are not able to make decisions properly. The moon and the star could be related to people around you. Sometimes we feel like no one can help us, we tend to give up and get used to it.

Stanza 4: Stanza 4 is talking about how the brave people are the ones who usually take a leap. They are the ones who search for answers. Brave people does not let their uncertainty hold them back, and this results to hurting themselves. Just like bumping into a tree. Even though that they got hurt, they learned something. They were able to learn from a mistake and see through the darkness. Although taking action and be brave can be hard sometimes, we have to pull through to see the light ahead of us.

Stanza 5: Stanza 5 is talking about change. The change would be us. If we adjust ourselves to the struggles we are facing, we are able to see the road ahead of us. Once we are able to adjust and adapt, our lives become better. However, it says “And life steps almost straight.” It did not say “perfectly”. In our lives, life will not be perfect. We are bound to face and overcome obstacles.

Connotations:

• The Dark symbolizes Hopelessness. In life, we face hardships and sometimes fail to see hope.

• The Light symbolizes Hope. It can also symbolize inspiration and motivation.
• The Neighbour leaving can be associated to how people come and go in our lives. When they leave, it seems like a light just burned off.
• The use of the word lamp can indicate that the poem took place back in the days.
• The Newness of the night relates to how life changes. We face new situations every day and we have to adapt to them and continue living our lives.
• Our Vision symbolizes our mindset. Sometimes our mindset can be clouded with darkness and needs guidance to make right decisions.
• The Road represents the future ahead of us.
• The Evening of the Brain represents the slump we go through. When we are emotionally unstable, we fail to see the positive things in life.
• The Moon and the Stars also represents hope. In the poem it said that the moon and star did not help. Once our brain and our thoughts are surrounded with darkness, we become hopeless and give up. Sometimes hope doesn't help us overcome the struggles we are going through.
• The Tree symbolizes the obstacles we go through in life. Sometimes those situations can hurt us. However, we must go through it to learn new things and see the road ahead of us.

Attitude:

        The tone of the poem changes. For the first 4 stanzas the tone was gloomy. It displayed the emotion of hopelessness by using words such as darkness and goodbye. However it shifts to a positive note. In the last stanza, it ended with a hopeful tone. It tells us that once we learn how to adjust, our paths will become more clearer.