Visual: symbolism

At the first line of this poem, it can be inferred that it is about the dark, contrary to that idea, it is about light, or the lack of light. representing the absence of light or happiness in the author’s life, as Frost had a hard childhood when his father died, and then as a parent, the death of his children also had an immense effect on his emotional state. It can also be noticed that there is no mention of stars in the night, just a lone solitary moon pasted upon the night sky; not unlike the mood that he felt at that time, lonely, depressed and the psychological disintegration that was forced upon him. Yet, despite all those factors, the light of the moon still reaches beyond the lights of the city and humanity, representing a symbol of hope to the author. As if he was walking towards the light, as he keeps walking, “I have walked out in rain — and back in rain.”(2) Telling us that he has walked for so long that he has walked through the rain and continued walking for so long that it began to rained again. This can be interpreted as the many moments of grief he has felt throughout his life, going from one death to another, and the hardships surrounding his life like the curtain of rain that falls around him. Also, as he walks through the night, he walks on, being acquainted with the night, expressing no emotion towards the night, but simply acquainted.

Visual: symbolism

The “watchmen”, stated in the second stanza seems to be significant, as when the speaker passes him, he “dropped [his] eyes, unwilling to explain.”(6) It can be implied that the watchmen was someone who cared about the speaker’s problems, but depressed as the speaker was, he made the choice not to explain to the watchmen. The fact that the speaker does not express his difficulties towards the watchmen can also be attributed to his loneliness and shows how the speaker is isolated from the rest of society. Notice the word use of “watchmen”, when the speaker could have said the guard or security, but he chooses “watchmen” as a symbol of watching over him. For the watchmen can be seen as god, as the watchmen on his beat can be interpreted as a god who walks along with the speaker, but since the speaker looks down to avoid the him, he has made himself more alone, not even sparing the time to tell someone who cared for him. And if the watchmen can be interpreted as a god or spirit, it can also be questioned that if the watchmen existed at all? Or just a figure of imagination thought up by the speaker?