Darkness is a largely negative concept.

It’s associated with evil entities, such as devils

and scoundrels, while light leads to truth and justice. However, American poet and recluse,
Emily Dickinson, finds comfort in the darkness. Written in 1862, “We grow accustomed to the
Dark” could be seen as Dickinson’s therapeutic response to a divided state (of America, get it?).
By evaluating symbols and establishing a clear synthesis, Dickinson takes her readers into a
world of uncertainty and umbral.
Darkness is the primary essence and could be seen as the poem’s main character.
Dickinson believes that humans are always going to be alone. It is here “When light is put away-
As when the Neighbor holds the Lamp” that we encounter a “larger darkness.” This darkness is
one of our own psyche, unrestrained from social appearances. The Civil War was an age of
moral ambiguity, when brother was against brother, and when things couldn’t be divided as
“right” or “wrong.” Dickinson wasn’t famous for her gregariousness in social situations, but she
must’ve truly felt the psychological impacts of this division.
We’re reminded that darkness is absolute, but the poem remains hopeful. Although there
is no moon or star, “life steps almost straight.” Dickinson establishes this in the final stanza of
the poem, along with the fact that “darkness alters” and that “something in the sight adjusts itself
to midnight.” She believes that the darkness, her psyche, and that the world around her will
eventually change.
Over 70% of the poem’s stanzas end with hyphens, often called fake periods. This can
be seen as her mimicking the act of walking around in the dark, uncertain through every step.
None of Dickinson’s thoughts are completed until the end of her poem, similar to how lost and
uncertain the states might’ve felt as they stumbled into war.
Even the bravest start getting desperate, and they end up getting hurt. Still, we go on.
Dickinson’s poem reminds us that darkness can always be adapted to, or that something
important will eventually appear. We must always confront the darkness, so that when the sun
rises up once more, we can meet the better version of ourselves.