Wild Nights & Dark Sides - Analyzing Dickinson's Wild Nights and We Grow Accustomed to the Dark

"Shadow owes its birth to light."

John Gay

Dickinson's poems always feel extremely personal. Considering most of her poems were published posthumously, it's definitely no surprise. Wild Nights and We Grow Accustomed to the Dark feel like diary entries and it feels a little invasive peering into her thoughts like this. Even so, I am grateful that these poems were published and brought to the public eye, especially We Grow Accustomed to the Dark because it's one of my favourite Dickinson poems. Both of these poems are beautiful in their own right but are extremely different in regards to theme, tone and literary techniques used.

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”

Aristotle

Wild Nights is a passionate poem that depicts a night of passion between lovers. Dickinson writes using punctuation in a very interesting way, especially with the use of exclamation marks. This paints the persona as truly in the moment, enjoying this romantic and pleasurable experience, highlighting the eroticism in this poem. As much as this is poem is erotic, it is still very romantic. Dickinson describes sexual pleasure as something beautiful, not just an interaction for the sake of pleasure and pleasure alone. As much as these nights are 'wild' and thrilling luxuries, Dickinson also describes them as comforting and loving using the phrase, "Heart in port.' Sex is often seen as this unspeakable, dangerous taboo subject, commonly associated with negative connotations but Dickinson begs to differ. The first stanza plays into this perception of sex as a wild, dangerous thing. In the second stanza, Dickinson turns this concept on its head and describes sex as something soft, gentle and comforting, highlighting how sexual passion and love are intertwined. This message is further emphasized when Dickinson uses a metaphor to compare sex to rowing in Eden. This last stanza tells us that sex truly can be a beautiful thing and that passion is not always literal wild nights, but something as holy as an act of worship. It is, after all, an act of love.

While Wild Nights touches on sexual passion and love, We Grow Accustomed to the Dark is a love letter to the dark side we all have. There are many indications in Dickinson's poems that she suffered through major depression. This poem is written with simple vocabulary and short lines, presenting itself as a light, simple poem when it is actually a hard-hitting poem of the experience many people with mental illnesses go through. When it comes to mental health, it's an ongoing battle with yourself or the personified 'darkness' within yourself. Like sex, mental health is also considered a taboo, something you keep to yourself, something 'dangerous' and 'wild'. Thus, in most cases, we are often told to constantly try to be happy to make other people happy while pushing these darker thoughts down. Unfortunately, it never actually works that way. In most cases, the 'darkness' within us, call it, some people get a name for it, depression, anxiety, trauma etc. and some people never figure that out. Even so, the 'darkness' continues to live. Dickinson urges us to live on through the darkness and depend on the light around us to be happy. Even though the midnight is dark, we can adjust the light so we can see clearer and brighter.

Dickinson uses metaphors to compare light and darkness to happiness and sadness respectively, playing into the connotations attached to these words. She also uses bright natural elements such as stars and the Moon to symbolize happy moments that are as flimsy and spontaneous as you'd expect. Through these uses of metaphors and symbols, Dickinson highlights her philosophy in finding happiness, a philosophy that we share. It is impossible to be happy all the time, especially when you have that 'darkness' living inside of you. However, it is always possible to be content with yourself, to be aware of the darkness and understand that the power to adjust your eyes is yours. This way, no matter how dark it gets, it is never too dark.

When it comes to personal experience, I can definitely relate to We Grow Accustomed to the Dark as I feel it is an all-around human experience. I can confidently say that I am in a place in my life where I've not only grown accustomed to my dark side but I've befriended it. I can't say the same for Wild Nights but I do think it speaks and resonates with the queer, interfaith and interracial experience. Forbidden love and disapproval due to cultural stigmas have painted love and sex with a paintbrush the colour of guilt and shame when it is all part and parcel with life. It is when all these negative perceptions and taboos are set aside when we can truly see this private interaction as something beautiful.

In conclusion, both poems speak on things we feel like we need to hide whether through shame, guilt or worst of all, fear. Dickinson is a pioneer of living your truth and so am I. Through wild nights, we love who we love and through our dark thoughts, we can find a way to love ourselves. Our wild nights and dark sides are as much as who we are as what we show to the world.

Read these two beautiful poems here:

Wild Nights

We Grow Accustomed to the Dark

Thank you for reading!