To Night by Charlotte Smith is an ode to nighttime. The title of the poem is two sided. To anything is a common title for an ode, and this poem is talking about nights. To Night can also be pronounced tonight, meaning this night. Though the poem is about all nights, they seem to meld into one. Each night, the same processes happen and the same feelings are evoked according to the poem. Smith starts out by calling night mournful, but in the end she says why she enjoys night. She calls it cheerless but calm and peaceful, depressing but not hopeless. She calls the night resigned. Though night evokes a feeling of sadness, those feelings can be conquered and only last a few hours as night fades to day. The poem also mentions that the night brings out a cycle of winds and waves. They go largely unnoticed by people most of the time, but in heaven, they are heard and from heaven, in a metaphorical sense, is where they come. Personification is a major part of this poem. In one of the first lines, it mentions “uncertain light.” We get an image of the light being too nervous or timid to come out in the night and must wait for the day to come before the confidence brings the sun to shine. To Night also mentions that night is resigned and has sorrows. There is also some great alliteration in this poem, a few being “sullen surges”, “cold… complain”, and “winds and waves”. To Night really makes one think about how night really makes him or her feel. I know I personally relate to everything Smith says about night. She says it is depressing, but it is also nice and peaceful. I agree 100% and will definitely see night in a more poetic way.
