Night

James Thomson 1700 (Port Glasgow) – 1748 (London)



He cried out through the night:
"Where is the light?
Shall nevermore
Open Heaven's door?
Oh, I am left
Lonely, bereft!"
He cried out through the night:
It spread vaguely white,
With its ghost of a moon
Above the dark swoon
Of the earth lying chill,
Breathless, grave still.
He cried out through the night:
His voice in its might
Rang forth far and far,
And then like a star
Dwindled from sense
In the Immense.
He cried out through the night:
No answering light,
No syllabled sound;
Beneath and around
A long shuddering thrill
Then all again still.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

30 sec read
117

Quick analysis:

Scheme AabbccAaddeeAaffggAahhee
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 555
Words 102
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 24

James Thomson

James Thomson, who wrote under the pseudonym Bysshe Vanolis, was a Scottish Victorian-era poet famous primarily for the long poem The City of Dreadful Night, an expression of bleak pessimism in a dehumanized, uncaring urban environment. more…

All James Thomson poems | James Thomson Books

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    "Night" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20668/night>.

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    William Blake: "Tiger Tiger, burning bright, In the forests of the _________".
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