Lyric Poem · Sad
Acquainted with the Night
by Robert Frost · 1928
1I have been one acquainted with the night.
2I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
3I have outwalked the furthest city light.
4I have looked down the saddest city lane.
5I have passed by the watchman on his beat
6And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
7I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
8When far away an interrupted cry
9Came over houses from another street,
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost — quilloak.com/poems/acquainted-with-the-night
Quick facts
- Poem
- Acquainted with the Night
- Poet
- Robert Frost
- Published
- 1928
- Length
- 14 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Sad, Life
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 14 lines · 5 stanzas of 2–3 lines
- End rhyme
- ABA in 60% of the stanzas — terza rima opening. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
- Line length
- Mostly 10-syllable lines (pentameter length).
- Refrain
- “I have been one acquainted with the night.”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Robert Frost1874–1963
- Source record
- WikisourceAcquainted with the Night by robert-frost, Wikisource transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1928
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 034ce168ec1cf38c…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.