A Critical Analysis of a Bronte Poem

Emily Bronte - The Night is Darkening Around Me

The night is darkening round me,
The wild winds coldly blow ;
But a tyrant spell has bound me,
And I cannot, cannot go.

The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow ;
The storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot go.

Clouds beyond clouds above me,
Wastes beyond wastes below ;
But nothing drear can move me :
I will not, cannot go.


"The Night is Darkening Round Me" is about a speaker who is attacked by the tyrannical nature. Different powers of nature are confining him and making him unmoved and tied. He describes them vividly and how each one of them approaches him threateningly. The atmosphere of the poem is gloomy and bleak, suggesting that the speaker is in jeopardy and is about to die.

The poet describes the gloomy scene by saying that the night darkens around him. The night represents fear and is the time when apparitions prevail. Thus, he is afraid of it. Then, he shows that the winds are blowing coldly and harshly. These natural forces are contrasted when the poet says "But" to make us aware that he has been restricted and tied by a cruel power "tyrant spell". This clearly hints at his coming death. Also, the poet says that this strange power is inescapable. He is unable to leave the scene, " I cannot, cannot go".

Subsequently, he vividly depicts the trees and describes them as giant. He says that they are bending and their boughs or branches are laden with snow. This shows the coming danger, especially when he says that the storm is quickly descending. These natural forces too stand for the causes of death in one's life. It is clearly stated that the poet is scared by them because of the death they are going to bring about. He also summarizes each stanza by telling us that he is closely tied and can not escape from death, " And yet I cannot go".

The poet moves on to say that danger and threats are coming from all sides. He says that "clouds" are above him and "wastes" below him. There is something noteworthy which the poet reveals in the end. It is the fact that no one can come to help him escape from death. Here, he is talking about his close friends and his family and the helplessness of their actions, "But nothing can drear can move me". He concludes the last stanza by the same idea. The latter is his inability to move or act against these natural forces.

Frankly speaking, this poem is well worth analysing because of the issues it discusses, such as death, danger and fear. Moreover, it teaches us moral lessons on how to deal with our lives concerning everday threats and awareness of the fact that death is inevitable is of paramount importance.