Charlotte Smith: "To Night"

Written in sonnet form.
The sonnet is placed in the theme of self and imagination for the reasons that the speaker of the sonnet has been placed under extreme distress and thus the nighttime becomes a time of solace, and peace.
Although the night is associated to be melancholic, it can oddly enough bring comfort. It is in the dark, quiet, gloom of the night that one can find solace. It is calm, and it provides a time of rest for your body, mind, and soul.
The last lines are suggestive to a prayer:
“While to the winds and waves its sorrows given, / May reach – though lost on earth – the ear of Heaven!”
When someone has lost all hope in their life, they pray, hoping that their prayer reaches the ears of God, and thus “the ear of Heaven!”
So not only does the sonnet “To Night” deal with the self and imagination, but it also has a subtle dealing with religion.


Monica Sandoval section 1B TA Waldo