Darkness

Darkness In his poem “Darkness,” George Gordon, Lord Byron addresses the mortality of human beings and animals through a vivid description of the destruction of life on earth. Byron uses this poem to examine the character of both humans and animals, and describes the innate similarities of all beings that become apparent in death. Whether one lives in the “palaces of crowned kings” (11) or “huts” (11), “all hearts/Were chill’d into a selfish prayer for light.” (8-9) Each person that Byron describes deals with his or her imminent death in different ways; while some “lay down/And hid their eyes and wept,” (24-25) others “rest[ed]/Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smiled.” (25-26) This bcontrast in reactions demonstrates how death does not affect everyone in the same way. Byron understands this, and therefore gives the reader insight into each of the characters he describes by a simple reaction. The men who “hurried to and fro” (27) might have unfinished business, and therefore are unable to deal with ending their life now. Those who resign to their imminent death and “smiled” (26) are realists who recognize what is going to happen to them and have chosen to byron, dog, death, humans, beings, animals, through, same, poem, one, men, life, earth, description, describes, both, birds, yet, world, wild, while, things, person, out, master, god, fire, end, seen, remains, religion, people, others, holy, fear, dying, died, destruction, describe, beasts, animal, word, whether, wept, ways, way, vivid, upon, two, threats