18 pages • 36 minutes read
Emily DickinsonWild Nights Wild Nights
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1891A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Wild Nights Symbolize Possibility and Union
Wild nights don’t symbolize typical wild nights. There’s no alcohol, drugs, parties, or explicit sex—instead, wild nights symbolize possibility. The speaker states, “Were I with thee / Wild nights should be / Our luxury!” (Lines 2-4). The declaration centers on the modal verb “were.” The speaker and the addressee aren’t together, so the wild nights represent what might happen when they meet in the physical world. The possibilities are intense and continue to subvert the conventional notion of a wild night. A wild night isn’t a night but an adventure at sea. Thus, “wild” has a literal meaning. The speaker and the addressee defy containment. They elude easy categorization and become something else. The wildness allows the speaker to be a ship or ship’s captain, and it lets the addressee symbolize the sea and the Garden of Eden.
The wild nights also symbolize union. What makes the night wild is the bond between the speaker and the addressee. They’re in an item––together, they create wild nights. The naval metaphor bolsters the symbolism, as boats exist only to traverse water and have no other purpose. The speaker joins themself to the addressee and implies that they exist to be together. The speaker is “a Heart in port” (Line 6) and “[r]owing in Eden” (Line 9). The speaker is in and bonded to the addressee. What defines a wild night is a powerfully close relationship.
The Sea and Eden Symbolize the Addressee
The addressee is the “thee” (Lines 2 and 12)—an archaic way to say “you”—but they also appear as a symbol. The addressee represents the sea. The speaker notes, “[A] Heart in port” (Line 6). The heart belongs to the speaker, and the port exists in the sea that is the addressee. The speaker clarifies the multidimensional symbolism when they exclaim, “Rowing in Eden - / Ah - the Sea!” (Lines 9-10). They liken Adam and Eve’s former home to the sea, so Eden is the sea, the sea is Eden, and the addressee is Eden and the sea. The sea can also be dangerous, easily drowned in, alluding to the depth and intensity of the speaker’s feelings.
As the speaker rows in Eden, they’re immersed in the sea, lending further credence to the notion that “moor” indicates penetration. Though the poem has overt erotic properties, the penetration isn’t automatically sexual. From a different angle, the mooring represents the elusive but intense intimacy the speaker feels for the addressee. Their bond possesses a closeness that makes the speaker feel as if they’re inside the addressee. By turning the addressee into a symbol for the sea and Eden, the speaker illustrates the sharp and heavenly attachment.
The Naval Motif
Through diction, Dickinson creates the idea of ships and seas—in other words, a naval motif. The speaker turns their bond into a ship at sea, with the speaker representing the ship (or the ship’s captain) and the addressee symbolizing the sea. The motif supports the theme of the allure of frenzied feelings. It turns the relationship into a dramatic sea adventure where the speaker and the addresses survive the elements—mainly, “the winds” (Line 5)—together. The motif also bolsters the theme of the power of close relationships, as their intense bond is how they survive and produce a forceful, alternate world. The motif links to the theme of presence versus absence. With the addressee gone, the speaker can create a fantasy about them and their relationship, and the fantasy centers on the naval motif.
The naval motif subverts gender norms. Though the speaker and addressee don’t have a specific identity in the poem, the authorial context indicates that the speaker and the addressee are women. As the poem puts two women on a naval adventure, they occupy a space typically reserved for men. Approximately 10 years before Dickinson wrote “Wild nights - Wild nights!,” the American author Herman Melville published his epic novel Moby Dick, where Captain Ahab and his all-male crew sail the seas trying to catch the titular white whale. Dickinson’s poem implies that women can take part in sea adventures.
Related Titles
By Emily Dickinson
