The Growing Hopelessness of "Darkness"

            “Darkness” was born from a long tradition of apocalyptic poetry and imagery.  However, in describing the End of Days, Lord Byron imagines less of a vision of “fire and brimstone” and more of a subtle decline for humanity.  Rather than beginning with bleak imagery of a world that can not be recovered and humans that cannot be redeemed, “Darkness” demonstrates the slow deterioration of humanity’s hope.  In the beginning of the poem, Byron suggests that that humanity will endure and adapt to a world of darkness. However, ultimately he reveals how this hope cannot sustain itself and will eventually be extinguished by the forces of nature.   

            The poem’s description of how humanity first copes with the darkness demonstrates how humanity’s ingenuity has the potential to save the species.  The poem begins with the sun and stars being smothered by darkness.  Byron describes how mankind’s survival instinct is evoked by the darkness, for he states that the, “selfish prayer for light” (9) consumes all men.  To ensure their continued existence, men and women light fires – attempting to do all they can to adjust to the new world they exist in.  An instant benefit of the darkness is that the class system is dismantled, as the fact that both thrones and huts become pyres suggests a more level playing field between royalty and the poor.  Moreover, Byron describes how the range of emotions that accompany the loss of light extend beyond merely grief.  There are those who “wept” (24) and those who “howl’d” (31), however there are also those who “smiled” (25).  For example, Byron describes those who “dwelt within the eye / Of the volcanos” as “Happy” (16-17).  Byron even describes how the presence of such a threat to humanity existence causes humans to form bonds of friendship with one another, remarking how the survivors, “look once more into each other’s face” (15).  Therefore, Byron demonstrates how there may be unexpected fruits to the terrible situation.  However, the “fearful hope” (18) that was established by the burning watchtowers was not to last.

            The poem undergoes a sudden shift from suggesting that humanity can thrive in the darkness to asserting that man’s ruination is inevitable.  For example, Byron emphasizes that mankind’s downfall as being the result of its own penchant for conflict.  Byron details how the brief period of peace ended, stating, “War, which for a moment was no more, / Did glut himself again” (38-39).  The bonds of friendship that had been formed during the pyre-making evaporated, for “Even dogs assailed their masters” (47).  Even those who survived the conflict between humans, such as the last loyal dog or the last two enemy humans, succumbed to their wounds and died.  Therefore, even the innocents – the unsullied and the pure – were eventually wiped out not due to their own hand, but due to fortune.  Byron not only demonstrates how war is predestined in humans – he also makes it clear that its devastating effects are equally fated.  Even in circumstances as dire as that of the apocalypse, humanity will still find ways to reinvigorate its old cycles of violence.      

            The last lines of the poem, “And the clouds perish’d; Darkness had no need / Of aid from them – She was the Universe” (80-81), signify the overwhelming power of darkness.  The Earth is surrounded by darkness – it is a bright dot on the black canvas of space.  Byron views it as inevitable that the darkness will encroach upon the Earth.  He views it as a force that will sweep over the world without thought or sentiment.  Not even mankind’s strongest wishes and cleverest minds can prevent such a cataclysm.  In suggesting hope for humanity in the opening of the poem before revealing it to be a false aspiration, Byron ignites the reader’s optimism before dousing it completely.  Such a method of apocalyptic writing makes the pain of the End of Days that much more severe for the reader than a text that depicts the end as completely horrific.