What does the light bring?

Throughout Lord Byron’s apocalyptic “Darkness,” he describes the world ending in a slow and detailed manner. There is no “big bang” or gory description of bloody war (although there is definitely the implication of brutality and cannibalism). However, Byron captures the end of humanity by honing in on the small characteristics that make us human, all of which, the light enables us to have. Brian mentioned in his post the class system being dismantled by the need for fire and subsequent light. On a larger scale, the class system is representative of order and systematic culture. Along with this culture comes the innate need for companionship. “Men were gather’d round their blazing homes to look once more into each other’s face” (14-15). Solidarity has always been viewed by society as unhealthy – perhaps a punishment or even an experience to fear. It leads to an insanity that can only be cured by the presence and interaction of another human – as if one’s mind is dangerous when left alone with it.

Byron continues to discuss hope as a characteristic of humanity that quickly dwindles throughout the poem. “A fearful hope was all the world contain’ed” (18). This parallels the idea that “men forgot their passions in dread” (7). This emphasizes the idea that passion, love of something is worth living for – even a fearful hope provides the idea that eventually their will be something to live for again; however, “some lay down and hid their eyes and wept: and some did rest their chins upon their clenched hands, and smiled” (23-25) suggests that hope has been lost. Those weeping have acknowledged the darkness and those smiling have accepted it.

Loyalty appears in the poem as one of the last components of humanity to exist. The last dog was “faithful to a corse, and kept the birds and beasts and famish’d men at bay, till… he died” (48-54). Even attempts to quell the darkness by grasping at basic human compassion cannot overcome the darkness. We see these traits disappear one by one and thus slowly diminish society as a whole until all that is left is fear. It is this fear that finally takes out the final two living humans when “they lifted up their eyes as it grew lighter, and beheld each other’s aspects – saw, and shriek’d, and died.” The poem ends when all that is left in the darkness is a complete and total lack of purpose. Ships are “sailorless” and clouds have perish’d because the darkness “has no need.”  Society has been stripped of every aspect and characteristic that makes it human until the world is complete darkness; this creates a much more understated yet realistic and frightening image of the end of the world.