“Wild Nights – Wild Nights!” stands out as a poem that conveys its inner meaning through rhythm and texture. In a short series of couplets, Emily Dickson creates an experience almost like biting into a piece of chocolate. This poem evokes a sensation of deep longing and sweet resolution. Because of its song-like structure, this poem takes on the form of a lullaby in the reader’s mind.

The first stanza emphasizes smooth consonant sounds. Dickson uses alliteration to create rhythm, and ends the stanza with “luxury!” This opening section gives the poem a dream-like quality, and establishes longing as a central theme.

The second stanza focuses hard consonant sounds in words like “futile,” and “chart.” This section develops the loneliness expressed in the first stanza into a beautiful image of incompleteness and impatience.

Finally, the third stanza describes an imagined satisfaction of the loneliness expressed throughout the poem. Dickson uses the line “Ah – the Sea!” to project a refreshing sensation into the reader’s mind. Rhythmically, this conclusion also sounds like an ending refrain. The image of “a Heart in port –“ is beautifully completed with the hair-raising request: “Might I but moor – tonight – In thee!”

“Wild Nights!” is a masterful example of a lyric that moves organically and penetratingly. Through the combination of imagery, consonance, and rhythm, Dickson crafted a poem that begs to be read out loud. The cadence and innocence of “Wild Nights!” leaves the reader warm with a sense of wonder.