PINNAPA PHETCHARATANA ENGLISH A1 HL MAY

11, 2010

Poetry Commentary

Night Wind by Christopher Dewdney is a poem that expresses the speaker’s desire
and pleasure to be seized by what he/she believes to be a mysterious yet captivating
force. Dewdney narrates from an ambiguous viewpoint- perhaps from a voice of an
object or person that is completely under the wind’s influence. This technique places an
emphasis on the wind’s dominance over both the speaker and its surroundings.
Interesting aspects of Night Wind include the portrayal of the wind as a mystifying yet
superior power in which the speaker surrenders him/herself to, the language used to
express the wind’s impact on both the speaker’s spiritual and physical world, and the
speaker’s desire to become physically united with the wind.

In the opening lines of the poem, the speaker immediately establishes a

relationship with the wind. “Tonight the wind blows through all the worlds I have known
and all the lives I have led.” By observing the speaker’s O-assonance, which creates a
somber and formal tone, readers can infer that the speaker considers the wind to be not
just an important part of his/her life, but as a mystical and divine force that is present
throughout eternity.

During the first three stanzas of the poem, the speaker portrays the wind as an
overpowering, liberated force that has taken control over him/her. “The night wind
implores me through walls, claims me inside buildings.” This use of personification
allows the wind to be depicted as a force that is powerful enough to ‘call on’ the speaker
through solid, material objects, as if the wind were a spirit or ghost. However, by
observing the speaker’s tone, it is obvious that he/she is willing to comply with the
wind’s ‘requests.’ The continuous repetition of “The night wind…” in the second stanza
adds a sense of obedience and reverence that the speaker feels towards the wind. It is as if
the speaker considers the wind to be a god-like force; and this is further emphasized with
a metaphor: “The night wind is an empire in exodus…” The wind’s movement is being
compared to the mass emigration of the Israelites from Egypt (from the Bible) because
PINNAPA PHETCHARATANA ENGLISH A1 HL
MAY 11, 2010

both involve the state of ‘deliverance’- and in the wind’s case- to blow freely, to ‘race
without burden.’

Following this biblical allusion, the speaker mentions that the deliverance is
“beside the dark shape of trees.” This creates a contrast between the free, unrestrained
movements of the wind and the permanence of a tree. The tree’s permanence is
underlined by the words ‘dark shape,’ which creates a short, rigid and detached tone.
This highlights the fact that a tree is firm and fixed. On the contrary, the words used to
describe the wind, ‘deliverance’ and ‘exodus,’ are spoken in splendor- creating a smooth,
streaming sound. The wind’s freedom and supremacy is underlined through the speaker’s
diction and tone and the use of contrast against the unchanging elements of nature.

The wind’s ability to create an impact on both the physical and spiritual world is
subtly hinted throughout the poem. The speaker mentions that the wind “blows in the
trees” (line 4) and “through forests and beside highways” (line 35). These characteristics
are typical for a wind. However, the speaker also regards the wind in terms of spirituality.
Referring back to the first stanza in the first three lines, readers can interpret right away
that the wind plays a significant role in the speaker’s spiritual (non-physical) world: “The
wind blows through all the worlds I have known and through all the lives I have led.”
The speaker sees the wind as a force that is eternal, transcendent, and always present
throughout his chain of conscience rather than just a movement of the air that blows
against trees and material objects.

The speaker expresses his/her desire to physically be united with the wind. This is
first shown in the third stanza, when the speaker joins the wind as it “takes me in its
giddy rush and gathers me into a storm of longing.” These words are spoken with
passion and admiration. Once the speaker has been in contact with the wind, he/she
becomes seduced by its magnificence and becomes lost in his/her fantasy world. The
speaker further experiences illusions, and this is emphasized through exaggerations:
“rising on wings of darkness” and hearing “music in the wind,” which are the sounds of
branches and leaves rustling.

In the fourth stanza, the speaker finally becomes part of the wind, and he/she
PINNAPA PHETCHARATANA ENGLISH A1 HL MAY
11, 2010

describes the fascinating experience. “Above me the Milky Way…” The wind takes the
speaker up high above the ordinary planet, just under the Milky Way- a symbol for the
bigger, unknown world of mystery filled with billions of stars. This could also be linked
to the previous mentioning of the wind’s impact on the spiritual world. Furthermore the
speaker claims, “I am the bloodrun of the atmosphere.” It is as if the speaker becomes the
wind, but only temporary. A sense of reality returns as he/she returns to the ordinary
world and thus describes the experience of “racing with leaves and newspapers down
deserted streets, over fields and playgrounds.” There is a distinct tone change as the
speaker initially evokes a mood of fantasy and delusions, which has been followed by a
dull and monotonous statement. It is almost as if the speaker was aware that he/she was
living only in a momentary fantasy and thus decides to return back to the real world.

Having known that he/she cannot exist on the same plane as the wind due to its
superiority, the speaker finally decides to “pace the wind through forests and beside
highways,” following its tail wherever it leads him/her to, like a minion being guided by a
leader. The speaker continues to be captivated and allured by the wind’s stealth power
over him/her, its ‘unspoken imperative’- a feature that causes the wind to become his/her
object of temptation. Thus the speaker willingly accepts the wind’s independence and
claims that this enhances the wind’s mysterious features, making it a ‘joyous delirium’,
an insane addiction that cannot be overcome.

The poem’s title, Night Wind, is straightforward and unambiguous. Perhaps

Dewdney chooses a nighttime setting in order to intensify the sense of mystery and
fantasy and to strengthen the image of the stars and galaxy. During nighttime, everything
seems to be more still and serene, thus readers can focus better on the movement of the
wind and other elements of nature. The poem is broken down into five stanzas, each
involving a different scene. This serves to underline the wind’s roles in different aspects,
whether it is the physical world of trees and rivers or the metaphysical world of eternity.
Overall, Night Wind is a poem that explores the idea of a natural force being able to take
control of the speaker’s mind and to interact with spiritual elements.