Lord Byron's "Darkness": The Faithful But Fated Dog

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multiple times in describing both the sun and later for the loss of
fire. Men first give "selfish prayer" and later cast their eyes downward
with "curses". Both of these words portray the close ties to a religious
setting or event. The most obvious of the religious ties is line 46 in
which, "The meager by the meager were devoured". The ironic parallel to
the Biblical belief that the meek shall inherit the earth is clear. The
meek, or in this case the meager, shall inherit the destruction through
their own death and consumption.
This appalling prospect of death and destruction is revealed
throughout "Darkness" by the primary images of darkness, fire, the death of
two enemies, and the dog attending his master. The first and last images
of the poem are naturally of aimless, uncaring darkness. The first action
of the poem is the extinguishing of the sun and the culmination is that of
"Darkness" becoming the "Universe". The darkness is a direct contrast with
the life-giving ...

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