Finding Solace in FantasyGrieve, frustrations, stress and depressions make people to feel alone and alienated, as though they were the only people existent in this planet. In most cases, these feelings make the affected people engage in fantasies. Some fantasies portray what the subjects would wish to accomplish, become or experience while some fantasies give the audience the state the subjects are in. The poem written by Robert Frost, and the song done by Radiohead, , are examples of people going through such emotions. The writers of both works are lonely, alienated yet they yearn for solace through their thoughts and fantasies while Acquainted with the Night emphasizes on solitude; however, Subterranean Homesick Alien stresses on finding solace in fantasy.One of the main themes in these two works is the theme of solitide. The word night used in both works is a representation of the solitude in the personas. In the poem, the writer uses I have been one acquainted with the night (stanza one, line one) while the songwriter uses the words late at night when am driving (stanza five line two) in order to bring in the night aspect. Night hours portray loneliness. They portray the hardships, sorrow and sadness in a persons life. However, these two writers also portray different aspects of the night. While the persona in the poem uses the night to wallow in his misery and the state of his misfortune, the persona in the song uses the night to fantasize on an adventure that would cheer him up.To explain this further, the persona in Acquainted talks about how he has outwalked the furthest city light, (stanza one line three) and looked down the saddest city lane, (stanza two line one). These lines are reflections of the misery he has gone through yet he seems to take advantage of it in order to fantasize. He tries to give the audience a description of the depth and the intensity in his misfortune. On the other hand, the persona in the song is using the night to fantasize. He would wish that theyd [aliens] swoop down in a country lane, late at night when [he is] driving, (stanza five lines one and two). This fantasy shows that the persona is ready to explore another adventurous part of his life despite his misery. He is ready to look at the world from a fresh perspective since he would be watching the world when he is in an aliens ship.Additionally, the word I is also used to emphasize on the solitude in the personas lives. In Acquainted, the persona has used the word I in each of the stanzas apart from the forth one. The persona has also used the word 1 in all the stanzas apart from the third and forth stanzas. However, these two personas used the word in order to portray different aspect of their lives. In Acquainted, the word is used in order to put more emphasis on the characters misery. The persona was the only one going through these troubles without the consolation or the comfort of any other people. On the other hard, the song bends towards the personas wish to get away from his troubles and vie the world from a different perspective, show me the world as Id love to see it, (stanza five line four).Since it is already established that the personas in the works are in solitude, it is also revelatory that they view their solitude in diverse perspectives. For example, the persona in the song is willing to associate his life with other individuals while the persona in the poem repels them. In the second and third lines of the poem stanzas, he states that, I have passed by the watchman on his beat, And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. This showed that he is not ready to show other people of the pain he is going through either by words or by his body expressions. This further explains why he is avoiding eye contact. On the other hand, the persona in the poem explains that he would tell all his friends about his adventure in the aliens ship although they would think that he had become mad.In both works, the cause of the solitude and the loneliness has not been identified. Both personas in the works just talk about their reactions to the unknown miseries although they do not specifically point out the source of their misery or the misery/misfortune. This aspect of the works shows that they are not willing to tell the audience about themselves. They are not willing to reveal more about themselves to the audience. However, the persona in the song gives more hope to his situation as compared to the persona in the poem. While the poem ends with the personas wallow of how he has been acquainted with the night, the persona in the song explains that he will successfully come through the situation. The last stanza of the song explains that he is ready to show his friend the stars and the meaning of life even though they would shut him away.Both works portray the theme of solitude, which is one of the main themes in the works. However, they portray diverse aspects of the theme. While the persona in the poem is focuses on his misfortune and himself, the persona in the song fantasizes of ways in which he could take advantage of his misery. He also wants to engage with others in order to avoid focusing on his negative side of life. He is also sure that he will positively make it through the misfortune even though he will be shut away by his friends. The persona in the poem avoids other people contact whether it is emotional or physical. He starts by giving the audience a hopeless dimension to his problems and ends the poem in the same note. In the poem, the persona will end up in solitude.Works CitedFrost, Robert Acquainted with the Night. , (11th Ed). Ed. By X.J. Kennedy & Dana Gioia. New York, NY: Logman, 2009. Print.Radiohead. Subterranean Homesick Alien. . Parlophone and Capitol Records, 1997.