"Acquainted with the Night" deals with depression and despair, which were both regular features of Robert Frost's life. The general tone of the poem is rather bleak, to say the least, an indication that Frost recognizes that there is no adequate way of finding solace in this world. It is a world shrouded in darkness, a world that in metaphorical terms resembles the night.

There is no escape from this world of perpetual darkness. The speaker thought perhaps that his nocturnal walk might offer him some crumb of comfort in dealing with the sadness and the sorrow that is his lot in life. But the speaker is held back by his many sad experiences from reaching out to other human beings and establishing some kind of connection with them, and this only exacerbates his sorrow.

There is nothing, then, upon this earth that can lift the speaker from his slough of despondence. To make matters worse, there's nothing above that can do any better. Not even the beautiful moon, this "luminous clock" as the speaker calls it, can make him feel any better. This is because the moon is too distant; it is unattainable and out of reach. Just like the happiness that the speaker seeks, but will never be able to find.