In Praise of Darkness

“Emerson” by Jorges Luis Borges (1972)

This elegiac sonnet reflects Borges’s great respect for Ralph Waldo Emerson and the poetic influence that poet had on the works of Borges. Emerson is listed in Line 42 of “In Praise of Darkness.” Furthermore, the elegiac characteristics of “Emerson” mirror the mournful characteristics of “In Praise of Darkness.”

“On His Blindness” by Jorge Luis Borges (1985)

This is another Borges poem that illuminates the poet’s thoughts on blindness, with allusions to the 17th-century English poet John Milton, another famous poet who lost his sight. The two poems have distinctly different impressions of blindness, with “On His Blindness” presenting blindness in a far more negative light than the ode of praise discussed in this guide.

“The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats (1919)

While disconnected in terms of subject, “The Second Coming” and “In Praise of Darkness” share many of the same motifs, including centers, darkness, and the loss of capabilities. However, while these elements are destructive in Yeats’s poem, they appear almost triumphal in Borges’s.