THE POETICS OF NIGHT IN EASTERN AND WESTERN LITERATURE: AN EXISTENTIAL READING

Abstract

The image of night has long occupied a central position in world literature as one of the most profound and symbolically charged poetic concepts. Across different literary traditions, night functions not merely as a chronological or natural phenomenon, but as a multidimensional aesthetic category connected with silence, fear, loneliness, spiritual contemplation, metaphysical inquiry, and existential crisis. In both Eastern and Western literary consciousness, the poetics of night reveals the inner world of the individual and reflects humanity’s philosophical attempts to understand existence, mortality, alienation, and transcendence. This article explores the existential interpretation of the night motif through a comparative analysis of Eastern and Western literary traditions.