"In the country the darkness of night is friendly and familiar, but in a city, with its blaze of lights, it is unnatural, hostile and menacing. It is like a monstrous vulture that hovers, biding its time"

W. Somerset Maugham’s rich and evocative comparison of night in the country versus the city encapsulates the complex relationship humans have with darkness based on their environment. In the countryside, nightfall is described as “friendly and familiar,” a comforting and natural presence that engenders a sense of peace or security. This suggests that rural darkness is not feared but rather embraced, perhaps because those who live in or visit the countryside are accustomed to the rhythms of nature. Absence of artificial light lets the true night settle in, fostering tranquility and an intimate connection with natural cycles.

In stark contrast, the city, which is defined by its “blaze of lights,” experiences darkness differently. Here, night is called “unnatural, hostile and menacing,” a stark divergence from the countryside’s peace. The city’s constant illumination is portrayed as a barrier between its inhabitants and the natural world, as if the city is at war with the night. The artificial lights do not dispel the darkness naturally; instead, they create an uneasy, dissonant coexistence. There is a sense that the city fights off the night, yet never fully succeeds, as the darkness remains, warped and distorted into something threatening.

Maugham intensifies this feeling with the simile of a “monstrous vulture that hovers, biding its time.” Here, darkness in the city becomes predatory, patiently waiting to fall upon those within it. It personifies the city’s night as dangerous, invoking an undercurrent of anxiety and vulnerability that shadows the bustling, artificially lit streets. This imagery reflects how, in spaces overloaded by human presence and intervention, natural elements become strange and even terrifying, no longer benign but transformed by human attempts to control or escape them. Maugham’s words highlight how our surroundings shape our perceptions, turning the same darkness from gentle companion to lurking menace.