How To Write A Nighthawks Poem Analysis

The oil painting entitled “Nighthawks” was made by Edward Hopper in the year 1942. This image of a brightly lit dinner surrounded by dark empty stores illustrates the quiet loneliness of a night on the town. Elements of this painting come together to show a small group of night owls engaged in small talk inside a comparatively lively dinner on the corner of a shadowy and empty street.

• Line: Actual lines are seen throughout the image, they are used to shape the buildings, streets and interior of the dinner. Contour hatching is used to give the sidewalk detail. There is also a psychological line apparent between the woman, the man to the left of her and the bar man .This line serves to imply a conversation going on between the three. No implied lines are evident.

• Shape: The entire street corner from windows to walls and
• Repetition and Rhythm: Along the bar there are many stools forming a line for the viewer to follow. Each seat is to the right of the man is empty which further implies a sense of loneliness.

• Scale and proportion: Proportion and scale both feel realistic though they are changed to suite the perspective of the painting. This change of size is seen when comparing the size of the furniture in the background shop and that of the people. Size has not changed in the image for expressive purposes.

Together the elements of this painting illustrate a small group of individuals in a brightly lit dinner on a lonely night in the city. Contrasting values used to imply the time of day show light as well as shadow. Directional Forces and empty space lead us to believe that the city street has been abandoned in the late hours of the night, except for a few individuals. Though the population of the dinner is small this night a psychological line between the patrons shows that not all chance of social interaction is