Darkness, as polar to brightness, is understood to be an absence of visible light. It is also the appearance of black in a color space.
Humans are unable to distinguish color when either light or darkness predominate (W. Wundt, Outlines of Psychology, 1907). In the absence of light, perception is achromatic and ultimately, black.
The emotional response to darkness has metaphorical connotations in many cultures.
Famous quotes containing the word darkness:
“Wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.”
—Bible: New Testament Jude, verse 13.
Recalling the Book of Enoch, in which fallen angels were condemned to be stars.
“Does the sower
Sow by night,
Or the ploughman in darkness plough?”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“In a virtuous action, I properly am; in a virtuous act, I add to the world; I plant into deserts conquered from Chaos and Nothing, and see the darkness receding on the limits of the horizon.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)