The Sea (Symbol)
Though it is not named specifically until the poem's last stanza, the sea is, in many regards, its main image. It sets up much of the material that follows the first stanza and acts as the central background for the speaker's extended metaphor about crossing the ocean. The sea appears to symbolize the feeling of being awash in desire while seeking out reciprocated feelings of love and affection from another. The speaker imagines their journey across the ocean as a perilous but necessary one. They suggest that the upheaval is inseparable from the trip.
Nights (Symbol)
As the poem's title implies, nights play an important role in the text. The symbolism of night parallels that of the sea. They are both zones of uncertainty and mystery, full of surprises and potential dangers. It is also worth noting that "wild nights" becomes "tonight" in the poem's final stanza. This change from the general to the specific marks new urgency in the speaker's voice. While they hope for "wild nights" to come, they want to see the addressed individual that night.
Desire (Motif)
At its core, "Wild Nights - Wild Nights!" is a poem about desire. Even when it is not mentioned explicitly, desire is characterized through the content of the piece. Underlying the images of rough seas and wild nights is a portrait of desire as an essentially turbulent thing. The speaker repeatedly returns to descriptions of natural intensity but does not separate them from the lines about passion. In fact, from beginning to end, the poem makes desire seem inseparable from these moments of tension.
