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:
“Most things are born in the mothering darkness and most things die. Darkness is the womb of creation, my boy. But the sun with his seven horns of flame is the father of life.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)