Usage of "the" before nouns meaning particular periods in 24 hours

Could someone tell me which of these two sentences is correct?

1. I love dawn.
2. I love the dawn.

Dawn here having the meaning of the period in the day.

Also, should I use "the" before nouns: dawn, night, twilight, morning etc. when talking about a particular period in 24 hours?

One more thing, I'm a little confused when it comes to stating whether I love darkness OR the darkness/dark OR the dark.

Could someone help me? Please?

Thanks in advance. :)

[RonBee]

I love Dawn (person's name).
I love the dawn (sunrise).


I love darkness (always a noun).
I love the dark (a noun in this case).

[Humble]

Hi,
I think you will do with some more info.
There’s no article with parts of the day
1. if they are modified by early, broad, high, late:
It was broad day.
2. after the prepositions at, after, before, by, past, towards, till, until:
at dawn
past noon
3. if they are followed by the verbs fall, break, set in, be at hand
Dusk fell early.
Night was at hand.
Morning has broken.

Regards

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by Humble

Hi,
I think you will do with some more info.
There’s no article with parts of the day
1. if they are modified by early, broad, high, late:
It was broad day.
2. after the prepositions at, after, before, by, past, towards, till, until:
at dawn
past noon
3. if they are followed by the verbs fall, break, set in, be at hand
Dusk fell early.
Night was at hand.
Morning has broken.

Regards

That's a good explanation, but may I offer a couple of comments?

Say:

I think you could do with some more info.

early morning OK
high noon OK
late afternoon OK
But broad is used in the phrase broad daylight.

It was a question that I hadn't handled before. I posted what I could come up with. You supplied additional imformation--information that is both interesting and useful.

~R

[Humble]

Thanks for the correction, RonBee. I did feel sth was wrong - it's one of the phrases I've learned recently - still raw

[RonBee]

You're quite welcome.

[Humble]

Hi,
Yes, broad daylight (day light) prevails by far, but still…
When it was broad day, he knew his road, and made straight for Poitiers; but his horse being tired, he did not arrive there until about nine o'clock, ...
The Roscoff fishing smack lay in the Severn, above Avon mouth, and it was broad day when Captain Paul Jones came aboard again…

It was now broad day, but the morning being cold, a group of them were gathered round a fire in a public-house, drinking hot purl, and smoking pipes, ...
by David Lawrence "Although it was broad day, every light in the house was burning and Stella Mooney knew something dreadful had happened..."
Regards

[BobK]

What are the publication dates for those examples, Humble? 'Broad day' strikes me as rather dated (rather, but not very - a couple of generations, at a guess). Maybe it's not so much dated as regional - anyway, I'd use 'broad daylight' if I were you.

b

[Humble]

I will, Bob, I will.