Art thou pale for weariness
Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,
Wandering companionless
Among the stars that have a different birth, -
And ever changing, like a joyless eye
That finds no object worth its constancy?
In the poem, To the Moon, by Percy Bysshe Shelley, it is being explained how the moon cannot compare to anything and is therefore being put on a pedestal. “Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth, Wandering companionless”, since it is on a pedestal, or ‘climbing heaven’, it is left with no one around it and is therefore without any companions. The point of comparing it to a star, and saying they are of ‘different birth’ is acknowledging that speaker is aware that the moon is indeed not a star. As well, gazing on the earth could possibly be mean looking down on the stars. What makes the moon grow weary in this poem is the fact that he has found nothing better than the stars.
Poetic devices are used, for instance “Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth” is a personification because it is referring to the moons activity. Secondly, the line “And ever changing, like a joyless eye” is a simile as it is comparing the moon to a ‘joyless eye’.
In my opinion, the message of this poem is that in the moon’s desire to be happy, he has lead himself to a path of unhappiness.
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in silver feathered sleep
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.
British poet Walter de la Mare captures a night scene in his sonnet poem. The first couplet sets the scene by letting the reader know that the time is nightime. The moon’s effect is dramatized with a personification claiming that the “moon / Walks the night.” Instead of shining, the moon is walking in silver slippers—the glow of those silver 'shoons' adds the silver color to everything it touches. As well, the poet uses various poetic devices, for example, he dramatizes the sleeping dog, by using a simile which reads, “[c]ouched in his kennel, like a log.” The things I enjoyed most was the repetition of the word silver, because the sound associated with the letter ‘s’ is one that is smooth. This poem to me feels as if everything is turning into silver softly and suttley, like a paint brushe moving over a canvas slowly and smoothly.
How countlessly they congregate
O'er our tumultuous snow,
Which flows in shapes as tall as trees
When wintry winds do blow!--
As if with keenness for our fate,
Our faltering few steps on
To white rest, and a place of rest
Invisible at dawn,--
And yet with neither love nor hate,
Those stars like some snow-white
Minerva's snow-white marble eyes
Without the gift of sight
The poem Stars, by Robert Frost, is an allegory because it uses the stars as a metaphor to the human life. In line 1 the poem begins with, “How countlessly they congregate”. This shows that just like the stars, there are so many lives in the world; it is impossible to count them. Then, in line 2 it reads, “O'er our tumultuous snow”, perfectly depicting how hectic and tumultuous humans can be or behave. Following, Frost uses a simile, “Which flows in shapes as tall as trees,” which could also be referred to as alliteration due to the ‘t’ in tall and trees.
Continuing on to the second stanza, Frost writes, “Our faltering few steps on To white rest, and a place of rest Invisible at dawn,--” I think that these few lines refer to our final destination, death. And then, to end the poem, Frost continues in the very last line, “Without the gift of sight” which means that there is often failure to see how precious our lives really are; like the saying, “you don’t know what you’ve got until its gone.” This would clearly be the initial message or theme of the poem.
I enjoyed the last line of the poem, as I think that this was a very strong way to end it, and I could really picture the ‘snow-white marble eyes’ in my head as I read the line.
Thou fair hair'd angel of the evening,
Now, while the sun rests on the mountains light,
Thy bright torch of love; Thy radiant crown
Put on, and smile upon our evening bed!
Smile on our loves; and when thou drawest the
Blue curtains, scatter thy silver dew
On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes
In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on
The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes
And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full, soon,
Dost thou withdraw; Then, the wolf rages wide,
And the lion glares thro' the dun forest.
The fleece of our flocks are covered with
Thy sacred dew; Protect them with thine influence.
The poem, To The Evening Star, by William Blake, is fourteen lines indicating it should be a sonnet, however it does not follow the traditional rhyme pattern and there is no stanza division and is therefore a free verse poem.
In my opinion, this is a romantic poem. It speaks of the evening star, or the “fair hair’d angle of the evening,” which refers to Venus, who is the goddess of love. As the poem progresses, the language seems happy and flowing, however, it is interrupted by the bad things roaming; “ then the wolf rages wide, and the lion glares thro’ the dun forest.” Regardless of the bad things that happen, I think the poem is expressing that as long as the evening star is around, which represents the mans true love, there is some peace and comfort.
My favorite line is, “speak silence with thy glimmering eyes, And wash the dusk with silver.” ‘Speak silence,’ is an example of both alliteration and an oxymoron. As well, I think that the ‘ wash the dusk with silver,’ appeals very much to your sight, and allows you to create a clear image in your head.
