The Moon --Percy Bysshe Shelley (4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822)

THE MOON

 Percy Bysshe Shelley

I.

 

ND, like a dying lady lean and pale,

Who totters forth, wrapp'd in a gauzy veil,

Out of her chamber, led by the insane

And feeble wanderings of her fading brain,

The moon arose up in the murky east

A white and shapeless mass.

 

II.

 

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?

1.     Briefly describe the physical condition of the Moon as in the first stanza.

In the first stanza, the moon has been described as a senile woman. She is lean and pale and walks unsteadily behind the veil of scudding drifts of clouds. She is at the last stage of her life and has no control over her body and mind.

2.     What makes her wander?

Being near to death and shorn of reason, the moon is impelled by a queer insanity to come out of the seclusion of her chamber (boudoir)  and wander about feebly across the great expanse of sky.    

3.      Why is the moon shapeless to the poet?

The moon appeared shapeless to the poet because of the presence of the scudding drifts of cloud that acted as a gauzy veil that suppressed her true shape. The presence of cloud symbolises the gloom and hopelessness on the part of the moon.   

 

4.     To what has the moon been associated with in the second stanza?

In the second stanza, the moon has been identified as a young woman. She is pale and forlorn from traversing across the great expanse of sky, which to the poet is as vast as heaven.

5.     What is her physical condition in the second stanza and why?

The physical condition of the moon as a young woman depicts a placid and fatigued character. She is worn out of her aimless wandering across the sky. The poet compares her to a joyless eye that thirsts for true love.

6.     What did the poet mean by ‘ever changing like a joyless eye’?

The poet referred to the phases of the moon in its twenty-nine days’ cycle from one full moon to another.

The poet using a nature myth like structure observed that looking constantly for someone to love with little result has turned the moon joyless.

7.      Explain ‘worth its constancy’.

The moon is shown to be constantly in search of a true lover. However, she does not find anyone worthy of love as no one fit her standard of being steadfast in the way of love and faithfulness.

This has been going on since time immemorial and so the poet depicts her as a forlorn woman.

8.     Describe the situation of the moon in the second stanza.

The moon though young is shown to be worn out and dejected. She is wandering companionless as ever and failing every time in finding a true lover on the face of the earth. Therefore, she is reduced to a joyless eye that depicts her agony.

9.     Highlight the character of Moon in the second stanza.

Written in the style of medieval love poetry, Shelley laments the love-sick moon in her aimless ramble across the vast stretch of sky. She is pale and fatigued as she is unable to find anyone like her among the stars as also on the face of the earth. She is companionless and reduced to the size of a joyless eye in her utter disappointment in finding anyone up to her standard of being steadfast in love.

10.   Highlight the character of moon as an old woman.

As a senile woman the moon is in the last stage of her life. She rises clumsily over the darkened eastern horizon and moves forth aimlessly under the impulse of her delirious mind. The presence of sailing clouds heightens her gloom and helplessness. The moon here lives the agony synonymous with old age.

11.   Critical appreciation of ‘The Moon’.

Through the poem ‘The Moon’, Shelley has tried to underline the pain associated with anything living.

Moon being present since the time of creation has been associated with life which is no less ancient itself. The poet wanted to say that life in all forms—exalted or down-to-earth—is full of grief and bereft of love. By digging deeper into the chemistry of pain, the poet has touched upon insanity and the physical aspect of loneliness.

12.   ‘...have a different birth...’ Explain.

The moon is depicted as a forlorn woman who is desirous of finding love on earth.  She in spite of being a part of solar system finds other heavenly bodies to be alien to her constitution. So she cannot expect to be in league with them and as a result she rambles across alone and dejected.

13. What is a myth?

Myths were created by the ancient Greeks and the Romans, who would explain natural phenomena otherwise unsolved by means of prevalent scientific methods and reasons. Apart from man, myths involved gods, demigods, angels, monsters, nymphs etc.

14.  How is The Moon a nature myth?

Shelley has always been famous as a creator of nature myth. In most of his poems, he depicted nature, forces or elements of nature as human beings in extra-ordinary situation. In this way, his personifications assume the form of nature myth.

In The ‘Moon’ he used this myth-like structure to focus on human condition related to age and want of love. The use of clouds as gauzy veil, phases of moon as joyless eye etc, are some of the characteristics of Nature myth.