Note on Romanticism in “The Moon” by P.B. Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley has made romanticism felt through two different tones and notes as well as two different comparisons in the both stanzas of the poem “The Moon”. In the first stanza, the comparison is in between the rising moon and a dying lady, ‘lean and pale’. This comparison attributes a realistic dimension to the poem. In the second stanza, the moon is compared to a lonely damsel in search of a true and constant lover. The existence of the ‘weary’ moon in the blue regime of the universe is as dull as the ‘joyless eye’. This comparison adds to the romantic yet melancholy mood of the poem. Though in contrast to each other, the two comparisons are the highlights of P.B. Shelley’s romanticism in “The Moon”.    

 Click here for more English literature notes