Mia Bolognesi
To The Moon
Giocomo Leopardi
O lovely moon, how well do I recall
The time,--'tis just a year--when up this hill
I came, in my distress, to gaze at thee:
And thou suspended wast o'er yonder grove,
As now thou art, which thou with light dost fill.
But stained with mist, and tremulous, appeared
Were filled with tears, that could not be suppressed;
For, oh, my life was wretched, wearisome,
And is so still, unchanged, belovèd moon!
And yet this recollection pleases me,
This computation of my sorrow's age.
How pleasant is it, in the days of youth,
When hope a long career before it hath,
And memories are few, upon the past
To dwell, though sad, and though the sadness last!
The image of the bright moon captures the light described in the poem. The darkness that surrounds the vivid moon symbolizes the speaker's sadness.
Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Leopardi was born in a small village in Italy during a time of political unrest due to the aftermath of the French Revolution. Leopradi was tutored at a young age and fell in love with learning. He was ill as a child and spent his days in his father's library, gaining knowledge. Leopardi became fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. After publishing many works, he became known as the first modern Italian classic poet.
Analysis
The speaker looks up to the moon and remembers his past. The moon reminds him of his sorrow and painful experiences. The speaker came to the moon when they were in distress. They miss their childhood when they were clueless about the life ahead of them. The speaker uses descriptive language to say the moon is, "stained with dust," symbolizing the dread which covered their happiness. They also say that their, "eyes were filled with tears," emphasizing the huge effect their times of trouble had on them. The speaker uses personification to explain the amount of time they have been in sorrow by saying, "my sorrow's age." The speaker uses a metaphor to compare the moon to art in order to prove it's beauty. The last two lines of the poem rhyme. The shift in the end shows a realization within the speaker, that their past sadness has stuck with them. The use of rhyme ties their final thoughts together. The tone of this poem is despair. The speaker turns to the moon when they need comfort, but never feel fully recovered. They develop an absence of hope at the end of the poem. True pain can be permanent.
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/younger-brutus/#content
https://www.google.com/search?site=imghp&tbm=isch&q=moon&tbs=sur:fmc&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=loUMMIdQ9_3rGM:
The speaker looks up to the moon and remembers his past. The moon reminds him of his sorrow and painful experiences. The speaker came to the moon when they were in distress. They miss their childhood when they were clueless about the life ahead of them. The speaker uses descriptive language to say the moon is, "stained with dust," symbolizing the dread which covered their happiness. They also say that their, "eyes were filled with tears," emphasizing the huge effect their times of trouble had on them. The speaker uses personification to explain the amount of time they have been in sorrow by saying, "my sorrow's age." The speaker uses a metaphor to compare the moon to art in order to prove it's beauty. The last two lines of the poem rhyme. The shift in the end shows a realization within the speaker, that their past sadness has stuck with them. The use of rhyme ties their final thoughts together. The tone of this poem is despair. The speaker turns to the moon when they need comfort, but never feel fully recovered. They develop an absence of hope at the end of the poem. True pain can be permanent.
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/younger-brutus/#content
https://www.google.com/search?site=imghp&tbm=isch&q=moon&tbs=sur:fmc&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=loUMMIdQ9_3rGM:
Another interpretation of the moon as well could be happy too because I know he always came back to the moon when he was distressed, but also he came in search of wisdom; therefore, the moon can also be a symbolic figure. Such as being the leader to him. The moon brought happiness upon him as well because when he was distressed he was able to come to the moon and find peace which then resulted in the end of his distress because he found the answer he was searching for. I think the real representation of the moon is that wisdom comes hand in hand with optimism and pain because without those three thing he would have never been in search for answers; therefore, he would've never reached the moon.
ReplyDeleteI agree on how the moon can be interpreted as a symbolic figure,its like a object that calms someone down and when ever they ometothe moon they will be happy.
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ReplyDelete(Here's Kate Humphreys' comment. . .) When the author is distressed, he looks up at the moon as it calms him and acts as a light of hope. When he is teary eyed and sad, even depressed, the moon pleases and gives him hope in like in the darkness. I agree with the interpretation of the darkness that surrounds the moon, being his sadness, while the bright moon represents his hope and light in the poem. Prases used such as "my life was wretched, wearisome..." and "my eyes were filled with tears" show the hardships in his life. However, the light and happy memories that come with the moon's calmess help the author recolect.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this idea because the moon is his guide, his light, his everything. Although this is not religious but you can think of it as the moon is God. The moon is guiding him though the happiness moments in life and not bring him down. This moon is making sure that his is making the right choice and not distracting him in anyway
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