Reflect on Shelley's "Waning Moon" and Byron's "She walks in beauty." Do any words or phrases stick out to you? What vision and image is presented in each poem? Consider the physical descriptions given, the author's feelings toward his subject, and what each may be saying about the women on whom they are musing. Are there any similarities in the two images portrayed in these two poems?
In Shelley's, "The Waning Moon," one phrase that stood out to me was "Led by the insane and feeble wanderings of her fading brain." Because the poet meant to be describing the moon, it is interesting that he described it like an old lady whose mind often wanders off because of loss of memory. To me it does not exactly fit. It sounds as if the poet looks at the moon as a sad thing that is slowly going away. In the poem, "She Walks in Beauty," the line that stood out to me was, "A mind at peace with all below." The way he describes this woman is in a way that he admires every little thing about her. It seemed to me that this line meant that she was perfect like an angel from Heaven, and that all she does is good. The image that I put together in my mind is of a woman who is beautiful not only because of her looks, but also because of her charming personality. The poet sees her as the most beautiful person to walk the earth. Each of the women in the poems are very different. One of them is old and fading away, the other is full of life that you can see in her eyes.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful response, Step; that must mean you are able to read these poems with an eye to subtle description and words choice. Many would agree with you that the line you chose from Byron speaks to his seeing her as an angel on earth. Quite strong praise and admiration, don't you think?
DeleteByron admires the natural beauty of woman, and how they so effortlessly achieve this perfection. He speaks on the purity of this woman and how innocent her love is. Shelley is talking about an old woman, whose days are numbered. It seems as if she's losing her mind or memory. I don't see any direct similarities between the two poems. It seems as if Byron and Shelley are talking about two different things. Their poems take on dualistic views, Shelley is talking about a woman whose old and losing her memory, while Bryon is talking about a very vibrant and colorful woman.
ReplyDeleteGreat reading of these poems, DP. While the actual images conjured by the poets are quite different indeed, I think you, yourself, point to the similarity. it is the subtle beauty of the descriptions themselves that are alike. Very tricky to describe a person in poetry without sounding trite or overdone, yet both Shelley and Byron are able to do it here quite remarkably.
DeleteIn these poems, Shelley and Byron kind of differ their own thoughts from each other. Byron believes and really appreciates the effort that women take to basically make themselves beautiful to that women's point of view of herself. He speaks to the fact that he believes that all women are innocent, and pure. Byron talks about young women, Shelley on the other hand, talks about women that are a little bit older. Shelley writes about a women who even though she is going through the process of losing her memory, still has a lot of life left in her.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your ideas, but I think if you go back and reread them carefully, you may come to a clearer understanding of each woman. As you do that, consider the art of choosing words and putting them together in phrasing that creates images the poets wants the reader to see and feel. How does each one do that here?
DeleteI liked reading "She Walks in Beauty" because it was very easy for me to understand, I did read it more than once just to see if I could get a deeper understanding of the message the poet was trying to send, but it was fairly clear to me the first time I read it. I could get an image of the woman he was describing and the image I had was almost of a ballerina, the woman seems very graceful and delicate. "A heart whose love is innocent!" stuck out to me because it shows that the poet was not only talking about her appearance but her inner beauty as well. The next poem "The Waning Moon" was extremely different and much more eerie. At first when I read the poems both poems seem to be referring to woman, but the first poem was referring to a beautiful and delicate women while the second woman dying and insane. After I reread the second poem I realized it wasn't about a woman at all, it was the poet comparing the moon to a dying woman, it is a very unique comparison and it seems as though the poet has a much more eerie view of the moon then most others who see the beauty in the moon.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis, Mariah. I like your choice of the word "eerie" to describe "Waning Moon." After discussing both in class, do you have more thoughts on the poet's intent in "She walks in beauty"?
DeleteTwo phrases that really stuck out to me were "And feeble wanderings of her fading brain",and "Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express." These two lines seem very tender to me, and it surprised me that men wrote them. These thoughts don't usually come about in modern writing and the way men portray women in the real world. I noticed similarities in how they wrote, but not in the poem itself. The first one spoke of a lady losing her mind to the night, while the second described a woman being one with the night. While each poem had a different context in it, they both portrayed women to be beautiful. Whether it was a woman walking with the moonlight on her, or a woman at her wits end. The men writing about their muses wanted them to sound beautiful no matter what was going on around them. Both poems were based around the nighttime, which seemed romantic mysterious, and led to how they described the women. That being said, I think the women they wrote about were great influences in how their poems turned out. If they had been different women, then the poems would be very different then how they are now.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great posting, Mal. I enjoyed reading it; it gave me ideas to think about, images to ponder, and I found myself nodding my head in agreement more than once. Thanks, and well done!
DeleteIn Shelley's, "The Waning Moon", he was describing the moon as an old lady who has lost her mind.He also decribes the moon as an old lady who is dying and her mind is fading. What i think the poet is saying is that the moon is very dull and is just moving with no set path. In the Byron's "She Walks in Beauty", he is describing a girl who he views in a very positive way. He describes this girl as perfect. He likes everything about her. I think that these too poems are similar and different. Both poems are describing a girl in some way. They are different because in Shelley's poem his girl is gloomy and dying and in Byrons poem his girl is perfect and interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with your general statements, I know deep in my heart that you can go further, much further, in your analysis of these two poems. For example, you write, "What i think the poet is saying is that the moon is very dull and is just moving with no set path." There is much more going on in this description of the moon than that. Can you find it? Likewise, your analysis of Byron's subject can be much more detailed, don't you think? Pls feel free to stop by to talk these or other poems over.
DeleteBoth Byron and Shelly seem to be trying to capture the same image, that of a beatutiful woman walking gracefully into the night. They both love using the lighting of the stars and the moon in their poems, probably to give an image of their subject as an overwhelmingly graceful and pale figure. Pretty much just pure description and love in the poems, they don't seem to have any moral or intended meaning. The one thing that I really don't get is the weird dead woman thing going on in Shelley's. It threw me off a bit.
ReplyDeleteHmm...having discussed these both in class, do you now have a clearer understanding of what image each poet was trying to present? I agree, both are focused on the dark, nightly setting and image that is central to each woman described.
DeleteI felt that both poems were very strong yet serene in the way that each message came across. In the poem, The Waning Moon a phrase that really struck me was " And like a dying lady, lean an pale". This was such a strong set of words for me because it automatically put a vivid picture inside my head making the simile almost come alive. I enjoyed this poem a lot because it was short but the way he described the moon put you into a mood that is very calming and peaceful and i think that is what the author intended. In the poem She Walks in Beauty, a very significant phrase for me was " And all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes". I appreciated this because i felt that it gave the audience background about the woman without actually telling us anything about her at all. I liked that both poems showed the appreciation and the complexity of the of the moon and the women.
ReplyDeleteA thoughtful response overall, Mady, but would you be able to give specifics to back up the general statements you make? For example, what was the "vivid picture" Shelley put in your head? What background about the women did Byron provide in " And all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes"? As is, I am not quite clear what you intended to communicate about these poems.
DeleteWhen looking up the definition of the word “waning” or “wane” you will find that it means to decrease in strength or intensity. This is important in understanding the meaning of Shelley’s “Waning Moon” because the first part of the poem is about an old woman and how weak and frail she has become. Byron’s “She walks in beauty” was very unusual. It was all about how this woman he loved was so beautiful at night and everything about the moon hitting her between the trees just right and how she is so comfortable or “at peace with the world below”. This could mean a few different things. One could be that she is an angel and the world below her is where all the common people live and where earth is. It could also mean that she is at peace with her body and her sexuality. It could mean that she recognizes that she is sexually active and it accepting and okay with that not being a bad thing. There aren’t really any similarities between the two women being described in the poems by Shelley and Byron. One woman is an old, worn out, frail, fragile woman who can barely walk while the other is young, beautiful, strong, and confident. The old woman Shelley described could have once been all these things but how he describes her now is that she is weak and close to death.
ReplyDeleteGreat close read of "Waning Moon" and the connotation of waning. That is how an explication works, so you should be in fine form for Thursday's assignment. While there may not be any obvious comparisons between the two women, the way the poets describe them- the careful use of words and phrases to produce subtle imagery- is similar.
DeleteTo just simply compare the two, both includes women. "The Waning Moon" is actually describing the moon, using the simile by comparing the moon to an old lady. The other poem discusses about a woman that Byron was in love with. The poem disputes about the dark beauty in the woman that he loves. This poem shows duality of the heart and the mind. Shelley's poem made it easy for the reader to imagine a clear view of what he was describing. "dying lady, pale, gauzy veil, fading brain, etc" This words helped me draw pictures in my mind of an old lady who is about to reach her death is sitting there hopelessly and weak. In "she Walks in Beauty", by reading the descriptions such as, "meet in her aspect and her eyes, waves in every raven tress,so soft, so calm, yet eloquent. " These expressions describes her as a mysterious, beautiful, loving woman. This poem is a very romantic piece. It is interesting how Shelley described the moon to an old, dying lady. Also, by reading Byron's poem the readers can vision a perfect girl who would be impossible to not fall in love with.
ReplyDeleteThis is a terrific response, Nessa. I appreciate the careful attention to word choice you made and the understanding of the duality of heart and mind. Well done!
DeleteAll these poems have the same idea of a beautiful woman, "Waning Moon" is describing a woman dying, her insanity and the looks of death that shone on her face. This is both he physical and the mental description. The other "She Walks in Beauty" describes the woman in the poem as a beautiful angel when she dies, though the last line "A mind at peace with all below" suggests that she might be very sexually active. I feel as though both of the woman were loved very much, although in "Waning Moon" she might have done something to cause the writer to think of her in a darker way, though still be loved. -Keeley
ReplyDeleteI liked where you were headed in this response, Kiwi. I only wish you had gone further! There is much more to be said on the mental and physical descriptions of these two very different women.
DeleteIn "She Walks in Beauty" Byron is describing a woman that seems to be very beautiful. The way he describes her features makes him appear to find her a dark flawless beauty. Byron points out the dark side of her beauty in his sonnet. There is a frequent contrast between light and dark throughout the poem. "The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent" Byron paints the picture of a woman who has a genuinely good heart and her beauty radiates from within. “The Waning Moon” by Shelley is about the moon, but described as an old woman who is in her final days. She has lost her vitality and her awareness to things around her. She is described as being a very frail old woman. Both women in Byron and Shelley’s poems appear mysterious. They’re pasts are not revealed, and both leave the reader wondering what experiences in their lives shaped them to be who they currently are. -Laura
ReplyDeleteReflecting on Shelley's "Waning Moon" as well as Byron's "She walks in beauty", many similarities can be uncovered between the two. In both of the poems, the women are described through the use of similes and metaphors. In “The Waning Moon,” Shelley compares subject to the moon. With the use of the word choice, “And like a dying lady, lean and pale Who totters forth, wrapped in a gauzy veil,” it immediately conjures the image of an apparitional figure dressed in white. Not only does this description apply to the woman, but to the appearance of the moon in the sky. “She walks in beauty” describes a dark beauty with long, raven-colored hair. There is an eerie, mysterious feeling when reading this piece, and the imagery used throughout the poem conjures a tenebrous scene. Throughout this poem there is an immense of duality. One key example is the backdrop of a dark and ominous setting, and a woman that is portrayed almost as if an angel. These subtleties found within Byron's and Shelley's poems add depth, provoke thought, and ultimately provide an unusual twist to a simplistic writing.
ReplyDeleteWhen Shelley and Byron composed their poems of women, they were thinking of two very different types of women. Shelley's woman is being compared to the moon because the moon was dull ('lean and pale'). The 'gauzy veil' is possibly mist at night, or could symbolize the tattered clothes she was wearing - representing old age. 'Led by the insane' and 'feeble wanderings of her fading brain' are referring to the her slowly going insane and not being aware of her surroundings. As sometimes happens with the elderly, their faculties leave them. The word "Waning" in the title suggests (per the phases of the moon) that the full moon has passed or just passed and is now heading toward the "new moon" phase. This waning is a slow progression toward the absence (regarding the physical visibility) of the moon - a death of sorts, if you will. Byron's woman was more of a dark beauty, both physically and psychologically (Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling place.") who is both visible and hidden - with black hair contrasting her pale skin. Throughout the poem there is a sense of ying & yang - light & dark, where each compliments the other. "A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!" This quote seems to illustrate the profound beauty of pure innocent love and that she is comfortable with her sexuality. Byron seems to be quite smittem with her....
ReplyDeleteAre there any similarities in the two images portrayed in these two poems?
ReplyDeleteIn both poems, the poet presents the image of the woman who seems to be his muse. Shelley shows a woman whose life is near its end, and therefore she is fragile, under a veil, and waning just like the moon. Byron is describing a woman he loves solely based in her looks - he doesn't note any of her emotions that way Shelley did in The Waning Moon. In both poems, there is a detailed description of a woman. Also in both works, each woman is compared to a part of nature. In She Walks in Beauty, the woman is an overview of the good and the darker parts of nature, the same way her personality is portrayed in the end. No matter how evil or depressing nature can be, it is innocent nonetheless. Similarly, in The Waning Moon, just as an old and pale woman's life ends, the brightness and the life of the moon comes to an end as well when it is waning.