To the Moon | Major English - XII | Grade 12 Major English Note

To the Moon

By PB Shelly

About the Poem

This one sentence poem describes the joyless moon that doesn’t find anything constant in this world. It is itself constant. This is the reason why it seems to be in quest of constancy.

When we add the suffix –less to a word, it means without. For example, ‘joy’ means happiness but joyless means without happiness. This suffix is used twice in this poem.

The moon shinning in the sky has always been a mystery to human beings. The poem is a short composition addressed to the moon. Its most striking quality is the poet’s imaginative performance of a natural phenomenon. Science has its own explanation for the changing stages of the moon and her movement round and round the earth. But the poet here gives farfetched reasons for the paleness of the moon and of her ever- changing form. There is a difference between the facts of science and the fancies of poetry. The poem shows also Shelley’s gift of word painting. He has clearly drawn the picture of the moon climbing the sky companionless and ever-changing in her shape and size. The comparison of the pale moon with the joyless eye of a human being is obviously suitable.

Important Questions and Answers

1.    What is the poem about?

The poem is about the inconsistent nature of the moon. The moon is friendless among the stars like the poet who stands alone and without companion in the crowd. The poet describes the ceaseless journey of the moon. The moon is all alone and joyless in the sky. The symbol of the moon is the lady who is in search of constancy in love.

2.    Is ‘like a joyless eye’ an apt simile? Explain.

The moon is like a joyless eye. It is an apt simile. The waxing and waning of the moon is compared here with the joyless and unsteady eyes of a man who is in search of an object pleasing his sight. Like the eyes of a man who seeks beauty as responsive as the steadiness of his eyes, the moon seems to be changing its face from time to time. The change expresses a joyless feeling as the eyes of a man doesn’t find a suitable object for his eyes. The moon is not content with its changing state.

3.    Write as short note on simile.

A simile is an expression of likeness between different objects or events. It compares two different things on the basis of qualities they possess. In simile, most often, things or objects are compared by using like and as to show the similarities between them. It puts two different things side by side and compares them with regard to some quality common to them. In other words, there are two essential elements in a simile. Firstly, the two objects or events compared must be different in type. Secondly, the point of resemblance between the two different objects or events must be clearly brought out. There is a simile in ‘To the Moon’ to compare the moon and eye-like a joyless eye. Similes are close to ordinary speech.

O my love’s like a red, red rose- Robert Burns

Nibelung wolves barbed like black pine forest- Ted Hughes in February