Summary and Analysis To the Moon BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

 

Summary

In this short poem, Shelley addresses the moon and asks whether climbing the sky and gazing at the Earth make her pale and weary. He contrasts the moon with stars which are consistent and empathizes with the loneliness of the moon. He wonders about what has set the moon  restless and assumes that there is no object in the sky to keep the moon fixed. The poet identifies with the changing nature of the moon and realizes that his soul is also like the moon, inconsistent and changing. 

Analysis

The poet notes two significant features of the moon. One is the changing nature and the other is loneliness. Though placed in the sky, the moon gazes at the Earth as the earth is an object of desire and the loneliness is a result of not being able to unite with the stars which are of a different birth. It is interesting to note that Shelley is a revolutionary poet and revolutionaries are restless with the world around them and always longs for something better. The changing nature of the moon can be associated with the mindset of a revolutionary who longs to create a better world. The inability of the moon to find something worthy of being consistent is very much true of revolutionaries. The loneliness the moon feels may be connected with the loneliness romantic writers express in their poem. In addition to this, it is common in literature to compare woman with moon.