Poets of the Moon.

     As the last of the pink and orange rays of the sun slip below the distant horizon the moon sneaks gently into the purple sky bidding the sun farewell and welcoming in the night stars.  Nighttime is exciting, nocturnal creatures rise from their slumber (my friends and I included), the day winds down as the moon lights the way for what lies ahead in the night.  The moon is symbolic from the change of day to night, even more symbolic is the harvest moon.  Not only does the harvest moon symbolize the change from night to day, but also the change from summer to fall.  With one object holding so much significance it is a clear choice for the subject of poetry.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's sonnet, "The Harvest Moon", excitingly describes the harvest moon similarly to, Samuel Taylor Coleridge's sonnet, "To the Autumnal Moon".

     Both Coleridge and Longfellow choose to write poetry about the autumn moon in the form of a sonnet. The structure of the sonnet goes back to the middle ages, I think the authors of these poems chose to format their poems as a sonnet to symbolize that the moon is also something that has been around for as long as anyone can remember.  Coleridge and Longfellow also both express a similar excitement about the autumn moon.  In Longfellow's, "Harvest Moon", he states, "It is the harvest moon!" and "Its mystic splendor rests!"  Longfellow's use of exclamation point all throughout the sonnet exemplifies his clear excitement.  Coleridge's poem uses punctuation in the same manner to express the same feel of excitement, "Mild splendor of the various-vested night!  Mother of wildly-working visions! Hail!"  These poets are excited about the changes that are reflected in the autumn moon.