The Harvest Moon
It is the Harvest Moon! On gilded vanes
And roofs of villages, on woodland crests
And their aerial neighborhoods of nests
Deserted, on the curtained window-panes
Of rooms where children sleep, on country lanes
And harvest-fields, its mystic splendor rests!
Gone are the birds that were our summer guests,
With the last sheaves return the laboring wains!
All things are symbols: the external shows
Of Nature have their image in the mind,
As flowers and fruits and falling of the leaves;
The song-birds leave us at the summer’s close,
Only the empty nests are left behind,
And pipings of the quail among the sheaves.
Summary of the Poem The Harvest Moon
- Popularity of “The Harvest Moon”: Written back in 1875, this beautiful poem “The Harvest Moon” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is a sonnet. It first appeared in his collection, Masque of Pandora and Other Poems. The poem presents the departure of summer and the appearance of the harvest moon to show that all-natural externalities symbolize the departure of summer and the harvest season. Herein lies the main reason for the popularity of the sonnet.
- “The Harvest Moon” As a Representative of the Harvest Season: The sonnet presents the speaker who abruptly declares that “It is the Harvest Moon” with a deep exclamation. He seconds this statement with proof that it has appeared on the same traditional things that range from wind vanes to roofs of houses, woodland crests to nests, and even window panes. He highlights each feature of these things, such as the windows having blinds and the children sleeping. In all these scenes, the moon’s splendor is mystic which makes a difference.
The speaker moves to the impact saying that as it has appeared, it has symbolized that now the summer has started to disappear. Therefore, birds have gone, and wains have returned to take sheaves away. The speaker, declares that all these are just symbols. These are externalities of nature that have their equal image in mind. It is because even the birds leave their nests and move away when the autumn is to set as the harvest moon has appeared. - Major Themes in “The Harvest Moon”: Seasonal transformation, departure of the moon, harvest moon, and the beauties of nature are major themes of this sonnet. The poet has presented almost all the natural happenings, scenes, and things to highlight how nature’s externalities make things move forward and show their true colors. Behind these externalities lies the fact that seasonal transformation having different titles. The harvest moon is the final appearance of the moon in the summer when it is going to leave the scene. How seasons change and how things change show the beauties of nature in different seasons. This also shows that the harvest moon is just one aspect of these seasonal changes. There are many other facts of this “mystic splendor.”
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Harvest Moon
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow uses various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices have been analyzed below.
- Anaphora: It is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is repeated in the beginning of the verses. The poem shows the use of “And” as an anaphora.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ and /o/ in “And roofs of villages, on woodland crests” and the sound of /o/ in “Deserted, on the curtained window-panes.”
- Caesura: It means to give a metrical pause to a verse with parallel phrases or clauses. The poem shows the use of a caesura such as in “As roofs of villages, on woodland crests rests.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /m/ in “Of Nature have their image in the mind” and the sound of /l/ and /f/ in “As flowers and fruits and falling of the leaves.”
- Enjambment: enjambment is incomplete syntax at the end of a line; the meaning ‘runs over’ or ‘steps over’ from one poetic line to the next, without punctuation.
With the last sheaves return the laboring wains!
All things are symbols: the external shows
Of Nature have their image in the mind,
As flowers and fruits and falling of the leaves;
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used imagery in this poem, such as “And roofs of villages, on woodland crests”, “Gone are the birds that were our summer guests” and “ As flowers and fruits and falling of the leaves.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet used the metaphor of guests for birds to their migratory nature and transient stay.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as vans, wains, window panes, nests, and children, to show the beauties of nature.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Harvest Moon
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows very good use of formal and poetic diction.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow has used end rhyme in this poem, such as vanes/lanes/panes and crests/nests.
- Rhyme Scheme: The sonnet follows ABBAABBA in its octave and CDECDE in its sestet.
- Octave and Sestet: A sonnet has two parts. The first part comprising eight verses is called octave and the second having six verses, is called a sestet. The rhyme scheme shows both parts.
- Sonnet: It has a fourteen-lines poem. This poem is a sonnet.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a didactic, natural, and loving tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote about the departure of the summer.
As flowers and fruits and falling of the leaves;
The song-birds leave us at the summer’s close,
Only the empty nests are left behind,
And pipings of the quail among the sheaves.