About Walter De La Mare and the poem ‘Silver’
Walter De La Mare was a Twentieth Century English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is famous for writing in the fantasy and supernatural genres. As a result, many of his works are considered a part of children’s literature.
‘Silver’ is one of his poems which was published in 1922 in the form of a book titled the same. It is an imaginative narration wherein the poet romantically describes the impact of moonlight on the world during nighttime.
The poem ‘Silver’ by Walter De La Mare
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.
Summary of the poem ‘Silver’ by Walter De La Mare
The poem begins with the moon personified as someone who has just entered the world at night. Dusk has fallen, and the moon has just risen in the night sky.
The moonlight is pervading slowly and silently throughout the environment, and all the elements within, both living and non-living, reflect its silver rays when they come in contact with it so that they appear to be silver in color.
The trees and their fruits, and the casements of windows on the houses are the first objects to be illuminated as they are at a good height and therefore, nearest to the moon. As the silver radiance descends further below, it lights up even subtle parts like the paw of a dog asleep in its kennel and the feathers and breasts of doves resting in their dark cote.
Similarly, nocturnal creatures like the mouse are exposed in the process, as their claws and eyes shine silver. The fish, which are stationary, gleam in the moonlight and so do the stream and reeds among which they live. All of these animals and objects represent the silvery splendor of the moon at night.
Themes in the poem ‘Silver’ by Walter De La Mare
The Central theme:
The beauty of the Moonlight
The main theme of the poem ‘Silver’ is the significance of moonlight at night. The poem begins by introducing the moon into the world at night, and thereafter, the silver radiance brought about in nature by its glow is explained through various examples like fruits, trees, dogs, etc. The moonlight is a shoe through which the moon wanders and explores the world.
Moonlight is generally the only source of light after sunset. The whole world is dark and dull during this time, but after the moon rises, all the elements touched by its glow shine silver and because of this, it feels as if they have gained new value. Thus, the moonlight brings out the true beauty of ordinary things and hence articulates that even night can be beautiful.
Other themes :
Divinity, beauty and impartiality of nature, and significance of ordinary objects are the themes in the poem ‘Silver’.
Divine characteristics of the Moon
The first theme in the poem ‘Silver’ is the Divine characteristics of the moon. When touched by the moon’s aura, all the beings gain a silver sheen, which could be the poet’s idea of salvation. The ordinary, everyday objects are ignorant of the blessing that it has put upon them.
Beauty of nature
The next theme in the poem is Beauty of nature. Even at night, nature is resplendent with all the surroundings appearing silver due to the moon’s radiance. The natural light that it offers is far more effective than artificial light sources like lamps.
Nature being Impartial
The third theme in the poem is the Impartiality of nature. The moonlight silverizes all sorts of objects, from fruit-bearing trees to scampering mice, without any discrimination. The benefits of nature are for all beings to enjoy equally.
Significance of ordinary objects
The last theme in the poem is Significance of ordinary objects. The objects that are mentioned in the poem, like the animals dog and mouse, are those which are generally percieved as ordinary and unremarkable. But they are the ones that enigmatically represent the silver splendour of the moon. Even the smallest of items has it’s part to play in nature and therefore, must be valued.
Line by line interpretation of the poem ‘Silver’
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
The opening line of the poem ‘Silver’ introduces the main subject of discussion – the moon. Now indicates that night has fallen and the moon has just risen. The moon is personified as a female entity.
Her silver shoon means that the silver rays of moonlight are the shoes of the moon through which it walks or spreads its radiance throughout the world. This is not an immediate but a gradual process, which occurs without sound.
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
The moon peers across all directions through its moonlight, illuminating the dark world through its silver glow. Everything that was hidden until that moment becomes visible, so the moon can see them now.
The light first reaches the fruit and the trees that bear them since they are situated in a high place, and as they reflect the light they too appear silver to the moon. As moonlight is generally the only source of light during this time, all the illuminated objects appear to be intrinsically silver to the moon.
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
The silver enlightenment of moonlight is not limited to only natural elements; even man-made objects like the casements of windows attached to houses glow one by one as they come into contact with it, and so does the thatch or roof above them.
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
As the moonlight descends lower and lower onto the Earth, it silverizes more subtle objects like the paws of a dog. The dog is naturally asleep as it is night, unmoving in its kennel.
Because of its inactive state, it is compared to a log. The earthly beings, in their scheduled rest, are oblivious to the changes brought about on and around them by the moon.
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
Similarly, the doves, which are asleep in their cotes or man-made shelters are illuminated, and their feathers, which are already a striking white, glow brighter still.
The cote is small and dark, and the only evidence that it contains the birds are their white breasts, which are highly conspicuous because of the contrasting background.
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
Not all creatures are at rest; The nocturnal ones, like the mouse, are on the move and its claws and eyes reflect the silver flashes even though it enters the vicinity of the moonlight only for a brief moment. Even the most surreptitious creatures are exposed to the moon at night.
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.
The final lines of the poem ‘Silver’ state yet another example of the impact caused by the moon at night – fish. Moveless means they too are resting in the water, and gleam when the moonlight shines upon them. Not only that, the reeds and stream in which they live appear silver due to the same effect.
Thus, the meaning of the poem ‘Silver’ is that unknown to the inhabitants of Earth, the whole environment gains a silver sheen at night as the moon disseminates its radiance.
Analysis of the poem ‘Silver’
The poem ‘Silver’ is a Clare Sonnet, which means it consists of fourteen lines encased in a single stanza and follows a definite rhyme scheme of aabbccddeeffgg. Unlike the general traditional loop followed by Clare’s sonnets of strictly sticking to the Iambic Pentameter, Walter De La Mare has blended in a variety of meters in the poem.
The word ‘Silver’ is repeated ten times in the poem, which is the poet’s way of sticking to the main topic – the silverization of the world by the moon. It also justifies the title of the poem. All the objects listed are said to be already silver by the time the moon sees them, as if to justify that this phenomenon is a universal truth.
The poem ‘Silver’ has a soothing and appreciative tone. The poet has used the example of a single feature of the moon – its silver radiance – to describe the overall impact it has on the sleeping world at night.
The narrative style is simple but reflective. The speaker is the poet himself. He introduces the main subject – the moon in the opening lines of the poem. The moon is personified as a female entity. Perhaps the poet has chosen the female gender for the moon as it represents a caring mother who tends to all the elements of nature impartially.
The first three lines of the poem set the stage for the moon to be introduced. The moon is depicted as someone anonymous and yet appealing, as implied by the imagery of slowly, silently, and silver spoon. The moon, too, is seeing the objects reflected by its moonlight. Its discovery is an allusion to the night-time beauty that we are unaware of.
The rest of the poem lists objects that are evidence of the message that the poet is trying to give. The objects are very different from each other in terms of nature and situation, but all in all, none can escape the silvery effect of moonlight. Perhaps this is a hint that all earthly beings are ultimately inferior to the divine celestial God – the moon.
Each of the objects mentioned in the poem could be a representative of its whole kind, considering the fact they are substantially different from one another. For instance, the fruit-bearing tree could be a synecdoche for all the gifts of nature, windows for all man-made objects, and doves for all birds.
They are just examples used by the poet to convey the message that the whole environment goes through an enigmatic change when influenced by the moon. Also, the poet portrays the animals and the objects in the environment enjoying the presence of moonlight and it enhances and brings vibrancy to the environment.
Imagery is the main essence of this poem. The poet uses the imagery of common everyday objects such as fruits, trees, casements, dogs, doves, etc., and then contrasts it with an abstract, romantic phrase – silver. This serves the purpose of provoking the reader’s imagination as it is ethereal, yet something we can relate to.
Note that some objects mentioned in the poem are seconded by their respective placements. For example, fish and dogs are followed by stream and kennel respectively. This provides a better understanding of the situation and a global perspective that everything the moonlight touches is immediately silverized.
We can interpret that though the poem appreciates nature and divinity, it does not have any particular touch with reality or society. It could only be read with a recreational intention as it is characterized by imagination rather than experience. But the simple and cohesive flow of the poem is significant.
Poetic Devices
The literary devices used in the poem ‘ Silver ‘ are alliteration, personification, enjambment, simile, and metaphor.
Alliteration :
Many lines in the poem have repeated syllables, consonants, and words. They are :
1) Slowly, silently, 2) silver shoon 3) peers, and sees 4) Silver fruit upon silver trees 5) One by one the casements catch 6) beams beneath 7) With silver claws, and silver eye 8) By silver reeds in a silver stream
Personification :
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
Throughout the poem, the moon is personified as a female entity that is exploring the world at night.
Enjambment :
Some continuous lines in the poem are in fact the same sentence. They are:
1) Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon; 2) One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch; 3) Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog; 4) From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep; 5) A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye; 6) And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.
Simile :
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
Here, the dog is compared to a log, as it is asleep and hence unresponsive like an inananimate object.
Metaphor :
silver shoon – The silver light of the moon is termed as it’s shoes, as it is through it’s own glow that the moon explores the Earth.
