Book of Hours and Seasons
Book of Hours and Seasons - meaning Summary
Evening’s Quiet, Expectant Beauty
Goethe contrasts morning and evening scenes to evoke tender, reflective moods. The first section presents pale, waiting narcissi as symbols of pure, expectant affection. The second shifts to twilight, the evening star, and a misted lake where shadow and moonlight blur boundaries. Together the stanzas link external nature with inner feeling, portraying quiet transition, patient longing, and a calming, restorative end-of-day consolation.
Read Complete AnalysesI White as lilies, purest candles Like the stars, now gently bowing, Red-rimmed from their hearts’ centres Radiance of affection glowing. So the earliest Narcissi Flower in garden rows, and maybe In their goodness they know why And for whom they’re neatly waiting. II Twilight sinks down from above us, Swiftly all the near is far: But first shining high above us Radiant is the evening star! Everything is drifting vaguely, Mist steals upwards to the height: And the still lake mirrors darkly Black abysses of the night. Now in all the eastern distance I suspect moon’s gleam and glow, Slender willow’s trailing branches Dally with the neighbouring flow. Through the play of moving shadows Trembling lunar magic shines, And a soothing coolness follows, To the heart now, through the eyes.
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