Under the Balcony
Under the Balcony - meaning Summary
Luring Nature to Guide Love
This short lyric addresses elements of nature—star, moon, ship, bird, blossom—as if petitioning them to light, carry, sing to, and crown a beloved. Each stanza enacts a protective or beautifying plea: guide her path, bring her safely, rouse her, and adorn her. The poem presents love as fragile and idealized, framed by pastoral and maritime imagery that transforms the natural world into an obedient witness and servant of affection.
Read Complete AnalysesO beautiful star with the crimson mouth! O moon with the brows of gold! Rise up, rise up, from the odorous south! And light for my love her way, Lest her little feet should stray On the windy hill and the wold! O beautiful star with the crimson mouth! O moon with the brows of gold! O ship that shakes on the desolate sea! O ship with the wet, white sail! Put in, put in, to the port to me! For my love and I would go To the land where the daffodils blow In the heart of a violet dale! O ship that shakes on the desolate sea! O ship with the wet, white sail! O rapturous bird with the low, sweet note! O bird that sits on the spray! Sing on, sing on, from your soft brown throat! And my love in her little bed Will listen, and lift her head From the pillow, and come my way! O rapturous bird with the low, sweet note! O bird that sits on the spray! O blossom that hangs in the tremulous air! O blossom with lips of snow! Come down, come down, for my love to wear! You will die on her head in a crown, You will die in a fold of her gown, To her little light heart you will go! O blossom that hangs in the tremulous air! O blossom with lips of snow!
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