Poem Analysis - This Lunar Beauty

Introduction: A Timeless, Untainted Ideal

W.H. Auden's "This Lunar Beauty" presents a serene and almost ethereal vision of beauty, detached from the complexities and sorrows of human experience. The poem unfolds as a meditation on a pristine, untouched form of beauty, symbolized by the moon. Its tone is contemplative and reverent, contrasting this idealized state with the inevitable changes and losses associated with time and love. The poem suggests that true, unadulterated beauty exists outside the realm of human emotions and temporal constraints.

Auden's Quest for an Uncorrupted Beauty

While direct historical context is less crucial for interpreting "This Lunar Beauty," Auden's broader artistic concerns offer insight. He often explored themes of societal decay and the loss of innocence. This poem, in a way, could be seen as a yearning for something pure and untouched by these corrupting influences. The lunar beauty becomes a symbol of an ideal world, offering respite from the complexities and disappointments of earthly existence. It is also useful to consider that Auden was a homosexual in a time when it was socially unacceptable, which could reflect in the poem’s detachment and almost platonic representation of beauty.

Themes of Timelessness, Love, and Loss

One of the central themes is timelessness, embodied in the image of the moon. The poem asserts that this "lunar beauty / Has no history / Is complete and early." This contrasts sharply with the second stanza's reference to time as "inches" and the "heart's changes," highlighting the fleeting and mutable nature of human experience. Love is also a crucial theme, but it is presented as a force that alters and corrupts beauty. "If beauty later / Bear any feature / It had a lover / And is another," implying that love inevitably leaves its mark, diminishing the original, pristine form. Finally, the poem touches on the theme of loss, as "daytime is / The loss of this," suggesting that the beauty exists only in a separate realm, distinct from the everyday world where loss and change are inevitable.

Symbolism of the Moon and the Ghost

The primary symbol is, of course, the moon. It represents a beauty that is detached, distant, and unchanging. The moon's ethereal glow symbolizes purity and a state of being untouched by human emotions or temporal constraints. The second significant symbol is the ghost, which represents the haunting presence of past experiences and unfulfilled desires. The poem explicitly states that the lunar beauty "was never / A ghost's endeavor / Nor finished this," implying that it is free from the burdens and sorrows of the past. The ghost's inability to affect this beauty reinforces the idea that it exists outside the realm of human suffering and longing.

An Enduring Aesthetic Ideal

"This Lunar Beauty" is a poignant exploration of an idealized form of beauty that transcends the limitations of time and human experience. Auden contrasts this pristine image with the inevitable changes and losses associated with love and earthly existence. The poem's enduring significance lies in its articulation of a yearning for something pure and untouched, a realm of beauty that offers solace from the complexities and imperfections of the human condition. It presents a vision of aesthetic perfection that remains both captivating and elusive.