Love, in this summer night, do you recall
Midnight, and Venice, and those skies of June
Thick-sown with stars, when from the still lagoon
We glided noiseless through the dim canal?
A sense of some belated festival
Hung round us, and our own hearts beat in tune
With passionate memories that the young moon
Lit up on dome and tower and palace wall.
We dreamed what ghosts of vanished loves made part
Of that sweet light and trembling, amorous air.
I felt in those rich beams that kissed your hair,
Those breezes, warm with bygone lovers' sighs-
All the dead beauty of Venice in your eyes,
All the old loves of Venice in my heart.
This poem is about two lovers spending a night in Venice, Italy. It is a love poem describing what they did during one summers night. It explains them going on a boat ride through a quiet canal while star gazing. It explains the dome in Venice, the tower, and the palace. The two people in this poem are very much in love, as the poet describes their hearts being "in tune". This is a very romantic poem, and I will most likely use it for a fall month in the calendar.
The rhyme scheme is ABBCCBBADEEFFD. There is personification in line 10, stating that the air was “trembling”, and in line 11, saying the beams “kissed your hair”. There is a lot of imagery in this poem, appealing to my senses of sight, and touch. The poet describes well the stars and skies, and the breeze. There is also a lot of reference to death in this poem, “ghosts of vanished loves made part”, “dead beauty”.
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I like this poem Steph! I found something to add that you might not have picked up on, but it seems as though when the other is talking about "a sense of some belated festival", it reminded me of the Carnival that they have in Venice where people dress up and everything. Maybe the two lovers met the night before (passionate memories that the young moon)and are enjoying the next day together. I could be completely wrong though.
ReplyDeleteJe l'aime!
ReplyDeleteI like how the poem starts with Love, because not only is the writer addressing his love, but the poem itself is basically about love. So Hay could be talking to a person or love as a living thing itself.
Also, I noticed somewhat of a rhyme scheme, something like abba abba cddefc. Don't know if that's a form, but it was definitely deliberate.
Loved the poem choice =)
Maybe use it in June because it mentions the month June, just a suggestion :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I really like this poem choice. It reminds me of when I went to Venice! You can really get a sense of the emotions that are present in Venice, even if you don't feel them yourself. His description of how he feels there is a belated festival, and then the air filled with love really makes the air seem almost heavy with emotion. This could be trying to connect how the air is humid and heavy in the summer, but instead of it just being heat, it is the heat of passion and love! Anyways, I like that you chose this one and good job deconstructing it!
Really nice poem Steph! I love the way the author describes the scene; it takes no effort see see exactly what they had in mind.
ReplyDeleteAnd Nic: too much AC2 :D