We see the moon every day. But if it could talk, it’d tell stories longer than humans. The moon has been mysterious since the beginning of time. The moon’s beauty captures our attention with its bright light and different phases. Robert Hayden’s Full Moon (not only the poem), but also the stanzas, rhyme schemes, and their mode make it a unique piece of literature. Hayden’s rhyme structure is fascinating because it doesn’t have one. This poem is free verse. It has non-metrical, non-rhyming lines that closely follow a natural rhythm. Although most lines are free verses do not naturally rhyme, poets often don’t use a metrical scheme in their poems. Hayden’s lines have 3 lines. “The emphatic lunar rises-a brilliant challenger for rocket experts, and the white hope of communication men. ” (4-6). The three lines that make up the stanzas have different lengths with no meter and each other. Writing poetry is only as good as its structure. Without it, it’s only a fragment.
Full Moon, a poem that lacks structure, is very interesting. Hayden follows the English standards for punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and capitalization in his stanzas. His capitalization style is not what you would usually read. Hayden’s capitalization can be used in an unpredicted or mandatory way. The Standards of English require that Hayden capitalizes both the nouns and sentences’ first words. The rule of thumb when writing is not to use conjunctions such as ‘And’ or ‘But’. However, this rule has been broken by many writers and play-wrights throughout history. It feels natural and almost conversational. “And was burned in the Garden of Gethsemane.” (13) and “And spread its radiant light along the exile’s paths” (16). Hayden capitalizes nonfictional and fictional characters like Mother Goose. Although he also refers to Jesus as His holiness, he only capitalizes his to indicate possession. “And spread their radiance along the exile’s pathsof Him Who was The GloriousOne. Its light made holy and holy by His Holiness. ” (16-18). Each stanza has three lines of between 15 and 20 words. Hayden’s seven and twenty-one lines consist of just three lines each. The content is compact and can fit onto a single page. The poem’s form is narrative. Hayden’s narrative explains that humanity, like those before it, has become less interested in the moon as time goes by. He says that warring nations have become more commonplace, and that the goal of a full moon dominating the darkness is now mooted. “(19-21).And maybe, someday, full moon will be an operational base that can be militarized. It could become an “arms base.” “No longer a throne of goddess to whom we prey,” (1) After gazing at the moon, many people would dream about it. Farmers believed the moonlight would tell them when to plant and harvest crops. This line establishes the tone of the poem. It’s a quiet and solemn poem. Hayden recounts the history of the moon, and also retells historical events. Hayden’s poem centers on the idea that the moon is older than time, starting with Christ’s death and ending with the NASA moon landing of 1960s. The moon used to be a goddess looking over the night sky. It was believed to have been a source of hope and inspiration for many. “The emphatic, bright moon rises-a brilliant challenger for rocket experts and the white hope to communications men. It spread its light on the path of exile. ” (1,4-6,16-18)
His poem contains references to historical figures, poetic works, and religious figures. The Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes are mentioned in the second- and third lines. There are other allusions to historical figures, such as the NASA Apollo team that made the first lunar landing. Not only does it refer to us but also the NASA Apollo team. Every day we have an impact on history. It is important that our children can see the past so they can benefit from it in the future. We leave little traces of the past so we can share them with our children. “Some people that I love are dead were always watching the moon. They trimmed their hair and planted seeds. It shines tonight on their graves. ” (7-12) Yeshua, aka Jesus Christ, is the other historical figure he refers too. The poem’s tone is casual and the style has simple vocabulary. Hayden’s language use and free verse flow make “Full Moon” an informal poem. It is unlike any formal poetry. Hayden doesn’t adhere to the formal rhyme stanza rules.
The poem’s theme is the place the moon has played in human history and the changes that have occurred to its meaning over time. Hayden noted that the moon was often seen as mythical. Therefore, line 1 reads, “No longer the throne a goddess to who we pray. (1) And the moon will be there long after we’ve gone. I believe the overall meaning is that there will always be something significant in the sky until the end. Although I could have come up with many interpretations of the poem, this was my favorite.
