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lilymj's review
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
livvanii's review
5.0
from this point on, the silence through which you move
is my voice perusing you.
is my voice perusing you.
klbrida's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
charlottereads56's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Louise Glück intrigues readers in ‘Moonless Night’ with the mystery she presents of a Lady weeping ‘at a dark window.’ The opening line of this poem introduces us to the mystery of this lady, and we are left wondering who she is, where she is and why is she weeping. Glück uses an end-stopped line and combined with this opening the narrative It emphasises the importance of this striking image. It feels reminiscent of something from a thriller scene in a story. The motif of darkness begins in the title, ‘Moonless Night’ indicating little natural light and creating an eerie mood that permeates this poem as the reader is left questioning what this situation is but also what type of poem this is.
Glück introduces the speaker’s perspective where she clarifies that the Lady is ‘next door’ to her and playing the clarinet. These are some of the few specific descriptions in this poem and everything else we can only infer from Glücks ambiguous language to describe the situation this lady is in. She is having ‘a good night’ tonight which infers that not every night is a good night. Whilst this could be a trivial statement about the music the rest of the anthology makes me infer this is not the case and instead the speaker is referring to a relationship as this seems to be the recurring theme throughout Meadowlands. This poem is striking and different, to many poems in the anthology, because there are no references to greek mythology or any explicit I reference to a relationship.
Glück places punctuation purposefully to create pauses. There is a frequent use of end stop lines throughout which indicates the speaker is cutting themselves off before they reveal too much information. This is seen in the first stanza where the information provided is to the point with few details for example ‘the clarinet is in tune.’ There are a few times throughout this short poem where she uses enjambement and it seems to be in response to interference and false assumptions about things. The third stanza is made up entirely of enjambement and it seems here the speaker cannot contain themselves at this point as they query whether ‘waiting forever [is] always the answer’ and reply to their own question saying the answer is ‘nothing’ and ‘depends on the story.’ The answer here is oblique and does not directly refer to the narrative of the Lady. This could urge readers to not query what is going on in this narrative and look it from a more personal perspective as the ambiguity of it means it can apply to all situations. Glück might be criticising the nosiness of those who make presumptions without knowing the entire situation. The motif of light in this poem applies to this message too since whilst the lights spotlight certain situations, they also conceal things too. The ‘streetlights’ or the ‘lights’ in the next-door house do not provide a full account of this Ladies situation, it ‘could be anything.’ At the end of the poem the reader knows no more about the lady than they did from the first stanza.
The final line in the poem introduces a new theme of travel, movement, and transition. The light that has been controlling the perception of the reader is ‘becoming a bus station’ and the personification of the light here bookends this poem and introduces a new journey. The light was also personified in the first stanza as it was ‘practicing klezmer music’ and the light has been a metaphor for this lady throughout the poem. A ‘bus station’ is a hub for travel and in some senses, it is answering the question of ‘is waiting forever always the answer?’ In this case it is not, she is leaving her story and trying something new.
The free verse structure is something that is successful in this scenario because it allows Glück to experiment with different meters through her use of enjambement, caesura and end-stopped lines to correlate with the mystery of her narrative where there are many details left concealed. But her message is loud and clear through the enjambement; ‘the answer [to every question] depends on the story.’ She does not regularly implement rhyme, although there is an introduction of rhyme in the last stanza where she rhymes ‘especially’ with ‘anything’ and ‘ending’ with ‘fading.’ Both the rhyme and narrative have shifted into a new pattern toward the end adding to the theme of movement and change.
senminaya's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sageyywageyy's review
reflective
2.75
‘Those with the smallest hearts have the greatest freedom.’
Poems I liked: Cana, Parable of the Dove, Circe’s Torment, Penelope’s Stubbornness & Purple Bathing Suit.
Not a huge fan of this collection - some poems felt out of place and juvenile compared to her other work.
Poems I liked: Cana, Parable of the Dove, Circe’s Torment, Penelope’s Stubbornness & Purple Bathing Suit.
Not a huge fan of this collection - some poems felt out of place and juvenile compared to her other work.
sydkilgore's review against another edition
5.0
Circe’s poems are some of my favorites. “I refuse you such feeling as your wife will let you rest with her, I refuse you sleep again if I cannot have you.” “You took me to a place where I could see the evil in my character and left me there.”
“Parable of the Trellis” is another great one, and “Rainy Morning.”
Some misc. favorite lines:
“Look at John, out in the world,
running even in a miserable day
like today. Your
staying dry is like the cat’s pathetic
preference for hunting dead birds: completely
consistent with your tame spiritual themes,
autumn, loss, darkness, etc.
We can all write about suffering
with our eyes closed. You should show people
more of yourself; show them your clandestine
passion for red meat.” (Rainy Morning)
and of course,
“We look at the world once, in childhood.
The rest is memory.” (Nostos)
that one will be rattling around in my head for a long time.
“Parable of the Trellis” is another great one, and “Rainy Morning.”
Some misc. favorite lines:
“Look at John, out in the world,
running even in a miserable day
like today. Your
staying dry is like the cat’s pathetic
preference for hunting dead birds: completely
consistent with your tame spiritual themes,
autumn, loss, darkness, etc.
We can all write about suffering
with our eyes closed. You should show people
more of yourself; show them your clandestine
passion for red meat.” (Rainy Morning)
and of course,
“We look at the world once, in childhood.
The rest is memory.” (Nostos)
that one will be rattling around in my head for a long time.
kokie's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75