Look Down Fair Moon Analysis

"Look Down Fair Moon" is a very peaceful poem in my mind about Walt Whitman asking the moon to bathe the earth with its beautiful light. The poem reads, "LOOK down fair moon and bathe this scene,/ Pour softly down night's nimbus floods on faces ghastly, swollen, purple,/ On the dead on their backs with arms toss'd wide,/ Pour down your unstinted nimbus sacred moon" (Whitman). We can take this poem in a literal meaning. Whitman is telling the fair moon to look down upon this scene, maybe the earth. He tells it to softly lighten the ghastly, swollen, and purple face with the moon's light aura. He then tells the moon to pour down its unrestrainted, shadowy light on the dead of people's backs with their arms open wide. From this literal meaning it does sound kind of creepy yes. But we can think of Whitman asking the moon just to light up the world even in the night when it is dark. He wants the world to be lit so people do not have to hide. When we think of the poem in this way, it really is quite beautiful and to me it is very peaceful. We can also think of "Look Down Fair Moon" as seen from a Christianity or spiritual stand point. We could say that the moon represents God or religion. Whitman is telling God to see the world as it is and send down "nimbus floods" into ugly faces. One definition of nimbus is "a luminous cloud or a halo surrounding a supernatural being or a saint" (Dictionary.com). So these nimbus floods could be Jesus since he is God's son and he was sent down to save the people of this planet. He says he wants God to hit them in the dead of their back and the people will have their arms open wide ready to great this God. Then he wants God to give no restraint in sending down this "nimbus sacred moon" (Whitman). This is where we really see Whitman's spirituality come out and show itself. He wants God to come to earth and let his presence be known. There is evil on the planet and "face ghastly, swollen, purple" (Whitman), or ugly faces. Evil faces. He wants Jesus to come and save the people. We can I suppose also look at "Look Down Fair Moon" from Walt Whitman's Everyman concept as well. Whitman's Everyman concept basically says that everyone is the same, and collectively people are God. So that makes him, me, you all God. That is what his everyman concept is in a nut shell. So when we look at this poem form Whitman's Everyman concept, then we could say the moon represents people's nature. He is calling for people to come out of their evil ways and opening up their inner God. He wants people to embrace their inner God and for these people to rain down their sacred human nature. If all people would do this, then we would see a better world and a more peaceful one. Overall I really thought this poem was just a good one all the way around and I really enjoyed the meaning of making the world a better place.



Dictionary.com | Free Online Dictionary for English Definitions. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. .

Whitman, Walt. "Look Down Fair Moon." The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. .