Symbolism and Allegory in "Sun and Moon"

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The poem, "Sun and Moon," written by Jay Macpherson (b. 1931) is an excellent example of a great poem that its idea is expressed by the author using symbolism and allegory. The true meaning the author tried to get across to his audience was that a man and a woman or a brother and sister that are in love, can only be together when the time is just right.

Characters that are in this poem, although they may not be very dynamic are very important to the theme. The two main, physical characters in this poem are the "sun," a.k.a. the man and the "moon," a.k.a. the woman. These two characters are the focus of all the symbolism used in this poem. Such symbols used are, "He suffers gnawing fires: She in her frost," suggesting fires like the sun and frost like the moon. The other character in this poem is the speaker. The speaker narrates the story from a third person point of view and also sets the tone and mood of the poem. Based on the overall tone of this poem, it appears that the speaker is generally upset about the separation of the "sun and moon" or the man and woman and feels it is a good thing when they are rejoined.

This poem is defined as allegory because of the dual meanings it presents. Even though there is meaning to the actual written words that the sun and moon are a pair that is kept apart by certain forces, that is not the meaning that Macpherson tried to convey. What he really meant was the pair in love can only be together at the perfect time. Macpherson conveys this message by using symbolism. He symbolizes a man and a woman or a brother and sister with the relation of the sun and moon. He also expresses the separation of the man and woman with the separation of the sun and moon by the earth's rotation. Macpherson explains in not so many words that the two in love can only meet when everything is perfect. Using the dual meaning of the sun and moon he shows the joining of the two in love at the perfect time by the alignment of the poles. By this, Macpherson means that the sun and moon only meet when the magnetic poles of the earth line up to form an eclipse.

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