Essays · Chapter
Night and Moonlight explained
Thoreau reflects on the beauty and spiritual significance of night and moonlight, advocating for nocturnal walks to explore a different side of nature.
What happens
Thoreau reflects on the beauty and spiritual significance of night and moonlight, advocating for nocturnal walks to explore a different side of nature. He contrasts the civil yet savage quality of moonlight with the garishness of day, drawing on literary and philosophical references to argue that night offers a unique opportunity for contemplation, poetic insight, and a deeper connection with the cosmos.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and Simplicity
Thoreau celebrates the restorative power of night and moonlight, urging a return to nature for spiritual and intellectual enrichment.
The Role of the Poet and Writer
Thoreau positions himself as a benefactor who conquers realms from the night and adds to the domains of poetry, emphasizing the poet's role in revealing hidden beauty.
Characters to notice
- Henry David Thoreau
The narrator and central figure, who resolves to take more moonlight walks and explore the 'Central Africa of the night.'
- Richter
Quoted on the purpose of night as a veil to help apprehend higher harmonies of thought.
- Ossian
Quoted in an address to the Sun, asking about the dwelling of darkness and the stars.
- Pliny
Mentioned for his description of the Selenites stone, which increases and decreases with the moon.
- Sir Walter Raleigh
Quoted on the stars being instruments of greater use than giving obscure light.
- Coleridge
Referenced in a critique by Dr. Chalmers regarding ideas that are not easily seen all around.
Key passages
“Night is certainly more novel and less profane than day.”
The night offers a fresher and more sacred experience compared to the ordinary and worldly day.
Thoreau asserts the unique value of nighttime for discovery and purity.
“I shall be a benefactor if I conquer some realms from the night, if I report to the gazettes anything transpiring about us at that season worthy of their attention—if I can show men that there is some beauty awake while they are asleep—if I add to the domains of poetry.”
Thoreau sees himself as a contributor to human knowledge and art by revealing the beauty and events of the night that most people miss while sleeping.
This reflects his mission as a writer and observer of nature.
“The poet who walks by moonlight is conscious of a tide in his thought which is to be referred to lunar influence.”
A poet walking under the moon feels a rhythmic flow of ideas that seems connected to the moon's gravitational pull.
Thoreau links lunar influence to creative inspiration.