# Endymion explained — Poetry > Chapter companion for Poetry by Oscar Wilde. ## What happens A pastoral lyric in which a shepherdess anxiously awaits the return of her lover, Endymion, as night falls in Arcady. She calls upon the moon to act as a sentinel, describing Endymion's distinctive purple shoon, hazel crook, and brown hair. As the moon rises and later wanes without bringing him back, her hope turns to despair and jealousy, accusing the moon of keeping Endymion for itself. ## Themes in this chapter ### Love and Loss The speaker's anxious waiting and eventual despair over Endymion's absence, culminating in jealousy toward the moon. ### Nature and the Seasons Rich pastoral imagery of apple trees, birds, sheep, fauns, daffodils, and the moon, reflecting the passage from day to night and the cycle of hope and disappointment. ## Character check-ins ### Endymion The absent shepherd lover, described with purple shoon, hazel crook, brown curly hair, and a goat-skin wrapped about his arm. ### Love The speaker's deep affection and longing for Endymion, personified as a waiting lover. ## Key lines > The apple trees are hung with gold, And birds are loud in Arcady, The sheep lie bleating in the fold, The wild goat runs across the wold, But yesterday his love he told, I know he will come back to me. The orchard is full of golden apples, birds sing throughout Arcady, sheep bleat in their pen, and a wild goat roams the open land. Just yesterday he confessed his love, so I am certain he will return to me. _The speaker expresses confident hope based on Endymion's recent declaration of love._ > O rising moon! O Lady moon! Be you my lover’s sentinel, You cannot choose but know him well, For he is shod with purple shoon, You cannot choose but know my love, For he a shepherd’s crook doth bear, And he is soft as any dove, And brown and curly is his hair. O moon rising in the sky, please watch over my lover. You must recognize him because he wears purple shoes, carries a shepherd's crook, is gentle as a dove, and has brown curly hair. _The speaker implores the moon to act as a guardian for Endymion, describing his distinctive appearance._ > False moon! False moon! O waning moon! Where is my own true lover gone, Where are the lips vermilion, The shepherd’s crook, the purple shoon? Why spread that silver pavilion, Why wear that veil of drifting mist? Ah! thou hast young Endymion, Thou hast the lips that should be kissed! Deceitful moon, now fading away, where has my true love gone? Where are his red lips, his crook, his purple shoes? Why do you spread your silver canopy and wear a misty veil? Ah, you have taken young Endymion, you have the lips that should be kissed by me! _The speaker's hope turns to bitter accusation, believing the moon has stolen Endymion for itself._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/endymion - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters