Genre
Romantic poetry
Setting and Context
This poem is set in nature, describing everything from mountains to the ocean.
Narrator and Point of View
This poem has a first-person speaker who is trying to secure the affections of a woman he loves.
Tone and Mood
The tone of this poem is romantic and playful.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The speaker is the protagonist, and his lover's disdain is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the poem is the fact the speaker's lover does not share his affections.
Climax
The climax of the poem is the speaker's question at the end.
Foreshadowing
The first line of the poem gives a hint about what this poem's argument will be.
Understatement
The speaker understates how hard it is to win someone's affections, and believes that he can convince her by saying that everything in nature has a companion.
Allusions
Shelley alludes to the biblical story of Noah's Ark by suggesting that everything in nature is paired.
Imagery
The poem is full of nature imagery, which is used to suggest that everything in nature has a companion.
Paradox
The speaker of the poem suggests that his companionship with the unknown woman is natural, he also suggests that she does not like him back. As a result, it surely cannot be natural.
Parallelism
Shelley parallels the sun shining on the earth during the day, with the moonbeams shining on the ocean at night.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Shelley personifies various aspects of nature as being lovers. For example, he writes that the "moonbeams kiss the sea."
