"Silver" was written by the English author Walter de la Mare and published in his 1913 book of children's poems, Peacock Pie. The poem personifies the moon as a female presence who walks through the night, bathing objects and creatures in her beautiful "silver" glow. As she transforms the landscape, the world seems to draw to a standstill: a dog sleeps in its kennel, "moveless fish" rest in a stream, and so on. The poem thus testifies to the enchanting power of nature and nighttime.
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The Full Text of “Silver”
1Slowly, silently, now the moon
2Walks the night in her silver shoon;
3This way, and that, she peers, and sees
4Silver fruit upon silver trees;
5One by one the casements catch
6Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
7Couched in his kennel, like a log,
8With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
9From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
10Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
11A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
12With silver claws and a silver eye;
13And moveless fish in the water gleam,
14By silver reeds in a silver stream.
The Full Text of “Silver”
1Slowly, silently, now the moon
2Walks the night in her silver shoon;
3This way, and that, she peers, and sees
4Silver fruit upon silver trees;
5One by one the casements catch
6Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
7Couched in his kennel, like a log,
8With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
9From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
10Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
11A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
12With silver claws and a silver eye;
13And moveless fish in the water gleam,
14By silver reeds in a silver stream.
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“Silver” Summary
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“Silver” Themes
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The Transformative Beauty of Nature
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Silver”
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Lines 1-4
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees; -
Lines 5-6
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch; -
Lines 7-10
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep; -
Lines 11-14
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws and a silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.
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“Silver” Symbols
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Doves
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“Silver” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Caesura
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Enjambment
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Personification
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Diacope
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Sibilance
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Simile
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“Silver” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Shoon
- Casements
- Thatch
- Couched
- Cote
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Silver”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Silver” Speaker
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“Silver” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Silver”
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More “Silver” Resources
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External Resources
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Peacock Pie — The full text of the 1913 collection in which "Silver" appeared.
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The Poem Out Loud — Listen to "Silver" read out loud.
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More Poems and a Biography — A Poetry Foundation feature on the poet's life and work.
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Anthony Hecht on Walter de la Mare — A short overview of de la Mare's life and work, by American poet Anthony Hecht.
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More on the Georgians — An overview of the loose group of poets, including de la Mare, who were known as the Georgians.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Walter De La Mare
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