Lyric Poem · Nature

Variation of the Song of the Moon

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Reading room

1("PROMETHEUS UNBOUND", ACT 4.)

2As a violet's gentle eye

3Gazes on the azure sky

4Until its hue grows like what it beholds;

5As a gray and empty mist

6Lies like solid amethyst

7Over the western mountain it enfolds,

8When the sunset sleeps

9Upon its snow;

10As a strain of sweetest sound

11Wraps itself the wind around

12Until the voiceless wind be music too;

13As aught dark, vain, and dull,

14Basking in what is beautiful,

15Is full of light and love —

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“Variation of the Song of the Moon” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — quilloak.com/poems/variation-of-the-song-of-the-moon

Quick facts

Poem: Variation of the Song of the Moon
Poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Length: 15 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Winter, Love

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Shape: 15 lines · 2 stanzas of 1–14 lines

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Author record: Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822
Source record: PoetryDBVariation of the Song of the Moon by percy-bysshe-shelley, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 b6c9d847dff254b9…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Winter Love

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