Lunar Eclipse

I found a few more poems of lunar eclipses:

The mortal moon hath her eclipse endured
And the sad augurs mock their own presage;
Incertainties now crown themselves assured
And peace proclaims olives of endless age.

William Shakespeare Sonnet 107 CVII. (Mid-1590s)

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Methinks it should be now a huge eclipse
Of sun and moon, and that the affrighted globe
Should yawn at alteration."

William Shakespeare Othello, The Moor of Venice Act 5, Scene 2. (1604)

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"Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron."

William Shakespeare Macbeth Act 4, Scene 1. (1606)

Percy Bysshe Shelley
The Revolt of Islam -- written in 1817

Canto First - VI

I could not choose but gaze; a fascination
Dwelt in that moon, and sky, and clouds, which drew
My fancy thither, and in expectation
Of what I knew not, I remained. The hue
Of the white moon, amid that heaven so blue
Suddenly stained with shadow did appear;
A speck, a cloud, a shape, approaching grew,
Like a great ship in the sun's sinking sphere
Beheld afar at sea, and swift it came anear.

Well, this is not a poem about eclipses (they are hard to find) but still, I like it and it is about a full moon. I think the moon must be full to be eclipsed.

Sonnet
Edna St. Vincent Millay

Enormous moon, that rise behind these hills
Heavy and yellow in a sky unstarred
And pale, your girth by purple fillets barred
Of driftng cloud, that as the cool sky fills
WIth planets and the brighter stars, distills
To thinnest vapour and floats valley-ward, --
You flood with radiance all this cluttered yard,
The sagging fence, the chipping window sills!

Grateful at heart as if for my delight
You rose, I watch you through a mist of tears,
Thinking how man, who gags upon despair,
Salting his hunger with the sweat of fright
Has fed on cold indifference all these years,
Praying God to make him worthy of such care.

Wow, Satt. Thanks, such a great graphical explanation. From just a bit after 8 until just after 9, my time. Oh, I hope to see some of it.

I have "bet" on finding a view of the eclipse from my own home instead of driving over the mountains to my sister's house. Her weather report wasn't much better and the drive takes hours.

Do you know the poem about an eclipse that was written in ancient Chinese? I found references to it, but couldn't find the poem itself.

In the Shih ching ("Shi Jing" or sometimes "She King"), one can find a famous verse "Shi Yue Zhi Jiao (At the Conjunction in the Tenth Month)" which refers to a solar eclipse. But I could not find one referring to a lunar eclipse.

"Shi Yue Zhi Jiao" is very famous in calendrical considerations, which I am interested in. It referes to the date of the solar eclipse, along with political situations of the time, which contributes to determine the exact date of the occurence (Aug. 29, 775 BCE) of the specified political affair.

A part of it is like this (trans. by James Legge):

At the conjunction in the tenth month,
On the first day of the moon, which was sin-maou,
The sun was eclipsed,
A thing of very evil omen.
Then the moon became small,
And now the sun became small,
Henceforth the lower people
Will be in a very deplorable case.
..

(The original is a tightly rhymed verse.)

Thanks, Satt. I KNEW you'd have this at your fingertips! I guess I'm not surprised it is about a solar eclipse rather than a lunar one.

It does sound ominous. Having seen a total solar eclipse, I can understand and felt it myself, a little of the dread of seeing the world go seemingly topsy-turvy. I wonder what happened to the royal astronomers? Are they the "lower people"? To have a solar eclipse happen with no warning -- it would frighten anyone. At least they don't last long.

It was ominous for ancient people.
(But note: If one thinks it ominous then it could be actually ominous for the person.)

About "lower people": In the archaic times the king was probably living on a hill, and hence ordinary people simply were "lower people."

Have you ever seen a total solar eclipse? It is awesome, I think. I'd like to experience it again. Besides the ominous factor, afterwards, when it begins to lighten and the birds start singing again, it was like a rebirth. And certainly a relief that the sun did return. (There must always be a moment of doubt!) But afterwards, it is a time for rejoicing... very nice.

I'd think that having a moon appear red, blood red, might also be very ominous.

But of course, we have cloudy skies tonight......

I have not seen a total solar eclipse, but have seen a lunar eclipse.
It is not like "blood red" but quiet dark brown.
The moon is usually pale, and looks reddish at the time of an eclipse by contrast.

I hope some day, Satt, that you get to see a solar eclipse. You will love it! The reason I want to see one again is I remember how it got dark slowly and then stayed so dark that we could see stars... and then how we had a new dawn (which is my favorite time of day). I loved hearing the birds settle down for the virtual night and then wake again. But what I really want to check on is this: I could have sworn there was a wind come up when it got dark. I wonder if it was from the cooling of the ground, or whether it was just a wind that would have been there anyway. Or, maybe it was the blood rushing in my ears because it was so amazing and there wasn't really a wind. I have been very curious about it and want to experience it again.

Anyway, tonight I am so pleased... I bet correctly. The skies are mostly clear (despite the weather reports) and I just have a few more minutes to wait. I'm sorry Rae that it is cloudy where you are, but... you have some time, maybe it will clear a little. Keep watching.

Oh, it's now?! Very clear outside... gotta go look.

OH HOW COOL!! I'm looking at it right now. Almost complete.

I tried but no luck - take a peek

Husker, it's beautiful, whatever it is!

I watched the eclipse from a parking lot at work with someone I am growing very fond of. It wasn't my night to work but I had dropped by the office briefly.

I had forgotten about the eclipse but realized it was happening as I was going to my car. As I was standing there my friend came up behind me. Fortuitously it was very quiet and her pager didn't go off for about ninety minutes. Both of us were shivering but neither wanted to leave. we talked and talked and shivered and watched the moon and now, all of a sudden, I think I DO have a chance with her.

Thank you mister moon.

Hi Husker... it was an eclipse of the moon, so taking a photo of the sunset, even a beautiful one, is facing the opposite direction. Nice shot, though!

Here we had nearly clear skies but I was still unable to see the moon in full eclipse. (My dear spouse told me I just couldn't see it because it was eclipsed... but I don't THINK that was it.) It was in totality for less than an hour after rising and I don't have a clear view of the horizon anymore, darn it, too many tall trees at the point where the moon rose. Seeing the moon with a large chunk bitten out of it was quite amazing though... it looked very different from a crescent moon. The demarcating shadow was much fuzzier, the shiny side of the moon had an orange cast. Altogether worth the effort. Next time, and luckily there are about three lunar eclipses a year, I will try to be in a spot where the horizon is visible.

Hope everybody had a chance to see some of this astronomical event. I'd like to hear other descriptions.