Last week I went over ways to read a difficult poem. A few weeks back, I was sent a poem that was very difficult to read. The poem, written by Vachel Lindsay, at first appears to be poem about love. After further analyzing “Truth Beyond the Moon”, it is more about the heartbreak of love lost, written by a man of many sorrows. Lindsay traveled around the nation as a troubadour, trading his poetry for food and shelter. He took his own life on Dec 5, 1931 by drinking Lysol.

Early in his life, he fell in love with Sara Teasdale, another poet. She also returned his love. Despite the love they shared, she married a rich businessman who could provide her with financial security. One could imagine the heartbreak that came with this decision. Sara herself also committed suicide two years after Lindsay.

I can imagine the poem, “Truth Beyond the Moon”, which Lindsay followed up with Written to the most beautiful woman in the world, was written with Sara and their lost love in mind.
To read this poem, we will follow the recipe in last week’s article, Why is Poetry So Hard to Understand?.


Beyond The Moon
[Written to the Most Beautiful Woman in the World]

My Sweetheart is the TRUTH BEYOND THE MOON,
And never have I been in love with Woman,
Always aspiring to be set in tune
With one who is invisible, inhuman.

O laughing girl, cold TRUTH has stepped between,
Spoiling the fevers of your virgin face:
Making your shining eyes but lead and clay,
Mocking your brilliant brain and lady's grace.

TRUTH haunted me the day I wooed and lost,
The day I wooed and won, or wooed in play:
Tho' you were Juliet or Rosalind,
Thus shall it be, forever and a day.

I doubt my vows, tho' sworn on my own blood,
Tho' I draw toward you weeping, soul to soul,
I have a lonely goal beyond the moon;
Ay, beyond Heaven and Hell, I have a goal!


Step 1: Let’s look at the rhythm:
This poem is written in classic Iambic Pentameter, or groups of five feet as described in Meter and Blank Verse.

Step 2: Literal meanings:
This part is the time consuming portion of reading a poem containing symbolic language. If we look at his poem, the word TRUTH is capitalized each time. So what is his TRUTH? He explains it as truth beyond the moon. As explained in my previous article, often one has to interpret poetry based on the circumstances and context of the writing. In Vachel’s time, reaching the moon was a dream. Beyond the moon was beyond unreachable. So the truth is that his love is beyond his reach. This truth stepped between Vachel and his love. The truth that his love is unreachable haunted Vachel the day he wooed and lost. Remembering that he had courted Ms. Teasdale, yet she chose another suitor.
Now that we know what “Truth” is in this poem, we can get a better understanding of the emotional content of what the author is trying to portray.


Step 3: Looking at literary elements and symbolism:
The first thing I noticed about this poem is the dramatic use of contrast, or opposing ideas. In the first verse, a lady who is aspiring to the inhuman; The second verse, Shining eyes that are lead and clay, the mocking of brilliant brain and lady’s grace. In the third verse, we see him drawing toward his love, yet being lonely. The very last statement, Ay, beyond heaven and hell, also demonstrates the contrast and the deepness of his inability to reach his goal. Vachel used strong and opposing visualizations that show the emotions pulling on him.

Lindsay also made use of symbolism in this poem. We see this not only in the use of “beyond the moon”, but also when he spoke of the day he wooed in play- as tho’ his love were Juliet or Rosalind. This goes back to looking at the literary era of the author. Juliet and Rosalind were both women who were objects of passion in Shakespearean plays. So, we see that Lindsay is portraying his love as one of these women, hopelessly sought after. Both are in situations of desperate love but the obstacles prevent the love from coming to fruition. This is a perfectly chosen analogy to symbolize his deep, but unreachable love with the “Most beautiful woman in the world.”


Step 4: Pulling it all together:
Let’s look at it as a whole-

Stanza one- He is in love with a lady who is unreachable. She has rejected him for qualities that he could not possess (invisible, inhuman) and therefore she has resisted his attempts to woo her.

Stanza two- She appears to be happy, yet the cold truth of her rejection stings. The rejection is so intense that it overwhelms her beauty. Her rejection has caused her to appear hard and lifeless. She embodies beauty, yet her rejection mocks this.

Stanza three- The author fought for her affection, yet lost. Still, in his mind, he continues to play it over and over again, imagining she is madly in love with him. But that’s how it will be forever and a day. It will forever be an imagination or a play as like Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” or as Rosalind in “As you like it”.

Stanza four- It is indicated that he made a vow and swore that she would belong to him. Yet, it is a lonely goal. She does not return his affections. She is beyond the moon- unreachable. But yet, he ends it in a positive note. Although his goal is “beyond heaven and hell”- he still has a goal, even if it is a dream.


Step 5: Appreciation
Reread the poem in all its fullness to fully appreciate the emotions that are captured between the use of words, symbolism, contrast, and meter.