Visions in “The Moth” by Douglas Stewart

Douglas Stewart creates an image of the fast moving but elegant moths flying from place to place using adjectives and onomatopoeia. The use of adjectives in the phrase, “Bursting and foaming, spinning and gushing” indicates the energy in the moths doing all kinds of movement. Other than the use of adjectives, the use of onomatopoeia from “whirring hush of wings” conveys the silence and the elegance of the flying moths since “hush” is associated with quiet. The moths are therefore moving with a lot of energy peacefully. Stewart views nature as a wondrous peaceful place filled with life and energy.

Douglas Stewart conveys the beauty of nature through the use of metaphor and hyperbole. Stewart wrote “the galaxies swarm like snow” to compare the vast and mesmerizing galaxies of the world with the pure white snow. The metaphor thus reveals to readers that the moths are indeed as untainted as snow but also beautiful like the galaxies. In addition to metaphor, Stewart also uses hyperbole when he wrote, “nothing is left of time.” This means that the moths are so awe-inspiring that it caught Stewart’s breath when he saw them. Stewart’s vision is that nature can be really beautiful interesting.

In the poem titled “The Moths,” composer, Douglas Stewart sees nature as something awe inspiring and full of life. Douglas Stewart creates an image of the fast moving moths using adjectives in the phrase, “Bursting and foaming, spinning and gushing,” which indicates the intense energy of moths doing all kinds of movement. Other than the use of adjectives, the use of onomatopoeia from “whirring hush of wings” conveys the silence and the elegance of the flying moths since “hush” is associated with quietness. The effect of these images leaves the reader feeling that the moths are moving with a lot of energy peacefully. Douglas Stewart conveys the beauty of nature using the metaphor, “the galaxies swarm like snow” to compare the vast and mesmerizing galaxies of the world with the pure white snowy moths. The metaphor thus reveals to readers that the moths are indeed as untainted as snow but also beautiful like the galaxies. In addition to metaphor, Stewart also uses hyperbole when he wrote, “nothing is left of time,” which indicates that even Stewart was blown away by the beauty of the moths. Through Stewart’s poem, readers can visualize the marvelous beauty and liveliness of Australia’s flora and fauna.