The Midnight Flower
“Fly not yet; 't is just the hour
When pleasure, like the midnight flower
That scorns the eye of vulgar light,
Begins to bloom for sons of night
And maids who love the moon.”
- Thomas Moore, "Fly Not Yet" (excerpt)
This excerpt is used in the first chapter to illustrate the deep emotional connection humans have with the night. As Dewdney says, our minds and bodies are linked to the cycle of night and day. The simile Moore uses of the midnight flower conveys the deep sense of pleasure that the advent of night can bring to the soul that rejoices in nature.
Moons and the Thai Sapphire
“There are deep nights when the planets gather in the sky like moons and the twilight is as blue as a Thai sapphire.” - Dewdney, Ch. 1
Continuing the theme of the beauty of the night, Dewdney uses these similes to attempt to reconstruct a bit of night's unearthly glory with words - an impossible task, but one he manages quite well. The image of moons gathering in the night sky, sequins adorning an expansive and exotic blue sapphire that extends beyond line of sight, is a stunning one, awakening feelings of supernatural craftsmanship in the viewer's mind.
The Summer Night
“She comes as comes the summer night,
Violet, perfumed, clad with stars,
To heal the eyes hurt by the light
Flung by Day's brandish'd scimitars.”
- Frank S. Williamson, "She comes as comes the Summer Night"
This poem is describing the narrator's lover using the imagery of the night. With this simile, the narrator paints a beautiful picture both of his lover and of the night. She comes softly, walking in beauty, to ease the pain caused by the flaming sun. This is an example of reverse personification, where a person is compared to a personified concept.
Riddles Among the Stars
“Some of the most profound discoveries of science and physics were hidden like riddles among the stars, waiting for patient explorers and their telescopes to discover them.” - Dewdney, Ch. 2
This simile draws an interesting illustration: the nature of man's existence in relation to the cosmos has elements that are waiting to be discovered, hidden in calculations and patterns existent in creation. It's a beautiful image: the search for truth can take the form of searching nature for the things that make it wonderful.
Universes of Detail
“Often they were so complex they were like universes of detail that might take a thousand years to explore.” - Dewdney, Ch. 2
Dewdney is informing the reader about the extraordinary spectacle of sunsets seen from the island of Saint Lucia in the eastern Caribbean. These sunsets were often so vividly complex that they might as well contain entire universes of information and detail, the depths and meaning of which are impossible to determine in a finite life. This image is a shockingly beautiful one, and its implications are profound.
