Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
An omniscient, unnamed third-person speaker narrates
Form and Meter
Six eight-line stanzas of free verse
Metaphors and Similes
This poem contains a great deal of figurative language. Using metaphor, Bishop describes Man as an "inverted pin," describes the third rail as "the unbroken draught of poison," and describes the Man-Moth's eye as "an entire night itself."
The work contains even more simile than metaphor, including "his shadow dragging like a photographer’s cloth," "as from a tube, in black scrolls on the light," "as the ties recur beneath his train, these underlie / his rushing brain" and "cool as from underground springs and pure enough to drink."
Alliteration and Assonance
Instances of alliteration include "he flits, / he flutters," "ties recur beneath his train," and "haired horizon." Instances of assonance include "The whole shadow of Man is only as big as his hat," "as high as he can climb," "through, as from a tube," and "travels backwards."
The line "cracks in the buildings are filled with battered moonlight" contains alliterative B sounds as well as assonant short A and short I sounds.
Irony
Ironically, the Man-Moth's perseverance and toughness are also the source of his vulnerability. Both drive him to continue trying to reach the moon, despite his inevitable failure.
Genre
lyric poetry
Setting
A fictional, unnamed city
Tone
surreal, dreamlike
Protagonist and Antagonist
The Man-Moth is the protagonist. The work's antagonist is the general loneliness and alienation of urban life.
Major Conflict
The poem's major conflict is the Man-Moth's attempt to explore the world and connect with others.
Climax
The poem's climax is the Man-Moth's sharing his tear with the second-person "you."
Foreshadowing
The poem opens with the phrase "here, above," suggesting (correctly) that the speaker will later narrate events happening "below."
Understatement
The Man-Moth's fears that the sky will be "quite useless for protection" are described in an understated manner through the use of the adverb "quite."
Allusions
Bishop alludes in a footnote to a newspaper misprint for the word "mammoth," explaining that it inspired this work.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The Moon is personified with human pronouns, as in the phrase "her vast properties"
Hyperbole
The phrase "what the Man-Moth fears most he must do" describes the character's motives hyperbolically.
Onomatopoeia
The words "flits" and "flutters" are onomatopoetic.
