And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
This poem is packed with movement, even in places where a reader might expect stillness. This evocation of constant motion helps convey the speaker's energetic restlessness, as well as the liveliness of nature as a whole. Here, Yeats conjures an image of white moths in flight. This image of insects, not unexpectedly, suggests flight and movement. The next line, meanwhile, applies that implication of movement to an object that might usually be depicted as stationary: the stars. Yeats uses the previous image of moths in flight, stretching it via simile to encompass the image of the stars, so that even these objects appear to be in rapid, animal-like motion.
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
This depiction of the fish's transformation into a girl treats the moment of transformation as essentially over before it happens. Yeats uses the past perfect tense, so that, instead of describing the magical metamorphosis, he describes Aengus registering that metamorphosis after it has already occurred. This allows the girl's creation to remain shrouded in mystery, making her a compelling and suspense-filled figure. Thus, Aengus's search throughout the rest of the poem appears driven not simply by affection and attraction, but also by curiosity.
And pluck till time and times are done,
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.
In the poem's closing lines, the speaker imagines that he and his beloved, upon reuniting, will pluck the sun and moon from the sky as if plucking apples from a tree. Because the girl herself is associated with applies, this action suggests the strength of Aengus's desire to appreciate—or perhaps possess—her. At the same time, the image of Aengus and the girl handling celestial bodies as easily as fruit hints that they are radically empowered by their attraction to one another. While in a state of intense devotion, Aengus imagines, he will be at one with nature to an even greater extent than he already is, easily interacting with every piece of it.
