Poems about sunset present its astonishing beauty through nuanced visual imagery, appealing to the sense of sight that triggers images of the setting sun in readers’ minds. The color palette of the sunset, including hues of red, yellow, orange, gold, pink, and purple, paints the setting of these poems as these vibrant hues cover everything from the sky to the ground.
These poems often use natural settings, including the surroundings of rivers, mountains, forests, etc., that steeped in sunset colors heighten the extraordinary spectacle of nature. Usually, the sun and sometimes other elements of nature are personified as if someone is using its extraordinary powers or telling the day is over while all nature’s elements respond, accentuating the mystical aura.
These poems mark the transition of the day into night and portray the tranquility and stillness of this time as everyone stops working and proceeds to nestle down. They show how this calm beauty facilitates a contemplative atmosphere that prompts deep philosophical reflections, often for the speaker. This serene environment is also used in romantic poems, stimulating lovers’ emotions amid a still and intimate ambiance.
The sunset symbolizes the finality of something and innate renewal, prompting profound thoughts concerning the end of anything: a day, a dream, a phase of life, or the life itself, while it may also indicate perpetual certain regeneration. Thus, it is often used as a symbol to represent death, end, and fleeting existence, while sometimes it may offer hope and renewal depending on the poem’s context.
Nonetheless, sunset prompts thoughts, making one wonder about larger questions concerning existence, passing time, nature’s grandeur, and cyclic processes, often leading to a spiritual experience and acceptance of ephemeral existence, evoking emotions of contentment and solace amid the breathtaking scenic beauty.
Dickinson’s ‘How the old Mountains drip with Sunset’ celebrates sunset’s ineffable beauty, saying it is hard to capture in words or painting.
This poem presents the enchanting beauty of the sunset using nuanced visual imagery, capturing the soft light and bright hues in which the personified sun as a wizard paints its surroundings. The hemlock burns, ferns get draped in cinder, old towers are scarlet, and the speaker's lips might be flamingo. Eventually, the waning fire of the sun flickers as if a duchess with shining sapphires is passing by, giving way to dusk and night, indicating the fleeting beauty of this natural phenomenon. The poem emphasizes the mystical beauty of the sunset by portraying it as ineffable as even painters get 'Paralyzed, with Gold,' too stunned to paint it.
‘Beauty Beyond Words’ by Gabriel Okara describes the end of a day boating in the river, observing the beauty of the sunset.
The poem paints a mesmerizing picture of the sunset from the river as the speaker paddles his boat amid sunset-colored red and orange water. The line, 'The sun is sinking slowly in chanting colors!' captures the sunset's delicate beauty and vibrancy. Paddling the boat makes it seem like it spoils a colored painting as paddles part and disturb the water, which murmurs and flows into glowing waves; this intricate visual and auditory imagery conveys the beautification of the river and the tranquil and still mood the sunset creates, making the scene alive as if the readers could see the moving canoe amid the colored shadows of sunset.
Hugo’s ‘Sunset’ uses the sunset as a symbol to explore the grim truth of human mortality, soothed by observing nature’s cyclic beauty.
The time of sunset offers a calm atmosphere, prompting profound thoughts and philosophical reflections; the speaker's emotional contemplations concerning the passage of time, renewal of nature, and his mortality begin with the sunset as he compares his ephemeral existence with the permanent cyclic elements of nature like sunrise, sunset, forests, waters, etc. Withal, the poem is titled 'Sunset' as it symbolizes the passing of time and the speaker's life's finality or impending death, reminding him of his mortality amid the vast nature and its renewing cyclic processes.
The sun set this evening in masses of cloud,
The storm comes to-morrow, then calm be the night,
Then the Dawn in her chariot refulgent and proud,
Then more nights, and still days, steps of Time in his flight.
‘The Cricket Sang’ by Emily Dickinson describes the simple yet beautiful routine the world goes through as day becomes night.
This poem presents the transition from sunset to twilight and, finally, the night. The cricket's song signals the sun's setting, and the workmen finish 'one by one,' indicating how the sunset marks the closure of the day and its activities. It also suggests the onset of a peaceful and reflective atmosphere that sunset brings by saying, 'A wisdom without face or name, / A peace, as hemispheres at home' comes, and then finally, the night arrives, deepening the serenity; this wisdom indicates the wise, philosophical thoughts concerning the existence, nature, or life.
‘On The River’ by Paul Laurence Dunbar illustrates all the quieting beauty observed amongst the waterways of a landscape at dusk.
This poem presents the speaker's journey boating in a river as he gives details about his surroundings and natural elements. Significantly, the speaker is boating at the time of sunset as the poem begins with, 'The sun is low.' He observes the surroundings getting covered in the stillness as sunset transitions the day. By the end of his journey, the speaker notes the slowness in the atmosphere, saying, 'The sluggish stream goes sobbing by,' as the dying sun has cast its 'last effulgent ray,' giving the evening to the night's darkness.
‘In the twilight rain’ by Matsuo Bashō is a beautiful 3-line haiku that juxtaposes an evening rain with a bright hibiscus flower.
This short poem conveys the sunset's ephemeral and ineffable beauty. With the imagery of twilight rain, 'brilliant-hued hibiscus,' and 'A lovely sunset,' it prompts one to imagine and yearn for this transient idyllic scenery of sunset wherein the setting sun is making the colors of hibiscus vibrant with its hues and the twilight rain is disturbing it. The last line, 'A lovely sunset,' seems almost like a gasping exclamation, as if the beauty of this sunset makes the speaker speechless, and he can only gather a few words.
Collins’s ‘Ode to Evening’ is in awe of the evening, observing the changes in nature as the day transitions into the evening and night.
This ode is dedicated to the evening personified as the 'bright-haired sun' sits in its 'western tent.' It conveys the tranquility of the sunset, where even the 'air is hushed,' only some night creatures like bats and beetles make sounds for the transitioning day. The imagery of the folding star creating circles, looking like a 'warning lamp,' evokes the picture or the visual spectacle of the sunset's beauty, while the line 'The pensive pleasures sweet' captures its tranquil and meditative mood that catalyzes 'pensive' reflections.
‘Autumn Song’ by Naidu connects nature’s cycle with personal growth, exploring change and emotions stirred by autumn.
Interestingly, this poem interweaves the two phenomena of nature, i.e., autumn and sunset, using sunset as a metaphor for the dying season of autumn. Sunset is usually associated with an end and a sense of loss; the speaker seems sad about waning autumn and impending winter. However, due to the similar colors and peaceful aura, these two seem juxtaposed yet intermingled, as if the poem is painting an autumn sunset, further coloring the 'golden storm of glittering sheaves' and 'fluttering leaves.'
‘A Day’ by Emily Dickinson is a lyrical poem describing sunrise and sunset. In a metaphysical sense, it also portrays the beauty of life and the uncertainty of death.
This poem uses sunrise and sunset metaphorically for life and death, respectively. The speaker knows how the sun rose and describes lively imagery of vibrant hills and birds singing excitedly. However, they are unsure about sunset except for 'a purple stile' that takes the children to 'the other side,' symbolizing the afterlife; this suggests that humans are aware of life and its activities, but there is no clarity and certainty about death and the afterlife; it is confusing, grim, and inevitable.
Tennyson’s ‘Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal’ illustrates lovers’ union and the speaker’s desire through intricate nature imagery at twilight.
This poem captures the day's gradual transition, which provides a tranquil, relaxed, and romantic atmosphere for the lovers. It shows the sunset's impact on nature through the settling down and slowing down of nature's elements; as the day rests, the lily sleeps at the bottom of the lake, the petals of the flowers sleep, and the cypress tree stops waving, likely due to slowed wind, creating a serene aura as finally, stars and meteors pop up, with night.
‘Crossing the Bar’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson presents the journey from life into death as if calmly advancing into a new phase.
The poem uses the sunset, twilight, and night to symbolize death and transition into the afterlife, as the speaker wishes to cross the metaphorical sandbar calmly and reach the ocean, i.e., the afterlife. He states that 'Sunset and evening star' are clear calls for him to be at the sandbar, i.e., the dawn of death, while at the twilight and final darkness, he will embark toward the ocean. Thus, the poem employs the sunset's usual symbol of end or death.
‘Vespers [Even as you appeared to Moses, because]’ tries to explain the silent distance that defines god’s relationship with humanity.
The title of Glück's poem 'Vespers' references a form of evening prayer. Not all poems that share this title feature a sunset. This one is slightly ambiguous: there is some support that the 'fiery self' witnessed at the end of the poem is the sunset. But then why would the speaker mention the 'red sun neither falling nor rising?' Maybe this is meant to convey that time seems to halt during this moment of divine illusion.
Louise Glück’s ‘Heaven and Earth’ captures a quiet moment of beauty and the bittersweet truth that nothing lasts forever.
The sunset in the poem is a symbol of endings and new beginnings. The fading light and soft colors show how moments of beauty feel both powerful and temporary. It reminds us to appreciate these moments, even though they don’t last. The sunset becomes a way to think about time, change, and the natural rhythm of life.
‘The twilight turns from amethyst’ by James Joyce is a poignant piece of vibrant and romantic poetry by the modernist Irish novelist.
James Joyce's poem opens with the speaker describing the after-effects of sunset on the sky. Twilight is quickly passing, and night is nearly upon them when the poem begins, a phenomenon that can be interpreted as inspiring some of the poem's more somber images and emotions. It's also one of the more compelling and radiant visions described in the poems of 'Chamber Music.'
‘The crow has flown away’ by Natsume Sōseki is a beautifully contemplative haiku about a crow, tree, and the whole natural world
This poem relates to the topic of sunsets by capturing the atmospheric beauty and mood often associated with this natural phenomenon. The mention of the evening sun in the second line sets the stage for a scene painted with warm, golden hues.
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