The World - "But all night as the moon so changeth she..."

• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Simile ("As the moon") has long been linked with mythological goddesses like Selene, Artemis, and Hecate, who represent purity, chastity, and magic - yet also mystery and death - By comparing the world to the moon, Rossetti subtly invokes these mythic layers, suggesting that the feminine force is not only sacred but also capricious, vengeful, and unknowable - This association deepens the speaker’s fear, casting the world as an ancient and cosmic threat masked by divine beauty
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Simile ("As the moon") and the moon’s continual waxing and waning symbolises the inevitability of change, reinforcing the poem’s theme of deceptive appearances and internal corruption - The simile suggests that the world’s shift from beauty to horror is not an accident, but part of a recurring cycle that traps the speaker in a spiritual pattern of temptation and disillusionment - This cyclical structure mirrors the repetitive structure of the poem, echoing the inescapability of sin and moral decline
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Simile ("As the moon") and unlike the sun, the moon does not generate its own light, symbolising borrowed or reflected beauty - a façade - Rossetti may be implying that the world’s allure is not authentic but merely an illusion, much like moonlight that vanishes once day breaks - Thus, the simile subtly critiques the hollowness of worldly beauty, showing it to be a temporary and misleading glow hiding the darkness underneath
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Simile ("As the moon") is a symbol of duality and mutability, constantly shifting its form and playing between light and darkness, just like the woman-figure in the poem - This ever-changing quality represents the instability of worldly pleasures and the unreliability of perception - The simile suggests that the world’s seductive face is unstable and mutable, masking a darker essence that can never be trusted or pinned down
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Simile ("As the moon") linking the woman to the moon evokes associations with the menstrual cycle, a traditionally taboo yet powerful symbol of female biology and hidden rhythms - Rossetti may be drawing on Victorian anxieties about women’s bodies, linking natural processes to emotional instability or latent danger - The transformation from beautiful to monstrous mirrors the perception of femininity as something both alluring and threatening when stripped of its idealised image
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Zoomorphic Metaphor evokes the myth of Medusa, whose serpentine hair turned men to stone, a classical symbol of the terrifying power of the feminine when it escapes patriarchal control - Rossetti may be drawing on this to reflect Victorian fears of female sexuality, suggesting that the allure of the world masks a paralyzing, soul-destroying truth - The hair, often a symbol of beauty, becomes a weapon, reinforcing the theme of deceptive appearances
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Zoomorphic Metaphor alludes to the biblical serpent in Eden, making the world a symbol of Eve-like temptation that leads to spiritual downfall - Gliding in her hair, the snakes suggest a hidden but intimate association with sin, as though transgression is woven into her very being - This frames the world not as passively dangerous, but as an active, cunning force that ensnares the soul through seduction and deceit
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Zoomorphic Metaphor and Hair is often linked symbolically to identity and thought, and the presence of serpents gliding within it suggests the infiltration of corrupt, sinful ideologies - The metaphor presents the world as not only physically seductive but intellectually poisonous, manipulating perception and moral judgment - This interpretation supports the poem’s broader theme of temptation as both bodily and mental, where even thought becomes contaminated
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Zoomorphic Metaphor can be interpreted as a symbol of transformation and deceptive renewal, given that snakes shed their skin to appear new, while remaining fundamentally unchanged - This natural process mirrors the world’s cyclical shift between beauty and horror - appearing pure by day, yet revealing its true monstrous form by night - Rossetti may be critiquing how the world cloaks its moral decay beneath a superficial freshness, suggesting that even transformation can be a guise for persistent corruption rather than genuine spiritual rebirth
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Zoomorphic Metaphor and Snakes gliding are often described as graceful, even hypnotic, which gives the metaphor a sensual quality that masks menace - The "subtle" movement implies stealth, indicating the world's corruption does not reveal itself immediately but infiltrates slowly and intimately - This interpretation captures how earthly pleasures often begin attractively but ultimately lead to spiritual entrapment
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Sibilance mimics the hissing of snakes, aurally reinforcing their sinister presence - This onomatopoeic quality immerses the reader in the seductive yet threatening atmosphere Rossetti constructs - The soundscape reflects the way evil slithers in unnoticed, echoing the subtlety of the world's deception
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Sibilance evokes the whispers of temptation, mirroring the serpent’s persuasive voice in the Garden of Eden - It gives the line a sensuous quality that aligns with the dual nature of the world - both alluring and dangerous - This whisper-like rhythm creates an intimate tone, as if sin speaks directly into the listener’s ear
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Sibilance and Hair often symbolises personal identity, purity or virtue, and the sibilance saturates the image with a corrupting presence - The serpents’ gliding, made more tactile through sibilance, suggests not just physical entanglement but a kind of spiritual infection - Rossetti presents the world's beauty as irreversibly tainted, with even its most delicate symbols (hair) infested by sin
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Sibilance and the drawn-out sibilant sounds stretch the line, mimicking how corruption creeps in slowly and silently over time - Rather than an explosive moment of sin, Rossetti presents evil as a process—gradual, persistent, and internal - The sound mirrors the speaker's descent into despair, shaped by prolonged exposure to the world’s spiritual rot
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", the use of Sibilance could also imply multiplicity, suggesting not a single serpent but a swarm - many dangers hidden in one seemingly beautiful figure - This auditory effect amplifies the sense of entrapment and claustrophobia, as if the speaker is surrounded by inescapable sin - Sibilance thus becomes a structural device that heightens the tension between surface beauty and underlying threat
• In 'The World', the quote "But all night as the moon so changeth she... And subtle serpents gliding in her hair", this can be read as an allegorical reflection of the Madonna–Whore complex, where the woman, like the world, is split between saintly purity and carnal corruption - Hair, often a symbol of feminine beauty and virtue, becomes defiled by serpents - signifiers of temptation and sin - suggesting that beneath the idealised exterior lies something inherently dangerous - This dichotomy reflects how patriarchal ideologies idealise women by day (the Madonna) yet demonise them by night (the Whore), never allowing for complexity or wholeness - Rossetti's allegory critiques this binary, exposing the instability of male desire and its projection onto female identity