Starry Night Painting and Poem analysis

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Analyzing Mood and Theme in Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, painted in July of 1889, was thought to be created during his time in an asylum after he mutilated part of his left ear. As a beginning of Expressionism, it inspired many viewers and artists. Van Gogh’s idea was to impress and encourage others through his many artworks. Starry Night not only expanded in art but also in literature. Ekphrastic poetry is a type of poem that describes a scene or work of art in minute details. It often further develops or exaggerates the artwork, like in Anne Sexton’s “Starry Night” and Don McLean’s “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)” . Anne Sexton’s “Starry Night” developes an ominous and defiant mood, McLean’s mood forms an empathetic effect. While “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)”, by Don McLean depicts Starry Night as having an empathetic mood, the rebellious and ominous mood in “Starry Night” by Anne Sexton, with its use of mournful and admiring diction, detail, and figurative language best mirrors that of the original painting.

A dark melancholy and turbulent mood is created through the use of Van Gogh’s many shades of blue, brown, black colors, soft short lines, and one might conclude that the painting explores ideas such as alienation and loneliness. This oil painting includes a dark magnificent tree in the foreground, standing tall and alone. The middle ground contains a distant peaceful and quiet town, almost asleep. The background, or the sky, is loud with its vibrant yellow near white stars contrasting against its darkish blue sky. It also includes a bright moon and the reflection of its light in the top right corner of the painting. The tree and the moon creates a sense of balance as each figure contradicts each other. The lone tree may remind viewers of loneliness and defiance because it stands alone and follows itself. Unlike most people, Van Gogh defies human nature and stays by himself. The painting creates a sense of turmoil because it is happy when using the bright colors of the night sky but at the same time dark and depressed through the use of dark colors.

“Starry Night” by Anne Sexton creates a dark yet admiring mood through the use of a pattern of defiant and mournful diction, detail, figurative language. Sexton uses the refrain, “Oh starry starry night! This is how I want to die,” to emphasize the dark admiration of Starry Night by showing the bravery depicted in it through the tree in the painting. She also uses figurative language, such as “into rushing beast of the night,” to justify the theme. The speaker is fearless of death, showing defiance because the usual person does not want to die and will fear the unknown. While the poem depicts of a rebellious nature and admiration, it also creates a sad mournful tone through the use of the dictions “drowned” and “die” because death is, under normal circumstances, a somber subject. Also by using first person point of view, the speaker seems to be Van Gogh. He never truly belonged in his time, as he was sent to an asylum for cutting off his own ear. He was also classified as mentally ill. His history of difference could have been depicted in his Starry Night, which may have created a sense of alienation and confusion.

Don McLean’s poem creates a understanding mood through the use of empathetic yet sad repetition, figurative language, and word choices. McLean uses repetition of the phrase “Now I understand” to create a tone of kind relation because he sees the world through Van Gogh’s point of view through his painting. His brother, Theo, and many others during his time did not understand Van Gogh or his style of art. Likewise, the use of “Starry, starry night” displays a sense of admiration and beauty like one would call his or her lover’s name with appreciation and respect. However, the diction “suffered” and “darkness” emphasizes isolation and sadness. Similarly, the description of the painting as “Shadows on the hills” create a somber feel because shadows are usually associated with darkness. “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)” creates an empathetic and sad admiring mood through the use of its figurative language, details, and diction.

While some might say that the emphatetic tone of McLean’s poem best matches the mood of the painting due to the use of diction and repetition, such as “Now I understand,” Sexton’s poem better reflects the ominous and rebellious nature of the painting. By looking at the painting and poem together as a whole, the theme of admirable alienation can be drawn out through the poem’s quote of death and the painting’s lonesome tree because it stands alone in the foreground. Seperately, “Starry Night” depicts some history of Vincent Van Gogh, while the painting shows of lone defiance, confusion through the use of colors, and differences between background and foreground.