Piper — Ruins of a Cottage in North Wales

During the Second World War, John Piper was commissioned by the war artists to capture the affects of the war on the landscapes. Tasked with collecting the architectural drama created by the Blitz, Piper set out to portray how the cathedral [and other buildings], overnight, had been turned into blackened ruins. Piper’s personal interests towards ruined buildings, as well as the lost of his eldest brother in the First World War likely enabled him to respond, through art, with the deepest emotion. His paintings do not always reflect the physicality of the bomb damage; instead, a sense of nostalgia and loss was emphasized.

The poem, “Ode to the Full Moon During an Alert” is Namur King’s attempt to capture the war-stricken world underneath the moonlight. Similar to Piper’s paintings, King focuses on the sense of loss through the usage of the moon as a symbol of “the shame of nations.” However, these particular lines (4-11) highlight a contrasting sentiment in that despite the destruction and loss, there is “tranquility” and eloquence.