(i) Summary of Walter De La Mare's-'Silver'

'Silver' is probably the best English poem on the visible effects of moonlight on a countryside-the whole
scene is turned to silver, all still and gleaming. With the sound of a pin drop silence, the moon appears to
move across the night sky. As though wearing her mysterious shoes, the moon 'walks' by passing slowly
from east to west across the sky. 
             As the moon comes over the sky of human settlements below, slowly by slowly and one by one
the the windows of the houses are touched by the silver beams of the moon. Inside the kennel, the dog
is lying down like a log. Only the dog's paws are 'silver' because the rest of the dog's body is within the
kennel. Inside the dark and shadowy shelter of dove-cote, the numerous doves sleep with their feathers
exposed to the silvery light of the moon. A very small harvest mouse which lives among the corn stalks is
running quickly and lightly all around the field. 
              In the nearby waters of a stream, an unmoving fish remains underneath the gleaming waters near
the reeds brightened by the moonlight. The only movements are those of the slow moon and the quick
mouse. But the silver is not even skin-deep; The repetitions of the 'soft' consonants l,m,s,v, reminds us
that the scene is full of sleeping life.

(ii) What Is the Theme of the Poem "Silver"?

When you perform a close reading of a poem, you assume that the poem has meaning, but that the
meaning is hidden, and that the analyst must bring that meaning to light. Poetry, in this sense, always has
something to tell us, whether explicitly -- love is fleeting -- or implicitly, such as in de la Mare’s poem
“Silver.” Walter de la Mare was an English writer who lived from 1873 to 1956 and was particularly
interested in the imagination of children. Even though this poem may, at first glance, seem childlike,
nevertheless, it does make particular assertions. The assertions that a poem makes can be viewed as the
poem’s themes: Either they try to persuade the reader to the poem's way of thinking, or direct the reader
toward a question that deserves careful thought. Theme in a poem is sometimes difficult to determine;
however, theme does have preferred hiding places.

Repetition
When looking for theme, look first for repeated words or ideas. In “Silver,” the reader follows the moon as
she travels through the night sky. She is extraordinarily perceptive and “peers” out seeing various objects
on the earth below: fruit, trees, a hutch, a dog, doves, a mouse, fish and the reeds that line the water’s
edge. Curiously, all of these objects are -- at least in part -- silver. You might here pause to ask what,
exactly, the speaker intends by the word “silver.” Does he mean the metal or the color, or does it stand for
something else? The simplest answer is that the word “silver” is used as synecdoche -- in which a part
represents the whole -- to refer to the reflection of the moon’s beams.
Incongruities
When searching for theme, you can look for it in any areas or features of the poem that are ambiguous,
potentially ironic or even just plain unreliable. For example, in de la Mare’s poem, you know that the silver
tree and silver fruit are not made of silver or the color silver; it is an effect caused by the reflection of the
moon. This misperception brings up the potential theme of the unreliability of perception. Although this
statement sounds like a fact, there is material here for you to discuss and question: Is this really a
misperception? Just because, during the daytime, trees are green, does not mean that is their essential
color: It is true that in the moonlight they look silver, and who is to determine which perception -- night or
day -- creates the truth of the matter?
Research
Since “silver” is such an important word in the poem, you might want to do some research on the definition
of “silver” and check out whether it has particular symbolic properties. Look in a dictionary, look in an
encyclopedia, look for myths involving silver. You can even look up its etymology -- the history of the word.
For instance, silver -- like gold -- can be used to represent money, and money can be used to influence
people. Many stories and facts surround the moon’s influence over the tides as well as people’s fortunes.
Another potential theme that the poem might be asking you to think about, rather than “perception,” is
“influence.” Maybe the speaker does not misperceive, but rather recognizes and pays homage to the
moon’s ability to influence.
Subject Matter
Once you have looked for incongruities and done some research on the poem, you should be ready to
revisit it with fresh eyes. So far, you have only been looking at the poem from the speaker’s point of view
-- after all, he is the one telling you the tale. However, you should also delve into the content or subject
matter of the poem. Here, the subject is not “silver” but rather the personified moon. It could be her
perception that the speaker is trying to represent: The moon perceives everything as silver and she does
not realize that her own light causes the silver. Perhaps, even, she does not really desire to see the Earth
and its inhabitant, but only her reflected self. In this case, another possible theme could be “We only see
what we want to see.”
Silver  by Walter De la Mare

Slowly, silently, now the moon

Walks the night in her silver shoon:

This is how the poet tells us that in a moon lit night, the rays of moon has fallen on the objects in the
ground. 

This way, and that, she peers and sees

Silver fruit upon silver trees;

The moon light is visible in silver colour at night and it has fallen on the fruits on the trees.

One by one the casements catch

Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;

The moon has shone over the cottage and illuminates it. Casements are the windows of wood or metal
frame work which allows light or air come in. The moon light falls on the roof and flows into the window
panes. Here silvery thatch’ is the roof of the house.

Couched in his kennel, like a log,

With paws of silver sleeps the dog

The dog sleeps in his kennel and his paws (hands) shine because of the rays of moon.

From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep

Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;

The doves are sleeping in the cage and they also are bathed with moon light.

A harvest mouse goes scampering by,

With silver claws and silver eye;

A little mouse slowly walks with a glistening eye and he is caught in the moon light.

And moveless fish in the water gleam

By silver reeds in a silver stream.

The water shines in the moon light and everything is bathed with the glorious , silvery moon light.  I think
this is a very beautiful poem once you understand its meaning. The poet makes us look at the ordinary
moon light in a very different way and that is what poetry is.
SEEING THE BEAUTY OF VERY ORDINARY OBJECTS IN OUR LIFE. THE POET CREATES VERY
BEAUTIFUL IMAGES AND OUR MINDS ARE FILLED WITH PICTURES WHAN WE READ THE POEM.