How like a queen comes forth the lonely Moon From the slow opening curtains of the clouds Walking in beauty to her midnight throne!

Croly’s lines personify the moon as a regal figure emerging from cloud “curtains,” turning a commonplace night-sky effect into a staged, ceremonial entrance. The imagery borrows from courtly spectacle: the moon is “lonely” yet queenly, moving with composed authority toward a “midnight throne.” The metaphor suggests both majesty and isolation—sovereignty that entails distance from ordinary life. The phrase “walking in beauty” emphasizes a slow, graceful motion, inviting the reader to contemplate the moon not as an object but as a presence that transforms the landscape. Overall, the passage exemplifies Romantic-era elevation of nature through theatrical and monarchical symbolism.