--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The moon has a face like the clock in the…" description: "\"“The moon has a face like the clock in the hall; She shines on thieves on the garden wall, On streets and fields and harbour quays, And birdies asleep ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/robert-louis-stevenson-289_moon_the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-th_2924453.jpg" --- # The moon has a face like the clock in the hall; She shines… ![“The moon has a face like the clock in the hall; She shines on thieves on the garden wall, On streets and fields and harbour quays, And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/robert-louis-stevenson-289_moon_the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-th_2924453.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/robert-louis-stevenson-289_moon_the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-th_2924453.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/robert-louis-stevenson-289_moon_the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-th_2924453.jpg) > ““The moon has a face like the clock in the hall; She shines on thieves on the garden wall, On streets and fields and harbour quays, And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.”” [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem personifies the moon, suggesting it watches over all, from thieves to sleeping birds, highlighting its ubiquitous presence. **In simple terms:** The moon watches everything. Key Takeaway Notice the moon’s quiet influence. Themes nature observation night surveillance Mood reflective calm Type poetic observational When to use this quote - night walks - gardening - poetry reading - nighttime security - stargazing Key Concepts personification romanticism symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does the moon’s presence affect your night activities? - What does the moon symbolize for you? A Different Perspective The moon’s watchfulness may be poetic, not literal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) ## Related quotes > [“Your curly hair is seduction of infidelity while your moon-face is piety, Glimpse it from the infidel's eye you'll then see bot as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalaluddin-mevlana-rumi/your-curly-hair-is-seduction-of-infidelity-while-your-moon-face-is/) [Jalaluddin Mevlana Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalaluddin-mevlana-rumi/) > [“Watching white moon face The stars never feel anger Blah, blah, blah, the end”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/watching-white-moon-face-the-stars-never-feel-anger-blah-blah-blah/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I would suffer with something they call moon face. You're slim all over but your face becomes very bloated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-fletcher/i-would-suffer-with-something-they-call-moon-face-you-re-slim-all/) [Darren Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-fletcher/) > [... so long as woman sat with bandaged eyes and manacled hands, fast bound in the clamps of ignorance and inaction, the world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/so-long-as-woman-sat-with-bandaged-eyes-and-manacled-hands-fast-bound/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [“As dull as moon face, never seem to change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/as-dull-as-moon-face-never-seem-to-change/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Methinks your maw, like mine, should be your clock, And strike you home without a messenger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/methinks-your-maw-like-mine-should-be-your-clock-and-strike-you-home/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Don't sit like a rock, work like a clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sreenadh/don-t-sit-like-a-rock-work-like-a-clock/) [Sreenadh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sreenadh/) > [Be regular like clock, me fresh like rose, be soft as a flower, be strong as a rock, and be nice as ME...I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asli/be-regular-like-clock-me-fresh-like-rose-be-soft-as-a-flower-be/) [Asli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asli/) > [You have to be like a clock spring, wound but not loose at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-winfield/you-have-to-be-like-a-clock-spring-wound-but-not-loose-at-the-same/) [Dave Winfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-winfield/) > [History is like a clock, it tells you your time of day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henrik-clarke/history-is-like-a-clock-it-tells-you-your-time-of-day/) [John Henrik Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henrik-clarke/) > [DeShaies is like a clock out there. Every other pitch goes one way or the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-coleman/deshaies-is-like-a-clock-out-there-every-other-pitch-goes-one-way-or/) [Jerry Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-coleman/) > [I may not be a clock that may SmS you 24 hours a day but my heart will be like a clock that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-not-be-a-clock-that-may-sms-you-24-hours-a-day-but-my-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She slipped into this rhythm without thinking about it, like a clock that moved its hands without knowing why.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-howe/she-slipped-into-this-rhythm-without-thinking-about-it-like-a-clock/) [Katherine Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-howe/) > [A small poet repeats himself like a clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/a-small-poet-repeats-himself-like-a-clock/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## More by Robert Louis Stevenson > [You must suffer me to go my own dark way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-must-suffer-me-to-go-my-own-dark-way/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Nobody speaks of a beautifful view for 5 minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/nobody-speaks-of-a-beautifful-view-for-5-minutes/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find is an honest friend. He is a fortunate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/we-are-all-travelers-in-the-wilderness-of-this-world-and-the-best/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The little rift between the sexes is astonishingly widened by simply teaching one set of catchwords to the girls and another to the boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-little-rift-between-the-sexes-is-astonishingly-widened-by-simply/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-problem-of-education-is-twofold-first-to-know-and-then-to-utter/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“For thirty years," he said, "I've sailed the seas and seen good and bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/for-thirty-years-he-said-i-ve-sailed-the-seas-and-seen-good-and-bad/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mutiny-it-was-plain-hung-over-us-like-a-thunder-cloud/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Jealousy is the most radical primeval and naked form of admiration in war paint, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/jealousy-is-the-most-radical-primeval-and-naked-form-of-admiration-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [You have no idea, unless you have tried it, how endlessly long is a summer's day, that you measure out only by hunger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-have-no-idea-unless-you-have-tried-it-how-endlessly-long-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-be-idle-requires-a-strong-sense-of-personal-identity/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Saints are sinners who kept on going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/saints-are-sinners-who-kept-on-going/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/loving-god-help-us-remember-the-birth-of-jesus-that-we-may-share-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) [Explore all 701 Robert Louis Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## More Moon quotes > [“Because as the moon followed the sun, when Illium ascended to become an archangel, Aodhan would go with him as his second.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/because-as-the-moon-followed-the-sun-when-illium-ascended-to-become/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/) [Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/) > [The moon of a bright silver, which dazzles by its shining, illumines a world which surely is no longer ours; for it resembles in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-loti/the-moon-of-a-bright-silver-which-dazzles-by-its-shining-illumines-a/) [Pierre Loti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-loti/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > ['The Choirboys' is very much a product of its mid-1970s time, especially in its two-dimensional portrayals of cop groupies Ora Lee and Carolina Moon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/the-choirboys-is-very-much-a-product-of-its-mid-1970s-time-especially/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) Sylviek > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we can send a guy to the moon we can certainly go a quarter of a mile and not get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-prudhomme/if-we-can-send-a-guy-to-the-moon-we-can-certainly-go-a-quarter-of-a/) Don Prudhomme > [Never ignore a person who love you, care fot you,and misses you,because one day,you might wake up and realize, you lost the moon while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chou/never-ignore-a-person-who-love-you-care-fot-you-and-misses-you/) Chou > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-sky-was-a-sparkling-succession-of-black-diamonds-on-black-velvet/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) [Browse all 6,418 Moon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The moon has a face like the clock in the hall; She shines on thieves on the garden wall, On streets and fields and harbour quays, And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Louis Stevenson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-the-hall-she-shines-on-thieves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Moon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-the-hall-she-shines-on-thieves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/robert-louis-stevenson-289_moon_the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-th_2924453.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/robert-louis-stevenson-289_moon_the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-th_2924453.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/robert-louis-stevenson-289_moon_the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-th_2924453.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The moon has a face like the clock in the hall; She shines on thieves on the garden wall, On streets and…” — Robert Louis Stevenson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Louis Stevenson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The moon has a face like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-the-hall-she-shines-on-thieves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-moon-has-a-face-like-the-clock-in-the-hall-she-shines-on-thieves/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```