Moonlight and River: A Comparative Study of Natural Imagery in the Poetry of Dicks (Luxembourg) and Guido Gezelle (Belgium)

This study conducts a systematic comparative analysis of natural imagery in the poetic works of Luxembourgish poet Dicks (Edmond de la Fontaine, 1823–1891) and Belgian poet Guido Gezelle (1830–1899), two pivotal nineteenth-century literary figures in the Low Countries. Focusing on core natural motifs including moonlight, rivers, sunlight, forests, and landscapes, the research examines the symbolic connotations, aesthetic expressions, and cultural implications of these images in both poetic traditions. Adopting close reading and cross-cultural comparative methodology, the study explores the convergences in natural lyricism and the divergences shaped by regional cultural identities, multilingual contexts, and national historical backgrounds. It reveals how natural imagery functions as a carrier of cultural memory, emotional expression, and regional identity in small European literary traditions, and contributes to the field of comparative European literature by illuminating the interconnectedness and uniqueness of cross-border poetic practices. The study demonstrates that while both poets participate in the broader Romantic tradition, their distinctive treatments of nature—Dicks' intimate, folk-oriented lyricism versus Gezelle's mystical, sacramental vision—reflect the divergent cultural logics of nation-building in Luxembourg and Belgium during the nineteenth century.