Explication of Lunar Baedeker
When read top to bottom, Mina Loy’s poem “Lunar Baedeker” may sound like a story of drugs, sex, and desperation. ... “Lunar Baedeker,” the word ‘lunar’ means moon. ... What in the world is a “Baedeker” though? Baedeker is actually one Karl Baedeker, a German who, in 1859, published a series of guidebooks. ... The chandelier reference is also key because shortly after “Lunar Baedeker” is published, Loy opens a lamp shop and designs the lamps and fixtures herself. ... The final line, “of lunar lusts,” indicates the sexual needs or desires of one who is chaste, another oxymoron. ... The next stanza is a return to Loy’s lunar theme, and also a reference to a used and tarnished womanhood. ... The very last stanza of “Lunar Baedeker” is full of meaning.