Question

at the beginning of the lesson, there is a quotation by la rochefoucauld in which he says, \love poems must be bounced back off the moon.\ what do you think he means by that?

Explanation:

The moon is a classic symbol of romance, distance, and transcendence. Framing love poems as needing to "bounce off the moon" suggests they must rise above ordinary, mundane expressions: they need to be expansive enough to match the profound, often overwhelming experience of love, and their impact should feel as far-reaching and memorable as a journey to the moon and back.

Answer:

La Rochefoucauld likely means that love poems need to feel vast, otherworldly, and deeply resonant—they should carry the grand, intimate, and almost unattainable weight of love, as if they are so meaningful they have to travel to the moon (a distant, romantic symbol) and back to fully capture the depth of love, rather than being small or superficial.