“Choose Something Like a Star” by Robert Frost Analysis
“Choose Something Like a Star” by Robert Frost is a remarkable poem in which the poet addresses the star directly by calling it the fairest one in sight and informs him that humans adore its beauty and loftiness. He wonders how night gives them light and places them in the sky for our delight. He wants to learn something memorable from the stars. For this purpose, he asks them to say something he can learn by heart and repeat when alone. He reinforces the same idea by repeating the word and saying something, and the stars return to him with an iconic reply.
To his surprise, the stars say it burns. Unfortunately, the speaker fails to comprehend the meaning of burning. He throws more logical questions to the star; he asks about the degree of heat, Fahrenheit, and Centigrade. The speaker wants the star to describe his secret in human language. Therefore, he asks about the elements he possesses because the way they shine at night when the world is asleep gives him a strange feeling. He reminds the star of another famous poem by John Keats written about nature’s patient sleepers who ask us about certain heights. After having a one-sided dialogue with the star, the speaker says that we always need something from the above to keep our morale high.
Major Themes in “Choose Something like a Star”
The poem’s central themes are humanity’s need, scientific knowledge, and the existence of various objects in the universe. In this poem, the writer focuses on the star, its existence, and its elemental makeup. He addresses the star and asks the speaker for a satisfying reason for his survival in the vast universe. Although he knows that stars are quiet objects, he urges the star to say something. At his request, the star replies, but the narrator fails to interpret the meanings. But, the speaker wants him to be more specific.
He believes that a few exact words from the star would help humanity look for more incredible things. In other words, he says we always need reassurance from a greater power. At the same time, he was talking about the need for humanity. The writer unfolds that some people believe in their religion, while others need scientific proof to live a comfortable life. Also, he believes that everything in the universe has a reason to survive. Following the same philosophy, he searches for the reason for the existence of a bright star that shines at night.
Analysis of Poetic elements Uses in “Choose Something like a Star” by Robert Frost
Robert Frost has embedded various literary and poetic elements in this poem to make his ideas translucent. The first and foremost is metaphor; he has used the star as an extended metaphor for how humans get amazed while looking at the star from an adequate distance. It not only aids their surprise but also urges them to search for the reasons for its existence. The second most important device used in the poem is symbolism. The writer uses the star as a symbol of people’s unfulfilled desires.
Moreover, Frost personifies the star throughout the poem as he urges the star to speak something for him, which he can repeat in its absence. Although stars and other non-living objects cannot speak, Frost’s portrayal of the star as a human being sheds light on the writer’s remarkable poetic sense. Besides these devices, imagery is implied in the poem to make the readers visualize the speaker’s concept. Thus, these devices make this poem easy for the audience to read.