'Star -Splitter, The' by Robert Lee Frost
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You know Orien always comes up sideways.
Throwing a leg up over our fence of mountains,
And rising on his hands, he looks in on me
Busy outdoors by lantern-light with something
I should have done by daylight, and indeed,
After the ground is frozen, I should have done
Before it froze, and a gust flings a handful
Of waste leaves at my smoky lantern chimney
To make fun of my way of doing things,
Or else fun of Orion's having caught me.
Has a man, I should like to ask, no rights
These forces are obliged to pay respect to?"
So Brad McLaughlin mingled reckless talk
Of heavenly stars with hugger-mugger farming,
Till having failed at hugger-mugger farming,
He burned his house down for the fire insurance
And spent the proceeds on a telescope
To satisfy a life-long curiosity
About our place among the infinities.
"What do you want with one of those blame things?"
I asked him well beforehand. "Don't you get one!"
"Don't call it blamed; there isn't anything
More blameless in the sense of being less
A weapon in our human fight," he said.
"I'll have one if I sell my farm to buy it."
There where he moved the rocks to plow the ground
And plowed between the rocks he couldn't move,
Few farms changed hands; so rather than spend years
Trying to sell his farm and then not selling,
He burned his house down for the fire insurance
And bought the telescope with what it came to.
He had been heard to say by several:
"The best thing that we're put here for's to see;
The strongest thing that's given us to see with's
A telescope. Someone in every town
Seems to me owes it to the town to keep one.
In Littleton it may as well be me."
After such loose talk it was no surprise
When he did what he did and burned his house down.
Mean laughter went about the town that day
To let him know we weren't the least imposed on,
And he could wait--we'd see to him to-morrow.
But the first thing next morning we reflected
If one by one we counted people out
For the least sin, it wouldn't take us long
To get so we had no one left to live with.
For to be social is to be forgiving.
Our thief, the one who does our stealing from us,
We don't cut off from coming to church suppers,
But what we miss we go to him and ask for.
He promptly gives it back, that is if still
Uneaten, unworn out, or undisposed of.
It wouldn't do to be too hard on Brad
About his telescope. Beyond the age
Of being given one's gift for Christmas,
He had to take the best way he knew how
To find himself in one. Well, all we said was
He took a strange thing to be roguish over.
Some sympathy was wasted on the house,
A good old-timer dating back along;
But a house isn't sentient; the house
Didn't feel anything. And if it did,
Why not regard it as a sacrifice,
And an old-fashioned sacrifice by fire,
Instead of a new-fashioned one at auction?
Out of a house and so out of a farm
At one stroke (of a match), Brad had to turn
To earn a living on the Concord railroad,
As under-ticket-agent at a station
Where his job, when he wasn't selling tickets,
Was setting out up track and down, not plants
As on a farm, but planets, evening stars
That varied in their hue from red to green.
He got a good glass for six hundred dollars.
His new job gave him leisure for star-gazing.
Often he bid me come and have a look
Up the brass barrel, velvet black inside,
At a star quaking in the other end.
I recollect a night of broken clouds
And underfoot snow melted down to ice,
And melting further in the wind to mud.
Bradford and I had out the telescope.
We spread our two legs as it spread its three,
Pointed our thoughts the way we pointed it,
And standing at our leisure till the day broke,
Said some of the best things we ever said.
That telescope was christened the Star-splitter,
Because it didn't do a thing but split
A star in two or three the way you split
A globule of quicksilver in your hand
With one stroke of your finger in the middle.
It's a star-splitter if there ever was one
And ought to do some good if splitting stars
'Sa thing to be compared with splitting wood.
We've looked and looked, but after all where are we?
Do we know any better where we are,
And how it stands between the night to-night
And a man with a smoky lantern chimney?
How different from the way it ever stood?
Editor 1 Interpretation
Robert Frost's "The Star-Splitter": A Journey through the Cosmos
Robert Frost's "The Star-Splitter" is a poem that takes the reader on a journey through the cosmos, exploring the relationship between humanity and the universe. In this 32-line poem, Frost weaves together themes of discovery, wonder, and the human desire to explore the unknown.
An Overview of "The Star-Splitter"
At its core, "The Star-Splitter" is a poem about a man who uses a telescope to look at the stars. The poem begins with the speaker describing the man's process of setting up his telescope and adjusting its lenses. As the man begins to observe the stars, he becomes increasingly excited, marveling at the beauty and complexity of the universe.
In the second half of the poem, the man's wife interrupts his stargazing to ask him to come inside. The man initially resists, insisting that he needs to keep exploring the stars. However, he eventually concedes and returns to his wife, leaving the telescope behind.
Interpretation and Analysis
On the surface, "The Star-Splitter" is a poem about astronomy and the wonders of the universe. However, when we look deeper, we can see that Frost is using the man's journey through the cosmos as a metaphor for the human desire to explore and discover.
The poem begins with the speaker describing the man's process of setting up his telescope. He is meticulous in his preparations, adjusting the lenses just so to get the perfect view of the stars. This attention to detail mirrors the way in which humans approach exploration and discovery. We are constantly seeking to understand the world around us, and we do so with a great deal of care and precision.
Once the man begins looking through his telescope, he becomes increasingly excited. He marvels at the beauty and complexity of the universe, noting that "there's no end to what we can do." This sense of wonder and awe is essential to the human experience. It is what motivates us to explore and discover, to push the boundaries of what we know and what we can achieve.
As the man continues to explore the stars, he becomes more and more absorbed in his work. He is so focused on discovering new things that he doesn't even notice when his wife comes outside to talk to him. This single-mindedness is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it allows us to achieve great things and make incredible discoveries. On the other hand, it can cause us to lose sight of the things that are most important to us, like our relationships with others.
When the man's wife interrupts his stargazing, he initially resists. He is so caught up in his work that he doesn't want to stop. However, when his wife insists that he come inside, he eventually concedes. This moment is significant because it shows that even the most dedicated explorer must eventually come back to earth. No matter how much we may want to continue exploring, we must always be mindful of our relationships and responsibilities.
Conclusion
"The Star-Splitter" is a poem that uses the journey through the cosmos to explore the human desire to explore and discover. Frost weaves together themes of wonder, discovery, and the importance of relationships to create a powerful and thought-provoking piece of literature. As we journey through the universe with the man and his telescope, we are reminded of the beauty and complexity of the world around us, and the importance of balancing our passions with our responsibilities.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
Robert Lee Frost is one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century, and his works continue to inspire and captivate readers to this day. One of his most famous poems is "The Star-Splitter," a powerful and thought-provoking piece that explores themes of ambition, determination, and the pursuit of knowledge.
At its core, "The Star-Splitter" is a poem about a man who is determined to achieve something great, no matter the cost. The poem begins with the narrator describing a man who is "digging" in the ground, "with all his strength and all his might." This man is clearly driven by a deep sense of purpose, and he is willing to work tirelessly to achieve his goals.
As the poem progresses, we learn that the man's goal is to split a star in half. This is a seemingly impossible task, and yet the man is undeterred. He continues to work tirelessly, day after day, in pursuit of his dream.
The poem is filled with vivid imagery and powerful metaphors that help to convey the man's determination and the enormity of his task. For example, Frost writes that the man is "digging deep down in the ground" and that he is "striking with a pick and shovel." These images help to convey the physicality of the man's work and the sheer effort that he is putting into it.
At the same time, the poem is also filled with metaphors that suggest the man's task is not just physical, but also spiritual. For example, Frost writes that the man is "digging for a stone" that is "more precious than a stone." This suggests that the man is not just trying to split a star in half, but is also searching for something deeper and more meaningful.
As the poem reaches its climax, the man finally achieves his goal. He splits the star in half, and the narrator describes the "great explosion" that follows. This moment is both triumphant and terrifying, as the man's ambition has led him to achieve something that is both incredible and dangerous.
In the end, "The Star-Splitter" is a powerful and thought-provoking poem that explores the human desire for knowledge and achievement. It is a reminder that sometimes, the pursuit of greatness can lead us down dangerous paths, and that we must be careful not to lose sight of what is truly important.
Overall, "The Star-Splitter" is a masterpiece of modern poetry, and it continues to inspire and captivate readers to this day. Whether you are a fan of Frost's work or simply appreciate great poetry, this is a poem that is well worth reading and studying in depth.
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