'The Star Splitter' by Robert Frost
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`You know Orion 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 lifelong 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 might 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 tomorrow.
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 for Christmas gift,
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 stargazing.
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 we 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 tonight
And a man with a smoky lantern chimney?
How different from the way it ever stood?
Editor 1 Interpretation
The Star Splitter: A Literary Analysis
Oh, The Star Splitter! What a poem! Written by Robert Frost, this classic piece of literature is a true masterpiece. The poem tells the story of a man who is obsessed with the stars, and spends his nights gazing at the sky, dreaming of splitting the stars apart to see what they are made of.
Structure and Form
The poem is written in iambic pentameter, which means that each line has ten syllables and follows a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables. This gives the poem a rhythmic quality that makes it easy to read and remember. The poem consists of eight stanzas, each with four lines. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, which means that the first and third lines rhyme, as do the second and fourth.
Interpretation
The Star Splitter is a poem about the human desire to understand the unknown. The man in the poem is a symbol of humanity's quest for knowledge and understanding. He is driven by a burning curiosity to uncover the secrets of the universe, and he spends his nights staring up at the stars, trying to fathom their mysteries.
However, the poem also highlights the futility of such a quest. The man's obsession with the stars leads him to neglect his relationships with other people, including his wife. He becomes so focused on his goal that he loses sight of what is truly important in life. In the end, he realizes that his quest is impossible, and he is left with nothing but regret.
Analysis
In the first stanza of the poem, the man is introduced as "a town that likes to be thought of as [...] practical." This sets up a contrast between the man's impractical obsession with the stars and the practicality of the town. The man is seen as a bit of an oddball, and his neighbors view him with suspicion and curiosity.
The second stanza describes the man's nightly ritual of staring up at the stars. He is described as "prone on the hilltops, looking up,/To spread them sheet on sheet of scintillant stuff." The use of the word "prone" suggests that the man is lying down, completely absorbed in his task. The image of spreading "sheet on sheet" of stars suggests that the man is trying to uncover something hidden, to peel back the layers of the universe and reveal its secrets.
In the third stanza, we learn that the man has a wife, and that she does not share his obsession with the stars. She is described as "not so unreasonable bitter/Quite, but a natural woman." This suggests that the man's wife is a realist, someone who values the practical aspects of life over abstract pursuits. The man's obsession with the stars creates a rift between them, and the wife is left feeling neglected and unimportant.
The fourth stanza describes the man's descent into madness. He becomes so obsessed with the stars that he begins to see them as physical objects that can be split apart. He imagines himself "spitting them out all broken,/Flat as a wall against the sky." This image is both beautiful and terrifying. The man's obsession has led him to a point of no return, and he is now consumed by his desire to uncover the secrets of the universe.
In the fifth stanza, the man's wife confronts him about his obsession. She tells him that he is neglecting her, and that he needs to focus on their relationship. The man responds by telling her that his quest is more important than anything else, and that he cannot stop until he has achieved his goal. This exchange highlights the conflict between the man's desire for knowledge and his duty to his family.
In the sixth stanza, the man realizes that his quest is impossible. He acknowledges that the stars cannot be split apart, and that his obsession has been for naught. He is left with a sense of regret, realizing too late that he has neglected the important things in life.
In the seventh stanza, the man is described as "old and foolish." He has come to the end of his life, and he realizes that his obsession with the stars has been a mistake. He is left with nothing but regret, and he wishes that he had focused on his relationships instead of his quest for knowledge.
In the final stanza, the man is described as "gone." He has died, and his quest for knowledge has ended in failure. The poem ends with the image of the stars "majestical as ever," which suggests that the universe will continue on, indifferent to the man's quest for understanding.
Conclusion
The Star Splitter is a beautiful and haunting poem that explores the human desire to understand the unknown. The man in the poem is a symbol of humanity's quest for knowledge and understanding, and his obsession with the stars highlights the pitfalls of such a quest. The poem is a reminder that while the pursuit of knowledge is important, it is not the only thing that matters in life. We must also value our relationships with others and appreciate the beauty of the world around us.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Star Splitter: A Poem of Hope and Ambition
Robert Frost, one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century, wrote a poem that speaks to the heart of human ambition and the desire to explore the unknown. The Star Splitter is a classic poem that tells the story of a man who dreams of reaching the stars and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal.
The poem begins with the narrator describing a man named Cyrus, who is known in the town for his strange behavior. Cyrus is a man who is always looking up at the stars, and he spends his days and nights studying the sky. He is a man who is driven by a deep desire to understand the universe and to explore the unknown.
Despite the ridicule and mockery he faces from the townspeople, Cyrus remains steadfast in his pursuit of knowledge. He spends his days building a telescope, and he works tirelessly to perfect his craft. He is a man who is consumed by his passion, and he will not rest until he has achieved his goal.
As the poem progresses, we see Cyrus become more and more obsessed with his work. He spends long hours studying the stars, and he becomes increasingly isolated from the world around him. He is a man who is consumed by his ambition, and he will stop at nothing to achieve his dreams.
Despite the challenges he faces, Cyrus remains determined to succeed. He is a man who is driven by a deep sense of purpose, and he will not be deterred by the obstacles that stand in his way. He is a man who is willing to take risks and to push himself to the limit in order to achieve his goals.
In the end, Cyrus achieves his dream of reaching the stars. He builds a rocket and launches himself into space, leaving behind the world he once knew. He is a man who has achieved the impossible, and he has done so through sheer force of will and determination.
The Star Splitter is a poem that speaks to the human spirit and the power of ambition. It is a poem that reminds us that anything is possible if we are willing to work hard and to believe in ourselves. It is a poem that inspires us to dream big and to never give up on our goals.
At its core, The Star Splitter is a poem about hope. It is a poem that reminds us that even in the darkest of times, there is always a glimmer of light that can guide us towards a better future. It is a poem that encourages us to look up at the stars and to imagine all the possibilities that lie ahead.
In conclusion, The Star Splitter is a classic poem that speaks to the heart of human ambition and the desire to explore the unknown. It is a poem that reminds us that anything is possible if we are willing to work hard and to believe in ourselves. It is a poem that inspires us to dream big and to never give up on our goals.
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