Stars, Wonder & Guidance
Public Domain Poems About Night
Inspirational PoemsThe Star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Then the traveller in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark;
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye
Till the sun is in the sky.
’Tis your bright and tiny spark
Lights the traveller in the dark;
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
Overview Short Summary
“The Star” presents a childlike speaker wondering about a star and recognizing its usefulness to travelers in darkness. The poem combines curiosity, beauty, and guidance.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Wonder: The speaker looks at the star with curiosity.
- Night guidance: The star helps travelers find their way in darkness.
- Small light, large meaning: The tiny spark becomes emotionally important.
Literary Technique Imagery and Personification
The star is compared to a diamond and described as a watchful light in the dark blue sky. Its “tiny spark” makes the night feel both mysterious and safe.
Poetic Form Rhyme Scheme and Structure
The poem uses short rhyming couplets and repeated lines. Its musical structure makes it easy for children and students to remember.
The Moon
The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and field and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.
The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.
But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.
Overview Short Summary
Stevenson’s “The Moon” shows the nighttime world under moonlight. Some creatures become active at night, while daytime things, including children and flowers, close their eyes until morning.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Moonlight: The moon shines over streets, fields, animals, and sleeping birds.
- Night life: Cats, mice, dogs, and bats belong to the active night world.
- Day and night contrast: The poem separates creatures of night from things that sleep until morning.
Craft Literary Devices
- Simile: The moon’s face is compared to a clock.
- Personification: The moon is given a face and an active presence.
- Contrast: Night creatures are set against flowers and children who sleep.
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe—
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
“Where are you going, and what do you wish?”
The old moon asked the three.
“We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we,”
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea—
“Now cast your nets wherever you wish—
Never afeard are we!”
So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam—
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home:
’Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought ’twas a dream they’d dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea—
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one’s trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
Overview Short Summary
This bedtime poem turns sleep into a magical night voyage. The stars become fish, the sky becomes a sea, and a child’s bed becomes the wooden shoe carrying the dreamers.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Dreams: Night becomes the doorway into imagination.
- Bedtime comfort: The mother’s song helps the child move toward sleep.
- Stars and wonder: The night sky becomes playful and alive.
Interpretation Symbols and Their Meaning
- Wynken and Blynken: Symbolize the child’s eyes.
- Nod: Symbolizes the sleepy head.
- The wooden shoe: Symbolizes the child’s bed moving into dream.
Craft Literary Devices
- Metaphor: The sky becomes a sea and stars become fish.
- Personification: The moon speaks, laughs, and sings.
- Repetition: The repeated names create a lullaby rhythm.
Evening Star
’Twas noontide of summer,
And midtime of night,
And stars, in their orbits,
Shone pale, through the light
Of the brighter, cold moon.
’Mid planets her slaves,
Herself in the Heavens,
Her beam on the waves.
I gazed awhile
On her cold smile;
Too cold—too cold for me—
There passed, as a shroud,
A fleecy cloud,
And I turned away to thee,
Proud Evening Star,
In thy glory afar,
And dearer thy beam shall be;
For joy to my heart
Is the proud part
Thou bearest in Heaven at night,
And more I admire
Thy distant fire,
Than that colder, lowly light.
Overview Short Summary
Poe’s speaker turns away from the cold moon and chooses the distant Evening Star instead. The poem contrasts cold brilliance with a more emotionally meaningful, distant light.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Moon and star contrast: The moon is bright but emotionally cold, while the star feels dearer.
- Romantic preference: The speaker chooses distant fire over cold beauty.
- Night vision: The poem uses the night sky to express emotional attraction.
Craft Literary Devices
- Personification: The moon has a “cold smile.”
- Symbolism: The Evening Star symbolizes emotional warmth and admiration.
- Contrast: Cold moonlight is set against the star’s distant fire.
The Starlight Night
Look at the stars! look, look up at the skies!
O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air!
The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there!
Down in dim woods the diamond delves! the elves’-eyes!
The grey lawns cold where gold, where quickgold lies!
Wind-beat whitebeam! airy abeles set on a flare!
Flake-doves sent floating forth at a farmyard scare!—
Ah well! it is all a purchase, all is a prize.
Buy then! bid then!—What?—Prayer, patience, alms, vows.
Look, look: a May-mess, like on orchard boughs!
Look! March-bloom, like on mealed-with-yellow sallows!
These are indeed the barn; withindoors house
The shocks. This piece-bright paling shuts the spouse
Christ home, Christ and his mother and all his hallows.
Overview Short Summary
Hopkins’s poem urges the reader to look up at a star-filled sky. The night sky becomes a dazzling spiritual vision, full of brightness, abundance, and religious meaning.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Stars and wonder: The night sky is presented as astonishing and alive.
- Spiritual vision: The stars point beyond natural beauty toward religious meaning.
- Attention: The repeated command to “look” makes seeing an active spiritual act.
Literary Technique Imagery and Personification
The poem is filled with dense imagery: “fire-folk,” “bright boroughs,” “diamond delves,” and “circle-citadels.” These images make the stars feel like living communities of light.
Craft Literary Devices
- Repetition: “Look” is repeated to create urgency and wonder.
- Metaphor: Stars become cities, fire-folk, and spiritual treasure.
- Alliteration: Hopkins’s sound patterns create energy and texture.
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