Fireflies In The Garden
By Robert Frost
Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,
And here on earth come emulating flies,
That though they never equal stars in size,
(And they were never really stars at heart)
Achieve at times a very star-like start.
Only, of course, they can’t sustain the part.
Summary of Fireflies In The Garden
- Popularity of “Fireflies In The Garden”: The poem ‘Fireflies In The Garden’ was written by Robert Frost, an American poet. The poem first appeared in 1928 in his book, West-Running Brook. It was also included in the collection, The Poetry of Robert Frost that Edward Connery Lathem had edited. The unique quality of this poetic product lies in the comparison of natural beauty and the poet’s jubilation at it.
- “Fireflies In The Garden” As a Representative of Natural Beauty: As a typical style used by Robert Frost, the poem starts by syncing the whole theme of the poem with its title. He states that when night comes, real stars appear in the skies. The earth is full of small stars which are competing with the real stars. Sometimes, they emulate them despite their short stature which means they are small in size but large in beauty. Although they are not stars themselves, they achieve the status of stars as they are also like stars. The reason is that they also do not produce light in the day.
- Major Themes in “Fireflies In The Garden”: Natural beauty and comparison of natural beauty are two major thematic strands of this poem. Here the poet rather reversed the themes and compared both of the general phenomena to state that the second one that is on the earth is better than the first one. However, this comparison also shows his heartfelt desire of showing the excellent beauty of the fireflies that used to roam around him during his childhood.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Fireflies In The Garden
literary devices are literary strategies used to make writings enchanting. The analysis of these devices in the poem “Fireflies In The Garden” as given below shows this fact.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /ee/ in “Here come real stars to fill the upper skies” and the sound of /o/ in “Only, of course, they can’t sustain the part.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /r/ in “That though they never equal stars in size”, the sound of /r/, the /t/, and /s/ in “And they were never really stars at heart” and the sound of /s/, /t/, and /n/ in “Only, of course, they can’t sustain the part.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “Here come real stars to fill the upper skies”, “That though they never equal stars in size” and “Achieve at times a very star-like start.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows fireflies compared to stars.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of stars and fireflies as symbols of natural beauty.
- Simile: The poem shows the use of similes such as “a very star-like start” in which he has compared the beginning of the fireflies to that of the stars.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Fireflies in the Garden
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: Although the diction is beautified with images, it has a beautiful and serious tone.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows AAA BBB rhyming pattern.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This is a single-stanza poem having six verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Fireflies in the Garden” are relevant to use when delivering a motivational lecture to rising stars or new talent.
(And they were never really stars at heart)
Achieve at times a very star-like start.
Only, of course, they can’t sustain the part.
