"Fireflies in the Garden" by Robert Frost

Robert Frost was an American poet, born in March of 1874. He became one of the most critically acclaimed poets of the twentieth century with his works that examined complex social and philosophical themes. He received four Pulitzer prizes for his work and a Congressional Gold Medal in 1960. He died in January of 1963.

Fireflies in the Garden

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.

 

This poem employs the usage of figurative language as the foundation of the poem. It uses a metaphor to portray Fireflies as the "stars" of the poem, saying, "Here come real stars to fill the upper skies, and here on earth come emulating flies." The word emulating, by its denotation, gives us a sense that fireflies aspire to be like the stars, to shine throughout the night. While the real stars light up the sky, the flies' task is to light the Earth in a likewise manner. However, a large burning sphere millions of light years away from Earth and a tiny, light producing insect, have little in common other than their inclination to illuminate the night. The author notes, " they were never equal stars in size," meaning that it is a large role for just fireflies to fill. This seems to be a known fact among the insects as, "they were never really stars at heart," according to Frost. From this point on in the poem, there seems to be a change of tone from admiration to pity. The lightning bugs just cannot imitate stars on a grand scale. Again the author notes, "they can't sustain the part." This may be a reference to how they maybe do not shine bright enough, or that they are not glistening continuously.  Whatever the case, the author seems sympathize with the bugs in that although they may not completely fill the large shoes of stars, they make their best effort to do on Earth what the stars do across the sky.