"Fireflies in the Garden"

"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.

Frost is comparing stars and fireflies. He differentiates that stars are in the sky while fireflies are on Earth. At the beginning, he wants to see if fireflies can fulfill the majestic role of stars in the night sky. He does this saying, “Here come real stars to fill the upper skies, and here on Earth come emulating flies… to achieve at times a very star-like start” (lines 1-3,5). Though, at the end, Frost claims that fireflies can’t equal a star by stating that the flies “Can’t sustain the part” (line 6). In the middle of the poem, Frost foreshadows his conclusion by expressing his doubt in line 4. This shows that Frost believes that the beauty of a firefly is inferior to that of a star. The poem’s rhyme scheme is that of “AAABBB” and if you were to take this poem to another level, we could interpret it as if Frost is comparing fireflies and stars to any feeling a person could have such as love or friendship. An example could be a big love that leaves and another one may come and take its place, even though it will never replace it or be as the original.

For more analysis on this poem, you may visit the following link:
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/12126/comments.