The poem "Falling Star" by Sara Teasdale is a very short poem about a shooting star and its beauty. The poem describes a falling star that flies through the sky, but, because of its nature—its beauty, its burning heat, and its brightness—it can't be captured but only observed while its on its way to its destruction.
The metaphor behind this poem is the falling star is something that is so beautiful and so desirable, but this is only in its destruction. If it were not falling, it wouldn't be wished upon, and if it weren't burning itself up, it wouldn't be shining so brightly and beautifully. It is a tragic portrayal of the beauty of something that can't be attained.
What is the theme of "The Falling Star" by Sara Teasdale?
One theme that could apply to this short poem is the inherent beauty in the unattainable. A "falling star" is actually a mass of dust and/or rock colliding...
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with our earth'satmosphere. As the two come in contact with each other, the rock is set ablaze. This fire is what we see from the earth and describe as a "falling star."
The tragedy is that this material is being consumed by heat and flame. It has to collide with a destructive atmosphere in order to produce a brilliant and beautiful light.
From Earth, we see this fire and gaze up in wonder. We are taught to make wishes on these "falling stars," and scientists give us updates on when we can expect the next great shower in our atmosphere.
But the beauty exists only because of destruction. The light is present only because the rock will cease to exist.
Thus, there is a sense of inherent tragedy in this phenomenon. While it brings beauty, that beauty is fleeting and within seconds will be gone forever. This type of beauty is "too lovely" to last, and we can only appreciate it for a moment. Therefore, trying to hold on to a captivating yet destructive beauty is ultimately impossible.