Symbol Analysis
The stars don’t come up a lot, but we think the couple of mentions add a lot to the poem. They give us a little bit of perspective, and help us see some of the beauty of the North, as well as the cold and the misery. It makes it easier to imagine why people would want to live there.
- Line 18: When non-living things like stars are described as acting like humans (in this case "dancing heel and toe"), that’s called personification. This is a fun example of that. We like the idea of a sky full of twinkling, dancing stars.
- Line 55: Here are those dancing stars again. Not a big moment, but definitely kind of a cheery image.