“The Starry Night” Introduction

• Read the full text of “The Starry Night”

“The Starry Night” Summary

“The Starry Night” Themes

• 

  The Release of Death

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-17
• 

  The Power of Art

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-17

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Starry Night”

• Before Line 1

  That does not ...
  ... to his brother

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 1-4

  The town does ...
  ... with eleven stars.   

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 5-6

  Oh starry starry ...
  ... want to die.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 7-10

  It moves. They ...
  ... up the stars.   

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 11-17

  Oh starry starry ...
  ... no cry.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

“The Starry Night” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where metaphor appears in the poem:

  • Line 4: “The night boils with eleven stars.   ”
  • Line 8: “the moon bulges in its orange irons  ”
  • Line 10: “The old unseen serpent swallows up the stars.  ”
  • Line 13: “that rushing beast of the night, ”
  • Line 14: “sucked up by that great dragon,”
  • Lines 15-17: “no flag, / no belly, / no cry.”

• Simile

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where simile appears in the poem:

  • Lines 2-3: “one black-haired tree slips / up like a drowned woman into the hot sky.”
  • Line 9: “to push children, like a god, from its eye.”

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where repetition appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “The town”
  • Line 4: “The town,” “stars”
  • Line 5: “starry starry”
  • Line 10: “stars”
  • Line 11: “starry starry”

• Refrain

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where refrain appears in the poem:

  • Lines 5-6: “Oh starry starry night! This is how / I want to die.”
  • Lines 11-12: “Oh starry starry night! This is how    / I want to die:”

• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where enjambment appears in the poem:

  • Lines 2-3: “slips / up”
  • Lines 5-6: “how / I”
  • Lines 8-9: “irons    / to”
  • Lines 11-12: “how    / I”
  • Lines 14-15: “split    / from”

• Asyndeton

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

  • Lines 15-17: “no flag, / no belly, / no cry.”

• Assonance

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where assonance appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “exist”
  • Line 2: “slips”
  • Line 3: “sky”
  • Line 4: “silent,” “night”
  • Line 5: “night”
  • Line 6: “I,” “die”
  • Line 7: “alive”
  • Line 8: “irons”
  • Line 9: “like,” “eye”
  • Line 12: “I,” “die”
  • Line 13: “night”
  • Line 14: “sucked up”
  • Line 15: “life”
  • Line 17: “cry”

• Sibilance

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where sibilance appears in the poem:

  • Line 10: “unseen serpent swallows,” “stars”
  • Line 13: “rushing beast”
  • Line 14: “sucked,” “split”

• Imagery

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  Where imagery appears in the poem:

  • Lines 2-4: “one black-haired tree slips / up like a drowned woman into the hot sky. / The town is silent. The night boils with eleven stars.   ”
  • Lines 8-9: “Even the moon bulges in its orange irons    / to push children, like a god, from its eye.”

“The Starry Night” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Irons

• (Location in poem: Line 8: “the moon bulges in its orange irons ”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Starry Night”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Starry Night” Speaker

“The Starry Night” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Starry Night”

More “The Starry Night” Resources

• External Resources

  • Van Gogh's Starry Night — Learn more about the famous painting that inspired this poem.

  • A Short Biography — Learn more about Anne Sexton's life and work at the Poetry Foundation.

  • An Interview with Sexton — Watch Sexton speak in a 1973 interview.

  • The Poem Aloud — Listen to Anne Sexton reading this poem aloud.

  • Sexton's Legacy — Read about some recently rediscovered Sexton poems, and learn more about her influence on the world of poetry.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Anne Sexton

  • Her Kind