ON THE BEACH AT NIGHT

Untitled Slide

Untitled Slide

Paraphrase
This poem is written about a young girl and her father stargazing at the beach. When the clouds start to roll in, they cover up Jupiter and the stars and the young child starts to cry. She thinks that all of the beautiful stars are gone forever. The father explains with a sense of understanding that they will return again once the clouds blow away. The man realizes that though the disappearance of Jupiter and the stars is temporary, everything must come to an end someday and that we should all accept it with a sense of strength when it comes.

Theme
The theme of the poem is that some things will come and go temporarily. In the end, it will eventually stop returning or die.

Theme of specific lines

"Something shall endure even after the lustrous Jupiter" explains that one day Jupiter will, in fact, end. Also it elaborates on the point that life will go on with the loss.

Literal Title
The man speaking and his young daughter are standing on the beach and looking at the night sky.

Figurative Title
"On the beach" in a dream signals the desire for a new beginning or for the ending of something to come nearer. "At night" could reference that everything ends with darkness, but the sun comes up the next day to bring hope.

SPEAKER

• The speaker is a man who likes gazing at stars
• He is at the beach with his daughter
• His emotion is dreamy and wondering

Compare and Contrast
The speaker compares his mortality to the stars, planets, and all things, inanimate or living.