19 pages • 38 minutes read
Ada LimónDead Stars
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
A Better World is Possible
A central message of “Dead Stars” is that humans can create a healthier world than the current one of 2021. To craft this message, Limón opens the poem with images of a cold and dead landscape. Winter’s harsh hand touches everything, and the trees are black and with yellow leaves. The tone is dramatic, and the imagery is stark, showing the present to be harsh and unforgiving. By the fifth stanza, the poem doesn’t only portray the natural world in a state of disrepair, but people, too: They’re disconnected from their history with the universe; they’ve forgotten the names and stories of so many constellations. To build a message of hope, Limón first constructs a world that needs to be fixed, using the first half of “Dead Stars” to depict nature and people in disjointed states.
The second half of the poem quickens in pace and proposes questions to the reader, culminating in a vision of a hopeful and beautiful future. Despite the current terrified state, the speaker reminds the reader that humans have survived for so long, and can continue to improve how to survive and love each other. Limón asks the reader to envision utilizing resilience and strength to protect the natural world and to create a safer world for people, too. These actions and beliefs would be worthy of canonizing in constellations. After using the first half of “Dead Stars” to paint a stark image of the present, Limón juxtaposes that with a bright and vivid future, suggesting that humans are capable of creating a better world.
Humans are Deeply Connected to the Natural World
As Limón develops her message of creating a better world, she also shines a light on the inherent connectedness humans share with all of existence. “Dead Stars” finds the human characters in the suburbs, staring up at Orion but forgetting many of the other constellations in the sky; however, the speaker reminds the reader that humans are created from stardust: “But mostly we’re forgetting we’re dead stars too, my / mouth is full / of dust and I wish to reclaim the rising—” (Lines 17-19). People may have lost sight of that, but they can reconnect and embrace a fuller connection with nature and the universe. There is greatness inside all of humankind and remembering that is a reminder of the wonder of existence: “what’s larger within us, toward how we were / born. / Look, we are not unspectacular things” (Lines 22-24). Using the titular image of dead stars, Limón offers that this is not a bleak image, but a wondrous one.
After reiterating the human connectedness to the unconscious world, Limón describes the greatness people can achieve if this connection is defended. Because humans come from the natural world, if the defend it, they may channel the greatness of the stars inside them: “if we launched our demands into the sky, made / ourselves so big / people could point to us with the arrows they make / in their minds” (Lines 39-42). Humans will never become constellations, but human ideas and values have the potential to be memorable and lasting--something future generations will be able to see and to which they may aspire. By showing how deeply connected humans are to the natural world, Limón also shows that that connectedness is what makes being human beings so magical.
People Can Create Joy Despite Their Failures
By its conclusion, “Dead Stars” is full of hope and encouragement for the future. The people in the present, however, are full of doubt and failure. Early in the poem, the speaker describes their body with a frightening image of arachnids: “I am a hearth of spiders these days: a nest of trying” (Line 6). The speaker comes from a dead star, but they are not a singular beautiful thing. They still carry darkness. They don’t accomplish all their goals either; they are filled with trying, but not necessarily success. By portraying the speaker’s internal body with the image of spiders, Limón adds complexity to the humans in the poem. They contain wonder and failure, becoming nuanced and more interesting.
Other characters fail too, albeit more humorously. As the speaker takes out the trash, they look up at the stars with a second, unnamed character, who might be their partner or neighbor. The night sky offers a romantic moment, but it’s ruined by the actions of the second character: “It’s almost romantic as we adjust the waxy blue / recycling bin until you say, Man, we should really / learn / some new constellations” (Lines 11-14). Using dialogue, Limón gives the poem a humorous moment that nevertheless develops her depiction of human beings. Through their own faults--whether dramatic or humorous--people fail, disconnecting from being present and enjoying the natural world. The second half of the poem offers reprieve to this dilemma, and the image of caring people leaving their mark on the sky suggests that even imperfect beings can accomplish noble tasks.
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By Ada Limón
