A Fragment
A Fragment - meaning Summary
Longing for a Returning Star
The poem expresses longing and disappointment as the speaker calls for a "beautiful star"—a beloved figure—to return across a stormy, overrated sea. Refrains of arrival and departure alternate with ironic place-name references (Philistine, Niagara, Tupper), undercutting idealized imagery with a worldly, slightly satirical tone. The repeating address to both star and ship mixes romantic yearning with a jaundiced view of fame and travel.
Read Complete AnalysesBeautiful star with the crimson lips And flagrant daffodil hair, Come back, come back, in the shaking ships O'er the much-overrated sea, To the hearts that are sick for thee With a woe worse than mal de mer- O beautiful stars with the crimson lips And the flagrant daffodil hair. - O ship that shakes on the desolate sea, Neath the flag of the wan White Star, Thou bringest a brighter star with thee From the land of the Philistine, Where Niagara's reckoned fine And Tupper is popular- O ship that shakes on the desolate sea, Neath the flag of the wan White Star.
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