#9 Bright Star

Bright Star was one that I had problems with initially, probably because I was stuck on the "star" instead of what the speaker was really saying, but here it goes. The diction means a lot in this poem because it is what compares the star and the lover. One of the words that I paid a lot of attention to was "swoon" in line 14 "swoon to death." I was confused because I thought that swoon meant to faint and I couldn't figure out what it meant. Swoon in this sense is a positive connotation I think. The speaker would rather be with his lover for eternity, or "swoon to death" at the peak. This poem is very sweet and the diction leads the readers to make the connection and understand the meaning. Another example is the comparison of the star to a hermit. Hermits to me are very holy, patient, and always there and the comparison helped me see how the speaker was comparing the love he wants to a star.