"The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean" was written by the American poet Robinson Jeffers in 1940, not long after the start of WWII. The poem's speaker, anxious about the state of the world, is wandering along the coast when he comes across a wild boar digging through the dirt for food. Like a creature from a fable, this boar can talk, and he advises the speaker to abandon society altogether and lay low in the mountains for the next "four or five centuries." The boar has no patience for human politics, which the poem implies are destructive and foolish. The poem also repeats the titular image of stars moving across the ocean, conveying that human concerns seem petty and fleeting against the backdrop of a vast, indifferent universe.

• Read the full text of “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean”

• “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean” Summary

• “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean” Themes

  • 

    Political Crisis and Disillusionment

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2
    • Lines 10-12
    • Lines 15-19
    • Lines 22-26
  • 

    Nature vs. Humanity

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-21
    • Lines 25-28

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean”

  • Lines 1-5

    Unhappy about some ...
    ... the lonely ocean,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 6-7

    And a black-maned ...
    ... Mal Paso Mountain.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 8-9

    The old monster ...
    ... and sprouted acorns.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 10-14

    The best nation ...
    ... Mal Paso Mountain.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 15-21

    "The world's in ...
    ... Mal Paso Mountain.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 22-24

    "Keep clear of ...
    ... liars and believers.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 25-28

    I believe in ...
    ... Mal Paso Mountain.

    

    

    

    

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• “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean” Symbols

  • 

    The Stars and the Ocean

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 5: “The stars go over the lonely ocean,”
    • Line 12: “But the stars go over the lonely ocean,"”
    • Line 19: “While the stars go over the lonely ocean,"”
  • 

    The Boar

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 6-7: “And a black-maned wild boar / Plowing with his snout on Mal Paso Mountain.”
    • Lines 13-14: “The old black-bristled boar, / Tearing the sod on Mal Paso Mountain.”
    • Lines 20-21: “Said the old father of wild pigs, / Plowing the fallow on Mal Paso Mountain.”
    • Lines 27-28: “Said the gamey black-maned boar / Tusking the turf on Mal Paso Mountain.”

• “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “black-maned,” “boar”
    • Line 7: “Plowing,” “Mal,” “Paso,” “Mountain”
    • Line 8: “snuffled,” “sweet”
    • Line 9: “slick,” “sprouted”
    • Line 10: “fallen”
    • Line 11: “Finland”
    • Line 13: “black-bristled boar”
    • Line 14: “Mal,” “Mountain”
    • Line 15: “bad,” “my man”
    • Line 16: “bound,” “be,” “before”
    • Line 17: “Better”
    • Line 18: “Four,” “five”
    • Line 20: “father,” “pigs”
    • Line 21: “Plowing,” “fallow,” “Mal,” “Paso,” “Mountain”
    • Line 22: “dupes,” “democracy”
    • Line 23: “dogs”
    • Line 24: “Drunk,” “talk”
    • Line 25: “tusks”
    • Line 26: “Long live”
    • Line 27: “black-maned boar”
    • Line 28: “Tusking,” “turf,” “Mal,” “Mountain”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “things / That”
    • Lines 2-3: “wandering / Along”
    • Lines 4-5: “evening / The”
    • Lines 6-7: “boar / Plowing”
    • Lines 17-18: “here / Four”
    • Lines 22-23: “democracy / And”
    • Lines 27-28: “boar / Tusking”

  • Anthropomorphism

    

    

    

    

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    Where anthropomorphism appears in the poem:

    • Lines 8-28

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Lines 5-7: “The stars go over the lonely ocean, / And a black-maned wild boar / Plowing with his snout on Mal Paso Mountain.”
    • Lines 12-14: “But the stars go over the lonely ocean," / The old black-bristled boar, / Tearing the sod on Mal Paso Mountain.”
    • Lines 19-21: “While the stars go over the lonely ocean," / Said the old father of wild pigs, / Plowing the fallow on Mal Paso Mountain.”
    • Line 22: “talk”
    • Line 23: “talk”
    • Line 24: “talk”
    • Lines 27-28: “Said the gamey black-maned boar / Tusking the turf on Mal Paso Mountain.”

  • Pathetic Fallacy

    

    

    

    

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    Where pathetic fallacy appears in the poem:

    • Line 5: “The stars go over the lonely ocean,”
    • Line 12: “But the stars go over the lonely ocean,"”
    • Line 19: “While the stars go over the lonely ocean,"”

• “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean” 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.

  • My affair
  • Ridges
  • Plowing
  • Fat grubs
  • Sod
  • Fallow
  • Dupes
  • Tusking the turf
  • Gamey
  • (Location in poem: Lines 1-2: “Unhappy about some far off things / That are not my affair”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean” Speaker

• “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean”

• More “The Stars Go Over the Lonely Ocean” Resources

  • External Resources

    • A Short History of the "Winter War" — Check out a brief overview of the conflict between Finland and the Soviet Union that Jeffers alludes to in this poem.

    • Jeffers and Inhumanism — Learn more about an essential concept in Jeffers's work.

    • Jeffers's Biography — Learn more about the poet in this biography from the Poetry Foundation.

    • Tor House — Check out the history behind a special stone house—built by Jeffers's own hand! 

    • Robinson Jeffers Podcast — Tune into a Lit Matters episode dedicated to Jeffers's life and work.

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