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.
Background
Authorial Context
“Dead Stars” finds Limón contemplating humanity's treatment of the natural world, encouraging readers to adopt a mindset focused on cohesion and empathy. Limón has regularly stated (see interviews in Further Reading & Resources) that while growing up in California, she was instilled with an appreciation for nature from a young age. With its vivid depictions of natural and celestial forces, Limón’s admiration of nature is apparent. Additionally, Limón makes sure to place people within nature, rather than separating the natural and developed worlds. The sixth stanza, for example, reminds the reader that people are made up of particles from stars. By looking inward and focusing on the connective tissue that unifies human beings with the rest of existence, Limón believes people can lead the way to a future respectful of all living things. Her lifelong respect for the earth and nature is represented in “Dead Stars,” and she creates an honest poem, steadfast in its call to take care of the world.
The poem also emphasizes the intense connection between life and death. Living people are the byproducts of dead stars; the death of one thing prompts the life of another. The speaker, too, sees themselves as a hearth of spiders in Line 6. A hearth implies a warm and homey image, but the spider is a predator that hunts and kills--another instance of life and death intertwined. Line 6 concludes with the speaker referring to themselves as a nest of trying, which might refer to Limón’s own difficulties with conceiving a child--a topic she says inspired much of the writing of the collection. Limón stated she seeks to tackle life’s big questions in her work, and “Dead Stars” exemplifies that by focusing on the connectedness of life and death, and of humanity with the natural realm.
Historical Analysis
Published in 2018, “Dead Stars” focuses on contemporary issues. In a news segment for PBS (see Further Reading & Resources), Limón speaks about the present moment and her desire to critique and question it in her work. She sees social media as a place fueled by rage--and not productively so. Poetry, she argues, is a medium where people can channel rage in a healthy way. It is a means for decompression, but also connection with others by sharing fears in a healthy way. Her concerns are reflected in “Dead Stars,” which encourages the reader to envision a time not motivated by terror (the present), and instead imagine a future of hope and caring. 2018, and the years surrounding it, are a time of intense political division, filled with calls for social change. Often, American society’s outlook can feel bleak; Limón lets that fear fuel her and strengthen her resolve to hope for a better future.
The changing climate is also referenced in “Dead Stars.” Line 31 references a rising tide--likely the rising sea levels caused by climate change. In the same stanza, the speaker asks the reader to say no to that rising tide, to combat it for the sake of surviving in a better way than the current. The poem goes on to ask the reader to consider speaking for the earth, the land, and animals, which cannot defend themselves, and to create a haven. The poem’s call to action feels appropriate given the present moment--an era riddled with climate destruction and continuous pollution.
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By Ada Limón
