The Stars

The stars symbolize impartial and timeless witnesses. They appear over the speaker and the beloved as the speaker recounts a chilling story, and they also appear in the story itself. At the moment of the dog Max's murder, the stars "seem to recede like so many of the lies of light," suggesting that people find false hope and comfort in them (48).

Fire

Fire symbolizes burning desire in the poem. Just as fire can be dangerous, the speaker describes the boy's terror in terms of fire, and it is this terror that drives him to kill Max. The speaker also uses fire to describe the need to recount the story in the first place.

Yarn and Threads

Yarn and threads symbolize the connection between disparate things as well as fate in the poem. The speaker tells the beloved that he or she has become "the delicate...