Well-Educated Mind Poetry Reading List discussion

This poem uses the love of stars to represent unrequited love. Auden recognizes that the stars we admire know nothing about us, nor do they care. And when they appear, we did not miss them. If they disappeared forever, we would get over it eventually. Loving stars is his motif for loving another person who cannot or will not return his love.

Auden's argument is that if he had to choose between the one to receive love verses the one who gave love, he would rather be the more loving one than the one who cannot or will not return love.