Lyric Poem · For Kids
The Star (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
by Jane Taylor · 1806
1Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
2How I wonder what you are!
3Up above the world so high,
4Like a diamond in the sky.
5When the blazing sun is gone,
6When he nothing shines upon,
7Then you show your little light,
8Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
9Then the trav'ller in the dark,
10Thanks you for your tiny spark,
11He could not see which way to go,
12If you did not twinkle so.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“The Star (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)” by Jane Taylor — quilloak.com/poems/twinkle-twinkle-little-star
Quick facts
- Poem
- The Star (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
- Poet
- Jane Taylor
- Published
- 1806
- Length
- 20 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem, Rhyming Poems
- Themes
- For Kids, Short
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 20 lines · 5 quatrains
- End rhyme
- AABB in 60% of the stanzas — couplets. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
- Line length
- Mostly 7-syllable lines.
- Refrains
- “Twinkle, twinkle, little star,”“Twinkle, twinkle, little star.”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Jane Taylor1783–1824
- Source record
- WikisourceThe Star (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star) by jane-taylor, Wikisource transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1806
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 f4587b1019569809…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.