Whether it be

Both forms are possible. The plain form be is slightly more formal.

Guyper For what reason should the verb be in infinitive instead of conjugation?

It is the subjunctive mood.

AlpheccaStarsIt is the subjunctive mood.

Or rather whether it be a shining or a faint star is a subjunctive clause. Be is not actually a mood form, only the usual plain form of the verb that we also find imperatives (Don’t be late) and infinitivals (It’s rare for her to be late).

Aspara Gus Be is not actually a mood form, only the usual plain form of the verb that we also find imperatives (Don’t be late) and infinitivals

This appears to me to be approaching pedantry. ''be' is the base (form), first form or whatever you care to call it. It is used as the present subjunctive for, the infinitive and the imperative. In the context of the o

My point is that English no longer has a subjunctive mood.

Aspara GusMy point is that English no longer has a subjunctive mood.

I have argued elsewhere that the subjunctive mood is effectively dead for the majority of speakers of modern British English. It survives for a minority of speakers and in certain set phrases

It seems to me to be alive and kicking in American English.

fivejedjonI seems to me to be alive and kicking in American English.

We do have content clauses headed by a plain form and 1st/3rd person singular were, an unstable relic of an earlier system, but does that mean we can reasonably say that the language still has an inflectional mood system?

I don't propose to get into yet another interminable debate on terminology.

My point originally was simply that Alphecca Stars's saying that 'be' in the original sentence was subjunctive was reasonable.

Given that many grammarians* still write of a subjunctive mood, I see little point in discussing the existence or non-existence of an inflectional mood system in this thread.