Edna St. Vincent Millay'south gratuitous-verse verse form "Spring" is seemingly nearly the coming of April. Below, it captures the poet's distaste for the flavor. This poem was written later Millay'southward "intense affair" with American poet Arthur Davison Ficke concluded abruptly. Thus, information technology captures the bitter feelings of Millay's middle. In reality, it is a reflective piece on the spring season and how the speaker feels well-nigh it. When the month of April arrives with all its beauty and colors, the speaker thinks people volition before long forget almost it. Not only that, but they will likewise forget about those who lost their lives.

  • Read the full text of "Spring" beneath:
                  Leap                  by                  Edna St. Vincent Millay                  To what purpose, April, practice you lot render over again? Beauty is non enough. You tin no longer tranquillity me with the redness Of trivial leaves opening stickily. I know what I know. The lord's day is hot on my neck as I observe The spikes of the crocus. The scent of the earth is good. It is credible that there is no decease. Simply what does that signify? Not simply under footing are the brains of men Eaten by maggots. Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs. It is non enough that yearly, down this hill, April Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.  - from                  2d April                  (1921)
Analysis of Spring by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Summary

This piece, "Leap" by Edna St. Vincent Millay, is almost the coming of the second April after World War I (1914-1918). The poet describes how this flavor is beautiful as usual equally the colors keep changing and the scent of the earth is good. At that place is no evidence of death in the air, and no remnant of the war lingers around anymore. However, the speaker finds no real meaning in life due to her aching mental state and the horrors of the First World War. Life seems to be "a flight of uncarpeted stairs" and goes downhill, especially when spring arrives with its beauty that makes people forget all the harshness of reality.

Pregnant

In this poem, Millay observes the colors of nature that proceed changing in April. She witnesses nature's rapture unravel in front of her eyes, merely she somehow feels frustrated. There is anger and desperation in her heart for all the lives lost in the Great State of war. Their names would be forgotten soon because of the coming of spring, the season of rebirth and renewal. The poet uses phrases like "Comes similar an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers"—to describe her feelings towards the flavour. She likewise concludes how life in itself has no pregnant because a person could be dauntless and strong, fight in a war, only soon be forgotten as the world moves on.

Structure & Form

The poem is written in the gratis-verse form. Information technology has no ready rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. In that location are a total of 18 lines, none of which are distributed in separate stanzas. Millay uses end-stopped lines in order to conclude the sense of each unit and keep the sense in the following one. Aslope that, the length of lines is irregular; for case, the length starts to decrease from line eleven to 14, and line 17 has only one word (two syllables). Millay writes the poem from the first-person point of view. Her poetic persona addresses the month of "April" past employing man attributes to the idea. The tone of the speaker is regretful and vexed.

Poetic Devices & Figurative Linguistic communication

Millay makes use of figurative language in society to make her ideas concerning spring more appealing to readers. The figurative devices used in the poem include:

  • Rhetorical Question: The poem begins with a rhetorical question, "To what purpose, Apr, do you return again?" Information technology again occurs in line 10, "Merely what does that signify?" – to create an atmosphere of hopelessness and regret.
  • Simile: It occurs in the lines, "April/ Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers." Here, Apr is compared to a mindless fool.
  • Metaphor: The poet refers to life as "Every bit an empty cup" and "a flight of uncarpeted stairs," – which describes the futility of human life. Unlike carpeted stairs, life is filled with hardships and heartaches. Human life is not all about the flowery jump, but there are phases of harsh winters too.
  • Symbolism: Bound is oft used to refer to rebirth, renewal, and ecstasy – all of the things that are the antithesis of death. In this poem, Millay creates this juxtaposed image of rebirth and death to show how people move on from the past, and those who lost their lives are forgotten.
  • Enjambment: It occurs in lines iii-four, "You can no longer quiet me with the redness/ Of little leaves opening stickily," and lines 6-7, "The lord's day is hot on my neck as I observe/ The spikes of the crocus."
  • Alliteration: Information technology occurs in "little leaves," "that there," "does thursdayat," "in itself/ Is," "dain thursdayis," etc.
  • Assonance: There is assonance of the "i" audio in the line, "Of little leaves open uping stickily."
  • Consonance: It is used in the post-obit phrases, "purpose, April," "that thursdayere is no death," "An empty loving cup, a flight of uncarpeted starrogance," etc.
  • Anaphora: It occurs in lines 6-8. These lines begin with the same word, "The." It is meant for the sake of emphasis.

Line-by-Line Analysis & Notation

Lines 1-5

To what purpose, April, practice you lot return once more?

Beauty is not enough.

You lot can no longer quiet me with the redness

Of piddling leaves opening stickily.

I know what I know.

In the first five lines, Millay's lyrical vocalism questions the month of April by using an apostrophe. She asks why information technology returns each year or what its sole purpose is. The speaker implicitly acknowledges the beauty of spring—the redness of tiny leaves and blooming flowers. However, she says that the beauty of leap alone is not enough to make all her miseries go away. The tone of the speaker is vexed and disillusioned, equally she cannot experience the same for the coming of spring. It reminds her of the by memories that, in return, pain her securely. Her frustration is reflected in the line, "I know what I know."

Lines half-dozen-ten

The dominicus is hot on my neck as I notice

The spikes of the crocus.

The smell of the earth is good.

It is apparent that at that place is no death.

Merely what does that signify?

In the next few lines, the speaker describes how she can feel the warmth of the sun on her skin as she observes the "spikes of the crocus." Hither, the phrase "spikes of the crocus" symbolizes the thorns of beloved that pierce one deep at the end of a relationship. Furthermore, the speaker expresses how she tin olfactory property the freshness of the earth beneath. Hither, Millay uses olfactory imagery.

According to the speaker, the freshness below one's feet during spring is misleading. It makes one feel in that location is no death at all—how such eternal beauty of life can ever fade. This line also echoes the deaths in World State of war that are no longer evident. And so, the poet ponders what nature really tries to hide beneath the veil of beauteous leap – "But what does that signify?"

Lines 11-18

Not simply nether ground are the brains of men

Eaten past maggots.

Life in itself

Is goose egg,

An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.

It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,

April

Comes like an idiot, blathering and strewing flowers.

In the concluding lines, Millay'due south speaker recalls how the bodies of the war victims are nonetheless buried underground. She paints a disturbing paradigm in the line, "Eaten by maggots." This line creates a contrast to the spring scenery described before. It becomes clear what nature hides backside her veil of rebirth and rejuvenation. This hitting culmination of human life makes her think that life has no pregnant at all. It is like an "empty cup" that nosotros endeavour to make full throughout our lives with the hope that information technology volition go filled i day. But, the reality is it never gets even filled.

Furthermore, the speaker compares life to an uncarpeted flight of stairs. Nosotros climb the stairs with our burdens. While waiting on a flight, we think we will reach there and finally rest i day. It never happens to exist true. On top of that, our feet become bruised for climbing those uncarpeted, rough stairs. So, why do we live if life is aught but a series of futile projections?

In the end, the speaker says that the dazzler of Leap which comes each yr in April, is not plenty for her to move on from the death and grieving. Though it comes each twelvemonth, blathering and strewing flowers all over the earth, it cannot inspire the speaker anymore. The overall tone of the poem is regretful and cynical.

Theme

In "Spring," Millay subtly expresses how nature can affect or inspire the human mind. She acknowledges how the coming of spring makes people forget about the past. Bound symbolizes rebirth, renewal, and joy – all of these attributes of jump are given by humans themselves. Millay describes how the redness of new leaves and the freshness of flowers give people a sense of hope and rebirth, which they lose during desperate times.

The poet, however, is frustrated by the renewed promise in bound that eventually implores her to forget near the horrible memories of death and war. According to her, jump, a symbol of new life, is zilch but a whitewash to the dour tragedies. She realizes that there is no meaning to life and concludes the poem on a frustrating annotation.

Tone

The tone of the poem is regretful, pessimistic, and frustrated. In this poem, Millay expresses her frustration after recounting past events. It concerns people moving on from loss, tragedy, and death. Thus, she hates the coming of spring which calls for rebirth and renewal, instead of looking dorsum at what ane's actually lost. The events that occurred before include the Get-go World War and the poet's separation from her lover. Both these events had a lasting affect on her listen. Her frustration and agony are reflected throughout the poem. She is cynical about the vitality of life later on witnessing what happened before.

Historical Context

Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American poet, regarded as "the herald of the New Woman." She won the Pulitzer prize in 1923 for the drove The Carol of the Harp-Weaver. Besides, Millay was a social and political activist and promoted feminism, inspiring an entire generation. She is best known for her lyric "Renascence," and her notable poetry collections include, A Few Figs From Thistles, Second Apr, and The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver.

Her poem "Jump" first appeared in Second April, published in 1921. In February 1918, Millay met with poet Arthur Davison Ficke. Eventually, they fell in love and had a brief matter that afflicted them deeply. They wrote sonnets idealizing their love. Millay's impassioned poems were published in the elegiac drove 2nd April that contrasts the rapture of beauty with the certainty of its passing. This contrast is evident in "Bound" as well.

Questions & Answers

What is the meaning of "Spring" past Edna St. Vincent Millay?

This verse form is about the coming of jump and how information technology makes people forget their harsh realities. Overall, through this poem, Millay talks near the inevitability of the passing of spring and how the flavour fails to inspire her anymore.

What is the meaning of the line, "To what purpose, April, do you return over again?"

It is a rhetorical question that is posed straight at the abstruse thought, "April." Millay uses an apostrophe in gild to infuse life into this idea. Through this line, the poet tries to mean that the flavor of leap comes purposelessly without evoking any hope in her listen.

What is the tone of "Bound"?

The tone of the poem is frustrated, regretful, and pessimistic. It reflects in the following lines, "Dazzler is not enough" and "Life is itself/ Is zilch."

What is the form of "Jump"?

The poem is written in the free-verse form, without any specific rhyme scheme or meter. Millay addresses this slice to an abstract thought that is the month of April or spring from the first-person signal of view.

What is the theme of "Spring"?

This piece taps on a number of themes that include the transience of spring, futility of life, inevitability of death, and heartache.

What is the poem "Leap" based on?

The verse form is based on the sufferings of humankind and the poet's separation from her lover. In this poem, Millay describes how information technology is not fair to forget our past with time and just because of the beauty of spring.

Similar Poems nearly Heartache & Nature

  • "Song for a Dark Girl" by Langston Hughes — This song captures the pain of a black daughter whose lover was beaten to death.
  • "The Eye asks Pleasure—first—" by Emily Dickinson — This poem describes what a person needs the most, down to the least for relief.
  • "The Nightingale" by Sir Philip Sidney — In this poem, the speaker'south pain deepens as he listens to a nightingale's song in leap.
  • "Monna Innominata: I wish I could think that first day" by Christina Rossetti — In this verse form, the speaker reminiscences her first love and her regrets revolving around it.

External Resources

  • The Verse form Aloud —Listen to this beautiful reading of the poem.
  • Total text of Second April — Explore other poems published in this collection.
  • About Edna St. Vincent Millay — Read about the poet'southward life and her relationship with Arthur Davison Ficke.
  • Life & Works of Edna St. Vincent Millay —  Learn more about the poet's life and works.
  • Poems of Millay — Explore some of the best-known poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay.