Lesson 33

Spring and Fall 

1. Hopkins’s short lyric shares some elements with the sonnet, but it is a nonce form, invented for this poem only. Hopkins’ idiosyncratic meter, which he dubbed “sprung rhythm,” uses accent marks over certain syllables. What is the dominant meter and line length? What is the rhyme scheme? Describe the poem’s structure. (Hint: The anomaly in the rhyme scheme is the key).

-         The dominant meter is iambic, with three or four stressed syllables in each line. The line length varies, but isn’t so different that it makes a difference in the rhythm of the poem. The rhyme scheme is aa, bb, cc, ddd, ee, ff, gg. The whole poem pretty much consists of rhyming couplets except for the ddd scheme, where words rhyme three times. I am actually not sure what the structure of this poem is. It seems like the first nine lines deal with one idea while the last 6 lines deal with a new idea to finish off the poem.

1. What is the effect of the frequent use of alliteration in the poem? Combined with assonance and consonance, what mood does this device create?

-         Alliteration is used many times in the poem. One of these examples can be found in line 7 where alliteration is used twice. “By and by, not spare a sigh,” uses the “b” sound twice and the “s” sound twice as well. First of all, in this line, there is an internal rhyme, which is really cool. Next, this line alone is saying not to “spare a sigh,” and helps create the mood of sorrow. This line creates great sound imagery of someone sighing. This type of thing happens many times in the poem, creating the same mood. Assonance can be found in line 2 with the words “Over Goldengrove” where the “oh” sound is heard twice. Consonance is also found in this poem quite frequently. One example can be found in lines 5-6 when the narrator says, “Ah! As the heart grows older / It will come to such sights colder.” In these lines, the “s” sound is repeated many times. Because of these repeated noises and sounds, a mood of sorrow (realize the “s” in sorrow) and unhappiness is created. The words alone create this mood, and the sounds magnify it.

1. Comment on the effect created by such unusual diction as Goldengrove and unleaving (line 2), fresh (line 4), wanwood and leafmeal (line 8), springs (line 11), and blight (line 14). How do the connotations of these words create the poem’s mood?

-         The effect of the unusual diction in the words “Goldengrove unleaving” (2), is that it shows a sense of imagery. The image created is a grove, a small closed in forested area that is always colored with golden leaves. Line 4 uses the word “fresh” which creates an effect as a feeling of something new and unfamiliar. In line 8, wanwood and leafmeal are words that I’ve never heard before. Obviously, they aren’t really words, but I don’t know how to pick them apart to get a meaning. Unless someone could do this, these words might suggest a sense of strange confusion or silliness. In line 11, the word “springs” seems like it is a happy thing; like a spring of water trickling down somewhere. In line 14, the word “blight” means the rapid and extensive discoloration, wilting, and death of plant tissues. But of course, the phrase is “blight man,” which makes it very ironic. All of these words produce a strange irony. “Goldengrove,” and “springs” are words with positive connotations and that are contrasted with the sorrow in the poem. “Wanwood” and “leafmeal,” to me, are just strange, and contrast in that they don’t seen to be sorrowful words either. Of course, “blight” is a sad thing, but doesn’t have a very negative connotation, therefore adding to the contrast.

1. Analyze the poet’s use of figurative language. How does it suggest the theme of the poem?

-         Figurative language is seen throughout this poem many times. Antithesis is found in this poem as one of the most prominent forms of figurative language. In line 11 the narrator says, “Sorrow’s springs are the same.” Sorrow is obviously a sad word. But, when paired with springs, which has a positive connotation and is a good thing in life, an antithesis is formed. Another antithesis is found in lines 5-6 when the narrator says, “Ah! As the heart grows older / It will come to such sights colder.” The word “heart” has a very positive connotation, making someone think of love or life while “older” and “colder” are negative and create a great contrast. Another form of figurative language used in this poem is rhetorical question. The narrator asks, “Margaret, are you grieving / Over Goldengrove unleaving?” (1-2). Throughout the whole rest of the poem, the narrator talks to Margaret, assuming that she is grieving over this fact and doesn’t even wait for an answer. Therefore, the question is rhetorical and didn’t need an answer, as the narrator already knows. This figurative language helps to suggest the theme of the poem because with antithesis, there is a great contrast between two different things, adding to confusion about the poem. Therefore, it adds to the theme of confusion and the fact someone is trying to understand what is happening, and growing up through sorrow, along with the contrast of good things.

 The Oven Bird 

1. Frost’s poem, like Hopkins’s borrows from the sonnet form. What is its meter, rhyme scheme, and structure?

-         Frost’s poem is written in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is aabcbdcdeefgfg. There are five main parts to the poem. The first part is in lines 1-3. The second part starts with the words “He says” (4). This idea goes on until line 7 when the line is started, again, with “He says.” In line 10, “He says,” starts another line. The rest of the poem is the narrator’s own thoughts about the subject.

1. Paraphrase the three messages of the oven bird, then analyze the meaning of the word fall as it encapsulates the theme of the poem.

-         First the oven bird says, (4-5) leaves are old and that for flowers, mid-summer isn’t nearly as good a time for them to bloom, especially compared with spring. Spring, on a scale, is ten while mid-summer is one. The second time the narrator uses “He says,” (6-9) the bird is saying that the time that early petals start to fall has passed; the time when pear and cherry blooms fell down like showers of rain. Then, instead of sunny days come moments of overcast and leaves start to fall, which is the season we call “fall.” Next, all the bird says is that the dust of the highways, our roads, is all over (10). The word “fall” is used twice in line 9. The narrator says, “And comes that other fall we name the fall.” Here, the narrator is referring to the leaves dying and falling off the tree, as this is the time of year we call fall (or autumn). This encapsulates the theme of the poem because as the leaves fall, nature falls as we pave our roads through the beauty of nature.

1. Paraphrase the last four lines of the poem. How does the oven bird symbolize the human condition?

-         The last four lines of the poem have a great significance to the rest of the poem, adding a great conclusion. The narrator is saying that a bird would stop and be like other birds, knowing that as the bird sings, it would do just as well not to sing. The question that the bird puts together cannot be put into words and that is what makes up a “diminished” thing. The oven bird symbolizes the human condition because many people can see what is going on, just as the bird can see the “highway dust…over all” (10). But, even in talking (in the birds case singing) others still won’t listen. So the questions that need to be asked cannot be put into words and all hope is gone.