The Spring
By Thomas Carew
Now that the winter’s gone, the earth hath lost
Her snow-white robes, and now no more the frost
Candies the grass, or casts an icy cream
Upon the silver lake or crystal stream;
But the warm sun thaws the benumbed earth,
And makes it tender; gives a sacred birth
To the dead swallow; wakes in hollow tree
The drowsy cuckoo, and the humble-bee.
Now do a choir of chirping minstrels bring
In triumph to the world the youthful Spring.
The valleys, hills, and woods in rich array
Welcome the coming of the long’d-for May.
Now all things smile, only my love doth lour;
Nor hath the scalding noonday sun the power
To melt that marble ice, which still doth hold
Her heart congeal’d, and makes her pity cold.
The ox, which lately did for shelter fly
Into the stall, doth now securely lie
In open fields; and love no more is made
By the fireside, but in the cooler shade
Amyntas now doth with his Chloris sleep
Under a sycamore, and all things keep
Time with the season; only she doth carry
June in her eyes, in her heart January.
Summary of The Spring
- Popularity of “The Spring”: Written in the heroic couplet, the poem “The Spring” by Thomas Carew, a classic English poet, is an excellent piece about the positivity of nature and unrequited love. The poem first appeared in 1640 in his collection published as Spring in London. The uniqueness of this poem lies in its thematic strand of love woven in the seasonal cycles.
- “The Spring” As a Representative of Nature and Love: Thomas Carew opens this poem with the seasonal change that the winter is retreating with its icy coldness, giving way to the early signs of spring when the ice melts and the earth becomes alive as “the warm sun thaws the benumbed earth” and gives birth to several things. It also seems to make birds happy and chirpy. The world welcomes the spring and even the valleys and hills echo with this happiness to welcome the much-sought-after May when minstrels also roam around in choir to sing lyrics of happiness. However, his beloved is still cold and frosty, as she does not respond to this happiness. Neither she responds to his love, though, all animals are making love in cool shades like Amyntas and Chloris. Her beloved, in contrast to this jolly atmosphere, still carries June in her eyes and January in her heart as she does not respond to this happy atmosphere.
- Major Themes in “The Spring”: Arrival of spring, unrequited love and seasonal cycles are three major themes of the poem. When the poet opens the poem, he becomes happy that the winter is retreating with its ice and snow and the warm sun is making the earth give birth to vegetation, while the birds and animals are happy. Even human beings are singing lyrics. However, the love he has sought after his entire life seems unrequited as his beloved does not respond to this jolly company of the spring. These seasonal changes make months signs of the seasons such as May which is much longed for. Yet, his beloved carries January in her heart though she seems happy from her face.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Spring”
literary devices are improvement tools for literary writings. The analysis of these devices in the poem “The Spring” as given below shows this fact.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /o/ in “Her snow-white robes, and now no more the frost”, /a/ in “But the warm sun thaws the benumbed earth” and the sound of /i/ in “Upon the silver lake or crystal stream.”
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words such as /n/ in “now no.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /n/ in “Her snow-white robes, and now no more the the frost”, /l/ in “Now all things smile, only my love doth lour,” and the sound of /m/ and l/ in “To melt that marble ice, which still doth hold.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
Amyntas now doth with his Chloris sleep
Under a sycamore, and all things keep
Time with the season; only she doth carry
June in her eyes, in her heart January.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “The valleys, hills, and woods in rich array”, “To melt that marble ice, which still doth hold” and “By the fireside, but in cooler shade.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphor the earth that is compared to a person, the sun compared to a life-giving thing and the valleys, hills and woods have been compared to human beings.
- Personification: The poet has personified the earth, the sun, the hills, the valleys, and the woods as if they have life and emotions of their own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of seasons, natural things, and vegetation as symbols of seasonal changes.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Spring”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an AABB rhyme scheme throughout its 24 verses.
- Heroic Couplet: The poem shows the use of heroic couplet as every two verses rhyme with each other.
- End Rhyme: The poem shows the use of end rhyme such as lost/frost, cream/stream and carry/January by the end.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “The Spring” are relevant to use when teaching about conservation and seasonal changes or delivering a lecture on climate change.
Now that the winter’s gone, the earth hath lost
Her snow-white robes, and now no more the frost
Candies the grass, or casts an icy cream
Upon the silver lake or crystal stream
