HOWARD’S “SPRING”

HOWARD’S “SPRING”

An experimental sonnet rhyming abab abab abab aa. The poem’s rhythm moves fast (in the first 11 lines) then slows (in the last 3 lines) as the sad main theme is revealed.
The poem is rich with imagery; almost every line introduces a new image. The first eleven lines provide a colourful and happy background for the theme presented in the last three. The emphasis on the speaker’s sadness becomes heavier when compared to the pleasant background. The speaker’s unpleasant attitude is, thus, foregrounded.
The reason behind the speaker’s unhappiness is not revealed openly in the lines but it can be concluded from the types of images presented. Analysing the images and understanding them is the only key to decrypt the poet’s message. Assuming that the speaker focuses on the natural images that reflect his deprivation, the reader may conclude that the speaker’s sadness had something to do with the loss of a friend, growing old and loneliness all together.


More to Discuss:
1. Types of images used.
2. Grouping of images
3. Significance of each image
4. The number of seasons and why the poet used only these
5. The possible reasons behind his sadness
6. The foregrounding of the speaker’s sadness (How and why)