To what purpose, April, do you return again?
Beauty is not enough.
You can no longer quiet me with the redness
Of little leaves opening stickily.
I know what I know.
The sun is hot on my neck as I observe
The spikes of the crocus.
The smell of the earth is good.
It is apparent that there is no death.
But what does that signify?
Not only under ground are the brains of men
Eaten by maggots.
Life in itself
Is nothing,
An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.
Spring
Analysis, meaning and summary of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem Spring
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Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.
ok guys, this poem is about life and how it itself is not bueatiful, but how we use it
Undoubtedly my ideas are a little late to help Allison, but they may be of use to anyone else studying this poem!
The reference to April in the first line I interpreted as relating to T.S. Eliot in the opening of ‘The Wasteland’ (which, in turn, is a reference to Chaucer’s ‘Prologue To The Canterbury Tales’).
As the poem was written in 1921 (post-WWI), it depicts the imagery of the horrors of this war, which was a familiar modernist concern (T.S. Eliot in particular).The final stanza sums up modernist concerns perfectly, in my opinion. Read Eliot’s ‘Wasteland’ and I think that will really inform your reading of this poem.
yes i read this peom over and over i need a tp-castt for this peom. is there anyway anyone might be able to help me on this, i need it asap. please email if you can help. Thank You
Allison
donobrat@aol.com