What represents change? What are the signals of a new beginning? For William Carlos Williams (1883-1963), a famous American poet, writer, and medical physician, the answer may be spring. In his poem "Spring and All" (1923), William Carlos Williams uses alliteration, personification, enjambment, repetition, assonance, and visual imagery to explore how change can create an awakening.
Fig. 1 - This passport photo of the poet was taken while he was working on "Spring and All."
"Spring and All" At a Glance
Here is a breakdown of the poem "Spring and All."
| Poem | "Spring and All" |
| Writer | William Carlos Williams |
| Published | 1923 |
| Genre | Free-verse poem |
| Structure | Seven stanza poem with lines of varying length |
| Rhyme scheme and meter | No set rhyme scheme or meter |
| Literary devices | Personification, enjambment, repetition, assonance, alliteration |
| Imagery | Visual |
| Tone | Solemn to hopeful |
| Mood | Gloomy to anticipatory |
| Theme | Change and regeneration |
| Meaning | Change is slow, consistent, and persistent, and can happen in small but noticeable steps. |
"Spring and All" Summary
"Spring and All," a free-verse poem by William Carlos Williams, was first published in 1923 in his collection of poetry by the same title. Spring is depicted as a season of rebirth and regeneration. Williams begins the poem by describing desolate surroundings, indicating that the effects of winter are still evident.
Free verse poetry does not use a strict meter or a consistent rhyme scheme.
As the poem progresses, the speaker contemplates the nature of spring and how change can happen, even if it is not visible. The speaker begins to note how the signals of spring, small plants, begin to flourish and make their presence known slowly. However, these plants do so purely out of instinct and seem confused.
The speaker catalogs different plants and notes how blades of grass and sprouts slowly break through the soil. Plants begin to take their shape, slowly becoming "defined" (line 22) and resembling their true identity.
Fig. 2 - The speaker in "Spring and All" explains that small sprouts and signs of life slowly appear through the soil.
In the poem's final stanza, spring is slowly appearing, but the landscape is still dismal. The poem concludes with the poetic voice describing the plants of spring gaining a solid footing, rooting themselves deep in the soil, and awakening with dignity.
"Spring and All" Poem by William Carlos Williams
Below is the complete 27-line, seven-stanza poem, "Spring and All" by William Carlos Williams.
By the road to the contagious hospitalunder the surge of the bluemottled clouds driven from thenortheast-a cold wind. Beyond, thewaste of broad, muddy fieldsbrown with dried weeds, standing and fallen
patches of standing waterthe scattering of tall trees
All along the road the reddishpurplish, forked, upstanding, twiggystuff of bushes and small treeswith dead, brown leaves under themleafless vines—
Lifeless in appearance, sluggishdazed spring approaches—
They enter the new world naked,cold, uncertain of allsave that they enter. All about themthe cold, familiar wind—
Now the grass, tomorrowthe stiff curl of wildcarrot leafOne by one objects are defined—It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf
But now the stark dignity ofentrance—Still, the profound changehas come upon them: rooted, theygrip down and begin to awaken
"Spring and All" Analysis
While the poem "Spring and All" initially seems to be a direct poem about the regenerative qualities of the season, it is important to remember that William Carlos Williams, often categorized as a modernist poet, rejected traditional forms of poetry. He was inventive and experimental in his structure of poems and emphasized the importance of the individual experience. By taking a detailed look at the poem stanza by stanza, the central themes and overall meaning of "Spring and All" can best be understood.
Modernism was a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement during the early twentieth century that sought to create a unique identity of artists and thinkers and forms of expression that were more aligned with the modern and industrialized world. Breaking from traditional and established forms of art and literature was intentional, and the idea that the world is as we create it or perceive it permeated both the literary and artistic realms.
Stanza 1
William Carlos Williams begins his poem by referencing the "contagious hospital" (line 1) and reminding the reader that death is all around and is an inevitable part of life. The setting is during the winter, as indicated by the "cold wind" (line 4). The speaker is on an empty road that lacks life.
The diction used in the first stanza includes words like "waste" (line 5), "cold" (line 4), "muddy" (line 5), "dried" (line 6), and "fallen" (line 6).
Diction is the specific word choice utilized by the writer to create the tone and express their attitude toward a subject.
These words reveal an environment that is barren and nearly lifeless. The poetic voice is describing the route to a hospital filled with disease, a road leading to death. Williams breaks the traditional concept of a poem that celebrates spring by focusing on empty fields, dry vegetation, and cold air rather than providing a picturesque scene of lush greenery and vibrant flowers. By depicting spring this way in the first stanza, Williams reveals the solemnity before the onset of spring. The weather is brisk, the landscape barren, and the earth is a blank canvas.
By the road to the contagious hospitalunder the surge of the bluemottled clouds driven from thenortheast-a cold wind. Beyond, thewaste of broad, muddy fieldsbrown with dried weeds, standing and fallen
(lines 1-6)
As a modernist poet, Williams also rejected standard and traditional forms of poetry, such as the sonnet or villanelle, in favor of his more dynamic and sporadic structure. In this way, lines of the poem evolve and spring up much like plants do from the ground. He also uses enjambment throughout the poem.
Enjambment is when an idea from one line of a poem trickles over or carries on into the following line of the poem without using punctuation.
Enjambment from one line to the next throughout the entire first stanza creates the need for readers to seek a syntactical conclusion about the idea. This need creates suspense but also propels the narrative forward as the mind seeks a conclusion to the idea.
Stanza 2
Another trait of modernistic writing and William Carlos Williams is the tendency not to adhere to typical capitalization rules. Stanza two is the only stanza that does not begin with capitalization. This sets it apart from the others, highlighting the scattered puddles and showing spring's start to be sporadic and somewhat random. This second stanza, a couplet, also begins mid-idea, another instance of enjambment. Just like the "standing water" (line 7) puddles described in the second stanza, the stanza itself is a tiny puddle of words on the page.
patches of standing waterthe scattering of tall trees
(lines 7-8)
A couplet is a set of two lines grouped visually on a poem's page.
Fig. 2 - Puddles of water are scattered amidst the landscape in "Spring and All."
Stanza 3
One of Williams's goals, and that of many poets, is to present the reader with a vivid and accurate image of the world. Using visual imagery, Williams describes the scenery using color and description to help the reader further visualize the landscape and emphasize the lack of life in the environment.
All along the road the reddishpurplish, forked, upstanding, twiggystuff of bushes and small treeswith dead, brown leaves under themleafless vines—
Imagery is description and details that appeal to the reader's five senses. Visual imagery, such as descriptions with colors and height, appeals to the sense of sight.
Stanza 4
Stanza four uncharacteristically begins with a capital letter. This strategy emphasizes the importance of this couplet by differentiating it from the first couplet (Stanza 2) and making the idea prominent in the reader's mind. Williams also employs personification to develop the image of spring.
Lifeless in appearance, sluggishdazed spring approaches—
(lines 14-15)
Personification is figurative language that attributes human characteristics to non-human things or ideas.
By personifying and describing spring as "sluggish" (line 14) and "dazed" (line 15), the speaker helps the audience understand that although spring is slow, it will still present itself. The poetic shift happens here as the voice expresses the view that the coming of spring is inevitable. Although exhausted, "spring approaches" (line 15).
Stanza 5
Although Williams employs alliteration throughout the poem and in many of his other pieces, here the effect is profound.
Alliteration is the repeated consonant sound in a series of words appearing close to each other in prose or poetry. The repeated sound often occurs at the start of the words.
In line 16, the phrase "the new world naked" personifies the new sprouts, showing them as vulnerable, but then uses the repeated "n" sound to add emphasis on "new" and "naked" to show the fragility of the growing plants. They, like humans, enter the world innocent and in need of protection.
They enter the new world naked,cold, uncertain of allsave that they enter. All about themthe cold, familiar wind—
(lines 16-19)
Stanza five also has repetition.
Repetition is a technique used to create consistency or add emphasis.
The word "cold" is repeated in lines 17 and 19 to reveal the harsh conditions that new plants must endure and show their resilience despite the lack of reparation, resources, and support. They are new and naked but still tolerate and survive the bitterness of the winter weather.
Fig. 3 - Despite some of the harshest conditions, life perseveres like plants emerging through the snow.
Stanza 6
Stanza six reveals a complete change in tone as the poetic voice is focused on "tomorrow" (line 20). The tendency to speak of the future and to understand that it has an element of "clarity" (line 23) expresses a hopeful mentality. Williams included assonance throughout the poem and in stanza 6 to lend a sense of unity to the poem and give it a kind of rhythm.
Assonance is the repetition of the vowel sound within words in a poem or prose.
Now the grass, tomorrowthe stiff curl of wildcarrot leafOne by one objects are defined—It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf
(lines 20-23)
Word pairs such as "now" and "tomorrow" (line 20) and "defined" (line 22) and "outline" (line 23) create a beat to the words in the poem and emphasize that the future, or tomorrow, is clear.
Stanza 7
The concluding stanza in the poem begins with the word "but," showing a shift in the poem's overall tone and expressing a hopeful future.
True to modernism, Williams concludes his poem but does not provide ending punctuation. This purposefully leaves the idea hanging in the air and leaves the reader in anticipation, much like the voice in the poem is anticipating the coming of spring.
But now the stark dignity ofentrance—Still, the profound changehas come upon them: rooted, theygrip down and begin to awaken
(lines 24-27)
What do you think? How could you apply your knowledge of how Williams uses literary devices to explain a theme you have identified in the poem?
"Spring and All" Meaning
"Spring and All" means that change is slow, consistent, and persistent. The regeneration and growth process can happen in small and noticeable steps or go unseen in the background. While the focus of the poem is on spring, it must be noted that the title includes the phrase "and All," perhaps implying that this regrowth or renewal of life happens in every aspect of life, but is most prominent and more beautifully described through the visual imagery that spring provides.
Spring and All - Key takeaways
- "Spring and All" by William Carlos Williams is a free-verse poem published in 1923.
- Themes in the poem "Spring and All" include change and regeneration.
- Williams uses visual imagery, personification, alliteration, enjambment, and assonance in his poem to provide a cohesive structure and show a connection between ideas but still remain true to his modernist poet beliefs.
- The overall meaning of "Spring and All" is that, like spring, change is slow, consistent, persistent, and can happen in small but noticeable steps.
- The tone of the poem shifts from solemn to optimistic.
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