The Spring And The Fall

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1923

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Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

"Sonnet V: If I should learn, in some quite casual way” by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1917)

In this sonnet from Renascence and Other Poems, Millay discusses the coming and going of love. Now, the scene moves from nature and spring and fall to a big city. In the poem, the speaker says if she found out that her lover died by looking at someone’s newspaper on the subway, she wouldn’t become upset. She wouldn’t cry nor wring her hands. Instead, she’d move her eyes to the articles about how to keep furs and take care of one’s hair. As with "The Spring and the Fall,” "Sonnet V” presents an acute portrayal of love. The speaker’s flippant approach to the hypothetical news of her dead lover is arguably a cover for her heartbreak, akin to the heartbreak the speaker experiences in "The Spring and the Fall.”

"First Fig” by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1920)

"First Fig” is perhaps Millay’s most well-known poem. At only four lines, the lyric captures her zest for life. Placed in conversation with "The Spring and the Fall,” it’s easier to understand why Millay’s speaker has a painful time holding onto love. In "First Fig,” the speaker’s "candle burns at both ends; / It will not last the night.” However, it "gives a lovely light!” Discussing "The Spring and the Fall” in the context of "First Fig,” it’s possible to say excitement and passion can also prevent a person from sticking with a loved one for a substantial length of time. In "First Fig,” the speaker’s "candle” too brightly burned, which is another reason love can’t remain for long.

"The Crazy Woman” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1960)

In her poem "The Crazy Woman,” Brooks focuses on spring and fall. Here, May represents spring, and November symbolizes fall. Similar to Millay, Brooks employs juxtaposition and symbolism to instill the seasons with deeper meaning. Unlike Millay, Brooks keeps the seasons separate. Yet both poets subvert typical representations of spring and fall, with Millay planting dark elements in both seasons and Brooks’s woman speaker going against the grain and preferring to sing a sad song in November instead of a joyous song in May.

Further Literary Resources

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)

In "The Spring and the Fall,” Millay’s speaker's heart is broken in "little ways.” In Emily Brontë’s famous Victorian novel Wuthering Heights, the characters break one another’s hearts in big ways. The story focuses on an uncouth orphan, Heathcliff, and a passionate girl, Catherine Earnshaw. The two are deeply in love but can’t seem to form a sustainable relationship. Heathcliff never picks Catherine a peach, nor does he laugh at her. However, he brutalizes her brother and her husband, leading Catherine to make furious declarations before dying. Even dead, Catherine haunts Heathcliff. If "The Spring and the Fall” is an example of how love hurts in small ways, Wuthering Heights showcases how love can also harm on a grand scale.

Savage Beauty by Nancy Milford (2001)

Nancy Milford’s biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay provides a detailed account of her life. From her upbringing in Maine to her rebellious time at Vassar to her eventful adulthood, Milford shows why Millay’s personal life was often as impressive as her literary output. Using diaries and letters, Milford supplies a nuanced account of Millay’s affairs, experiences, and politics.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh (2018)

Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel focuses on a nameless and unhappy woman in New York City who deals with her discontent by trying to sleep through a year of her life. To help with this, she takes a variety of pills. Like the speaker in "The Spring and the Fall,” the nameless woman suffers. Moreover, the poem and the novel collapse the boundaries between seasons, as Millay places togethers fall and spring, and Moshfegh’s narrator wants to sleep through all the seasons. Moshfegh’s novel also focuses on the undulations of love, as the narrator has a boyfriend who comes and goes.