After Rain
The action of the poem starts after the rain that had been fallen for over two days finally stops. The action is set at the end of November and so the scenery is described in images invoking destruction and decay.
The only alive elements in the poem are ‘’twelve yellow apples’’ on a tree, standing out among the dead leaves and bare branches.
The poem ends on a similar note with how it began, mentioning the return of the wind and the rain.
The poem ‘’After Rain’’ could be read as an allegorical poem about hardship and good times in a person’s life. Everyone has periods of ‘’rain’’ or turmoil and at the end it sometimes appears as everything is destroyed. The apples in this poem represent the ideas and thought that thrive no matter the circumstance and will continue to do so. This idea is transmitted by the fact that even though the narrator looks with dread at the upcoming rain and wind, he is not worried about the fate of the twelve apples.
Ambition
The narrator learned about ambition during a day in March. Slowly, nature rose to life and soon enough there were signs that society was awakening as well. The narrator watches as a train passes and for a moment is seems as if times stops in its tracks. After the train passes, the narrator continues to look on until he is awakening from his daydreaming by the sound of the roaring train.
The train is presented here as being more powerful than nature itself. The narrator is amazed not by the power of nature but by the sight of the passing train. This shows that in the modern world, nature does not have the same power as the modern technological advancements have. The world changed in many ways and we must adapt ourselves to it.
And you, Helen
The poem ‘’And you, Helen’’ is addressed to the woman with the same name. The narrator uses the poem to list everything he is willing to give her and sacrifice for her. Among the things mentioned are youth, truth, children and everything else her heart might have wished for. The poem ends with the narrator claiming that he is ready to offer himself as well, should she want him.
The poem can be considered as a lobe poem, showing the extent to which someone who is in love may be willing to go just to make another person happy. The narrator transmits the idea that when we love someone, our own person becomes unimportant and everything that matters is linked with the well-being and the happiness of the other person.
April
In the beginning of the poem, the narrator claims that the most beautiful thing in the world is the first genuine smile a person gives another one after they had a fight. In that moment, the sun comes out again and shines upon those who were in an argument. In the second stanza, the narrator calls all the items listed above as being nothing when compares with Emily.
Just like the poem before, this is once more a love poem, this time addressed to a woman named Emily. If in the previous poem the narrator lists the things he would be willing to give to the woman he loves, in this poem the narrator lists the way in which love can change a person and his or her perception about life.
As the Clouds that are so light
The poem mentioned above is another poem focusing on nature, this time on the difference between the skies and the earth. The clouds are described as being light but having the power to cast shadows on the earth below and engulfing it into darkness.
While the earth is influenced by the clouds above it, the idea transmitted is that the clouds need the earth as well because without it, they have no meaning and purpose. This stanza also transmits the idea that certain people and things have power over us only because we allow them and because we give them the power. If a person were to cease thinking about it, it would be almost like the earth disappearing and the clouds remaining above, drifting over a vast nothingness.
As The Team's Head-Brass
In this poem, the narrator sits at the edge of a field and watches a farmer plowing. The conversation between the narrator and the farmer progresses until the two discuss the war. Their attention focuses to an elm that is on the ground and when the farmer asks when it will be taken away, the narrator answers by replying ‘’When the war’s over’’. The narrator reveals that he had not gone to war, fearing he will lose one or more of his limbs or even die as a result.
The farmer talks about a man he knew who was killed in France. If the killed man were to be there with the farmer, the fallen tree would have been already moved and the conversation between the narrator and the farmer might have never taken place.
The poem from above deals with the way war affects everyone and the normal course of life. Every person, no matter their education or political interests wants to know more about the war because their life depends on it. The death of someone they knew worked with or of a family member also influenced them deeply and the poem wants to highlight how the absence of those who died in battle changed the face of the country.
Aspens
The title of the poem refers to a tree species whose leaves fall down during winter. The trees in the poem can be found anywhere and the narrator notes that they ‘’talk together’’ until they no longer have any leaves left.
The trees remain the same year after year and the narrator assumes that they will remain the same even if no man were to be near them. The sound of their leaves also can’t be covered by any other sound, no matter how loud it is.
The idea transmitted through this poem is that while human life is often passing too fast, nature will continue to live and survive, subject to the universal laws of the universe.
Beauty
The narrator starts the poem by claiming that no one could please him. The narrator compares himself to a tree to show how even though he may appear affected by something one moment, this is not the case and he goes back to his initial state.
However, even though the narrator does admit that he is not affected by the things around him, he does not deny that beauty exists and how other people may find joy in it. Thus, the major idea transmitted though this poem is how even though a person may be unable to feel happiness, that doesn’t mean that the rest of the world is doomed to the same fate.
Bird’s Nest
The action takes place in autumn when the winds ruin the nests build by the birds during summer and uncover the rest of the nests for everyone to see. The narrator feels shame because he did not noticed any of them, not even the ones that were at ‘’eye level’’.
The poem is an allegorical one about the way humans are. We tend to hid parts of ourselves if we can and in a way we build nests and hid them from the view of others. This all changes when thought times, or winds, come into our lives and uncover them. In that moment, everything becomes visible and at ‘’eye level’’ for everyone to see. Those close to us may feel ashamed like the narrator for not noticing those aspects that became so visible once a person had to deal with certain problems.
Bob’s Lane
The poem centers around Bob’s love for horses. Even though he was interested in women, the horses he had were far more important for him. He also loved nature and so he made it his mission to plant as many trees as possible. After he died, the people stopped visiting the trees he planted but the trees continued to live and to claim the empty space left by Bob.
Nature becomes once more the central focus in this poem and is presented as the only thing that will be left after everyone dies. Thus, the best way a person can make sure he or she will be remembered is by leaving something behind in nature.
But these things also
The poem is once more an enumeration, listing all the things that belong to spring. The elements mentioned are a bit surprising because the narrator lists things common associated with winter such as snow and dead grass near a frozen riverbank. He also mentions how some people mistake snow with flowers and through this he transmits the idea that the difference between winter and spring is not that obvious as one may think it is.
This poem could also be applied in real life, the narrator thus suggesting that sometimes, it may be possible to be more to a person than it meets the eye and what someone may initially think about that person.
Celandine
The poem is about a flower named celandine which the narrator likes. The flower is described here almost like a phoenix, rising like a flame and becoming alive, almost like a person. The narrator thought the flower would be lost forever but its reappearance brought him hope once more.
The flower is the first to appear even before spring comes and so it is used here as a symbol for life and hope. The flower is compared with a maiden, running through the snow and having her locks ruffled by the wind, making the ones who see her feel happiness and bliss.
The end of the poem presents a twist, namely how the flower was never real and that everything was in the narrator’s imagination.
The poem’s main theme is the difference between reality and perception and aims to show how sometimes, what we think to be the truth is actually far from it and instead we are seeing what our mind wants us to see.
Cock-Crow
The action in the poem takes place just before the sun rises over a wood where 2 cocks live. The two birds sing and the song is compared with a ‘’silver blow’’ that banishes the night. The two cocks are also compared with soldiers, telling the farmers it is time for them to start working.
Digging
The poem ‘’Digging’’ is a meditative poem about life and death. Presumably, the narrator takes part at a funeral and there he thinks about the meaning of life and the purpose of life. The narrator reaches the conclusion at the end of the poem that in the end, everyone has the same ending and so this must mean that in God’s eyes we are all equal and the same.
