Nature
In “Memory Green,” nature functions as an emblem of the passing of time, the fleeting, ever-changing conditions of life, and the elusive quality of the human memory. In other poems such as “The Snowflake Which is Now and Hence Forever” and “Ars Poetica,” MacLeish explore aspects of human creation—like poetry—through natural imagery. In almost all of his poems, nature evokes the dichotomy between the intensity of personal experience and our ultimate powerlessness and insignificance in the grand scheme of existence.
Memory and Remembrance
In many of his poems, MacLeish grapples with how time affects memory, and how collective memory or remembrance can allow the individual to transcend life’s transience and live on. He explores both the redemptive features of memory—how remembrance eases the erasure death brings—and its fragile, elusive quality. In "Memory Green," the trace of a memory is a poignant reminder of past pleasures, but is also a reminder of loss.
Time
This poem, like many of MacLeish's poems, is concerned with time and its relationship to human experience. We move through and are constituted by time. Ultimately, we are at the mercy of time as we approach death, and our memory and our senses are the only way that this tense progression is mediated. And yet paradoxically, time—in this poem specifically, the changing seasons—and one's movement through life are what give form and meaning to the feelings and experiences one has.
