The White Sun (Symbol)
Rather than describing the sunlight in typical terms of yellow-golden hues (suggesting its life-giving properties), the sun in "Neutral Tones" shines white. White is usually described not as a color, but as a shade; we see white when all wavelengths of light reflect off of an object. As an achromatic shade, white represents the speaker's lack of vitality after his breakup. The end of the relationship drained the speaker of all the possible life-affirming properties of romantic love. The white sunlight aligns with all of the neutral tones presented in the poem, such as the gray leaves and the speaker's overall sense of disillusionment. But beneath the blanket of neutrality, the speaker's intense emotions burn as hot as the sun.
Winter (Symbol)
In the poem, winter symbolizes personal struggle, reflection, and death. The speaker recalls the winter setting of his break-up, and the outside environment reflects the speaker's own internal landscape. For example, the soil upon which the ash leaves fell is "starving," or lacking in nutrients and thus unsupportive of growth. The same can be said of the speaker's emotional state. Though he insists on a neutral stance, his bitter disillusionment closes him off to the rest of the world and prevents the possibility of love flourishing anew. The speaker removes himself from natural cycles of hurt and healing. Instead, he is stuck in this personal winter, as evidenced by the present-day lessons the speaker declares at the end of the poem. The break-up convinces the speaker that love is deceitful and immoral.
The Smile (Symbol)
Smiles usually symbolize friendliness and wellbeing, but the smile on the ex-lover’s lips in "Neutral Tones" represents the end of her romantic relationship with the speaker. The smile is described as "the deadest thing / Alive enough to have the strength to die," meaning that all her love for the speaker is draining away. This leaves their relationship as lacking as the "starving sod." In other words, there is no possibility for reconciliation and growth. The smile also represents the speaker's torment: he reads the smile and the bitter grin that ensues as an ill omen for his future. Indeed, the speaker remains bitter and disillusioned in the present day despite the time that has passed since the breakup.
