Song of a Second April

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1921

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Life Moves On

The central theme of “Song of a Second April” is the tendency of life to move on and persist even during change and periods of destruction. The poem portrays the coming of April and spring and how the natural world—as well as human beings—responds to that change. Despite the lingering “mud” and “dingy snow” (Line 4) from a cold winter that should have been destructive to plant life, the perennial hepaticas, the speaker observes, “[a]re here again” (Line 6). Undeterred, the natural world returns to its typical routine. No longer frozen, the streams “run still and deep” (Line 13), and the brooks flow “noisy and swift” (Line 14). Even animals are seemingly unaffected by the winter. The speaker notices butterflies (Line 6), woodpeckers tapping at trees in an orchard (Line 10), and sheep grazing from mullein stalks “in the sun” (Line 16).

Like the weather, bodies of water, and plant and animal life, human beings also shrug off the effects of winter and resume their regular lives. The speaker hears the “rings” of “hammering all day” (Line 7) long, as men, “merry at their chores” (Line 11), repair their homes. The speaker references the shingles that “lie about the doors” (Line 8), suggesting the men are working to fix their snow-damaged roofs. Despite the destruction of winter, neither the natural world nor people are dismayed. The men are still “merry” and happily adapt, moving on with life regardless of change.

Sense of Uneasiness

Occurring alongside the poem’s depiction of life returning to the world in springtime is an uneasy sense that something is wrong. In the first stanza, the speaker characterizes April as being “full of whispers” and “full of sighs” (Line 3), but Millay does not reveal the context for this line until the poem’s conclusion. Instead, the reader is left in uncertainty regarding the speaker’s remark, which seems to contradict the otherwise idyllic depiction of the new spring. Furthermore, Millay never clarifies where the whispers come from. They could be the whispers of the melancholy speaker, they could be whispers from the past lost loved one, or they could be whispers from gossip the speaker overhears. Regardless, this ambiguity heightens the uneasy and confusing feeling that subtly continues throughout the poem.

In the second stanza, the speaker describes the constant “hammering” (Line 7) sounds of work being done outside, as well as the “taps” (Line 10) of woodpeckers drilling into trees in orchards both “near and far away” (Line 9). While this picture of people working and woodpeckers returning in spring initially seems picturesque, the repetitive sounds reflect the speaker’s own constant, nagging regrets. The third stanza hints at the speaker’s uneasiness even further when describing the streams and brooks. Millay writes, “The larger streams run still and deep” (Line 13). This line plays on the expression “Still waters run deep,” which can mean either that seemingly calm waters hide the greatest depths and danger or that silent people conceal the most passionate natures. In either interpretation, the line hints at hidden feelings and unease, which are revealed in the moment the speaker “[p]ensively” (Line 17) considers the person they have lost.

Inability to Cope with Change

Although all of nature and other human beings adapt to change and continue with their lives, the uneasy and dissatisfied speaker of the poem cannot leave the past behind. While the rest of the world moves on, the speaker “sighs” (Line 3) and hears “whispers” (Line 3), likely from the past, and cannot help comparing the current April to the memories of April “a year ago” (Line 2). The speaker is held captive by lingering regrets and the memory of the mysterious “you” (Line 5) addressed in the poem.

As the poem nears its conclusion, the speaker observes the sheep grazing on the hillside, but the speaker’s thoughts are elsewhere. The speaker states, “[T]he sheep / Go up the hillside in the sun, / Pensively,—only you are gone, / You that alone I cared to keep” (Lines 15-18). The description of the sheep as pensive or thoughtful causes the speaker to abruptly pause, signified by the dash, and to consider “pensively” (Line 17) their own situation. Despite the natural beauty around the speaker and the cheer of the people resuming their regular lives, the speaker cannot stop thinking about the loss of this mysterious addressee. This unknown figure is seemingly the “only” (Line 17) thing that did not return with the spring and is the only one the speaker “cared to keep” (Line 18) or preserve throughout the changes of life. The loss of this loved one, whatever relationship they had to the speaker, has so profound an effect that the speaker cannot adjust back to normal life like the weather, the animals, the plants, or other human beings can after winter’s destruction.