Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's "It Is a Spring Afternoon" is a vivid exploration of the cyclicality of life and the awakening of nature, where the imagery of rebirth and possibility underscores the poem’s meditation on renewal, transformation, and the interplay between innocence and experience.

The poem begins with a strong emphasis on color—“Everything here is yellow and green”—immediately placing the reader in the vibrant midst of spring. These colors, traditionally associated with life, growth, and rejuvenation, set the tone for the rest of the poem. Sexton calls attention to the "throat" and "earthskin" of this spring environment, animating nature with a palpable, almost human presence. The peepers, small frogs that emerge in spring, are described as "throbbing like advertisements," suggesting an incessant, almost mechanical rhythm to this natural world. Yet, despite this mechanistic undertone, there’s a vitality in the scene—a sense of life pushing forward, driven by an unstoppable force.

This sense of renewal is juxtaposed against images of death and decay. The “small animals of the woods” carry their “deathmasks” into winter caves, suggesting a retreat from life, a preparation for death, or perhaps a dormancy that will eventually give way to new life. Similarly, the scarecrow, a symbol of autumn and the end of the harvest, “plucks out his two eyes like diamonds” and walks into the village, symbolizing a transition from one state of being to another. The general and the postman, figures of authority and routine, also lay down their burdens, indicating that this is a time when the usual order of things is suspended, and anything can happen.

The refrain “Everything here is possible” encapsulates the essence of spring as a time of limitless potential. This line introduces the image of a young girl who has shed her winter clothes and placed herself casually on a tree limb above a river. This girl, suspended between earth and water, symbolizes the fluidity of identity and the possibility inherent in youth. Her reflection in the river, where "blind men come to bathe at midday," hints at the idea of vision—both literal and metaphorical. These men, though blind, are drawn to the water, a place where they might metaphorically "see" through touch or inner vision, and the girl’s reflection merges with theirs, suggesting a connection between innocence and experience, sight and blindness.

Sexton’s language is rich with sensory details that evoke the abundance and fertility of spring. The ground, described as having "cured its sores," bursts forth with "green birds and vitamins," illustrating the earth’s healing and renewal. The trees, turning "in their trenches" and holding up "little rain cups," suggest a gesture of offering or supplication, as if the natural world itself is partaking in this ritual of renewal. The woman who stands by her stove "singing and cooking flowers" embodies this celebration of life—her actions an alchemy that transforms the mundane into the magical.

The poem’s repetition of the phrase "Everything here is yellow and green" reinforces the idea of spring as a time of reawakening, where all things are possible. The girl, now fully embraced by the season, "turns softly in her sunlight," unafraid of her own body, of her own existence. This sense of acceptance and ease is a stark contrast to the winter's "nightmare" mentioned earlier. Her body, which "carries clouds all the way home," is intertwined with the landscape, suggesting a unity with nature that is both physical and spiritual.

The poem concludes with a vision of transformation and transcendence. The girl, once merely a reflection in the river, becomes the embodiment of spring itself—her "animal loveliness" the only thing visible beneath the tree. The final lines, "Everything is altogether possible / and the blind men can also see," suggest a breaking of boundaries, a moment where the impossible becomes possible, and where even those who are blind can perceive the beauty and potential of life.

"It Is a Spring Afternoon" is a celebration of spring as a metaphor for rebirth and the endless possibilities that come with it. Through vivid imagery and a profound understanding of nature’s cycles, Sexton captures the essence of life’s continual process of death, decay, and renewal, offering a vision of hope and transformation that resonates deeply with the human experience.

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