On a Proposed Trip South
On a Proposed Trip South - form Summary
A Sonnet of Seasonal Longing
This poem is a sonnet that uses the tight fourteen-line form to compress a movement from winter confinement to eager anticipation of southern release. The speaker alternates reflective images of crystalline December with brief, vivid expectations of warm grasses, birds, and bees. The sonnet’s compact shape intensifies the sudden shift in tone and makes the concluding images of nature feel like an earned, imminent reward.
Read Complete AnalysesThey tell me on the morrow I must leave This winter eyrie for a southern flight And truth to tell I tremble with delight At thought of such unheralded reprieve. E'er have I known December in a weave Of blanched crystal, when, thrice one short night Packed full with magic, and O blissful sight! N'er May so warmly doth for April grieve. To in a breath's space wish the winter through And lo, to see it fading! Where, oh, where Is caract could endow this princely boon? Yet I have found it and shall shortly view The lush high grasses, shortly see in air Gay birds and hear the bees make heavy droon.
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