Spring Storm

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1921

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Revivification of Spring: Hope for Change

One of the underlying themes of “Spring Storm” is the revivification of spring and the natural human tendency to hope for change. Because of the reference to spring in the poem’s title, the reader begins the poem looking forward to spring; as a season, nature promises new life, growth, and a return to warmth at the end of winter, but Williams unexpectedly undermines that expectation by setting his “spring storm” in the throes of late winter instead: “the snow keeps / its hold on the ground” (Lines 7-8) despite the “water, water / from a thousand runnels!” (Lines 9-10) that “cuts a way for itself / through green ice in the gutters” (Lines 13-14). Even so, there are a few key moments within the poem that indicate a certain sense of inevitability. Despite the snow’s stubborn “hold on the ground” (Line 8), the water is moving, cutting slowly but surely “through green ice” (Line 14). The sheer force of change that is the turning of the seasons enacts its will upon the world, whether the speaker can see or understand nature’s influence. The focus on the coming spring, despite all evidence to the contrary, speaks to hope in the face of darkness and faith during times of hardship. While the poem never directly addresses any particular religious doctrine or belief, there is a sense that the speaker’s perception is limited. The speaker in the poem seems to be lost in the storm and in winter, and he requires more faith to continue to believe in the possibility of spring. The reader’s point of view is decidedly more expansive; as the readers of the poem, we know that spring is coming, that the running water and the storm itself is only a sign of the season’s inevitable turning. In “Spring Storm,” Williams asks the reader, “what will happen next?” and the reader’s response determines their own reality: Some will still be lost in the icy winter, annoyed by the storm, and others will look forward to the “overhanging embankment” (Line 17) with hope for the future.

Cycles of Life: Seasons

Williams illustrates the connecting moments between two seasons in “Spring Storm,” and he uses the reader’s expectation of “spring” to comment upon cycles of life. As the poem focuses in on a snowy, iced-over city-scape, the reader is forced to reconsider their definition of a “spring” storm, and the expectation of spring leads the reader to look for its markings in every poetic line. Is there a flower waiting to bloom under the snow? Is the water from the rain storm going to melt the ice in the gutter—or not? “Spring Storm” is, like many of Williams’s poems, deceptively simple in language and scope. The poem’s diction is easy, and the scene illustrated by the poet seems straightforward, but there is something just slightly “off” about it; while a poem by a Romantic poet or a traditional sonnet would celebrate the end of winter and the opening of spring, “Spring Storm” eschews traditional trappings and asks the reader to reset their own expectations. The further a reader follows the poem, the more they begin to wonder when spring will appear—and if it will prevail over the icy winter of the poem after all. Rather than depict the season of spring, Williams leaves his reader just on the precipice of it to encourage us to truly experience the moment with the speaker. The absence of spring calls for the ultimate contemplation of the seasons.

The Bleakness of Winter: “As if it would never end”

“Spring Storm” ultimately only hints at spring—the “spring storm” has yet to achieve its end and for now is only a dark omen: “The sky has given over / its bitterness. / Out of the dark change” (Lines 1-3). The reader seems unable to imagine the revivification of spring, and the storm itself is only the sky releasing “its bitterness” in the form of constant rain. Overall, Williams imbues this poem with a sense of pessimism; the mood is not one of a happy speaker looking forward to melting snow—rather, it is the mood of a speaker that expects the rain to go on forever, just as the ice and snow seem to have existed unendingly for so long. The mid-section of the poem seems to hang heaviest on this concept: “rain falls and falls / as if it would never end. / Still the snow keeps / its hold on the ground” (Lines 5-8). Neither of these statements speak to the hope of spring or beauty of winter. The speaker seems to be waiting desperately for something to change in the scene, and the reader is left dangling. “Spring Storm” looks at winter and spring in a different light than most poems, and the real question becomes a personal, human one: Who is this person, this speaker, and why are they so unable to look forward to spring? Williams encourages people to consider their own “spring storms,” and the poem challenges us to look forward with hope because the future is an unknown; a “spring storm” never lasts forever.