The personification and praise of Spring is a poetic trope that goes all the way back to medieval times. In spring poetry, narrators would praise the “darling buds” of blooming flowers and the sweet showers of April. “Red” was a symbolic color that represented rebirth, beauty, and robustness. In this poem, Millay turns these Spring tropes on their head. “Red” becomes something sticky or hot and April loses all of its mythological importance.
