Meter in Spring

“April” is given its own line for emphasis. The poem has thus far explored the narrator’s dissatisfaction with the symbolism of spring and the overall banality of life. The halting quality of the poem, with its alternating long and short lines, reaches its most urgent, lurching halt here. At only two syllables, “April” is a line devoid of all the typical poetic styles and meters. By stripping away all poetry from the line, Millay drives home the meaninglessness of “April.”

Millay shortens these lines to create a meager feeling. This feeling matches the lack of meaning the narrator finds in her April surroundings. The shortness of the lines also causes the reader to take frequent pauses and experience the void —the “nothing[ness]”—at the end of each line.