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Spring and Fall: To a Young Child Márgarét, are you…

“Spring and Fall: To a Young Child Márgarét, are you gríeving Over Goldengrove unleaving? Leáves, líke the things of man, you With your fresh thoughts care for, can you? Ah! ás the heart grows older It will come to such sights colder By and by, nor spare a sigh Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal…” quote by Gerard Manley Hopkins
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“Spring and Fall: To a Young Child Márgarét, are you gríeving Over Goldengrove unleaving? Leáves, líke the things of man, you With your fresh thoughts care for, can you? Ah! ás the heart grows older It will come to such sights colder By and by, nor spare a sigh Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie; And yet you wíll weep and know why. Now no matter, child, the name: Sórrow's spríngs áre the same. Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed What heart heard of, ghost guessed: It ís the blight man was born for, It is Margaret you mourn for.”

Gerard Manley Hopkins

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A child mourns loss, reflecting on aging, grief, and the inevitable cycles of nature and human emotion.

In simple terms: Child’s grief mirrors life’s cycles and aging.

Key Takeaway

Embrace change and accept loss.

Themes

grief aging nature

Mood

melancholic contemplative

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

  • personal loss
  • seasonal change
  • family bereavement
  • spiritual contemplation

Key Concepts

existential reflection poetic symbolism

Questions to Reflect On

  • How does nature mirror human sorrow?
  • What comforts can ease the pain of loss?
A Different Perspective

The archaic language may obscure meaning for modern readers.

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