Spring and Fall: To a Young Child

The poem’s move from symbolic spring (Margaret’s state of blissful unawareness) to fall mirrors the inherent tension between innocence and knowledge. Innocence is a state in which Margaret believes that both she and the world are permanent and invincible. In this state, Margaret is one with the wonders of the world. However, the reality is that the world is impermanent and mortal. Understanding this reality is knowledge. The coming of knowledge therefore punctures Margaret’s ideal world view, infusing it with the poison of uncertainty, pain, and grief. As she grows up and gains more knowledge, Margaret will know that the “things of man” (Line 3) can be lost at any time, which will create in her negative emotions. Thus, knowledge is associated with pain. This echoes the biblical themes of the poem, where it is the consumption of the fruit of knowledge that causes Adam and Eve to be expelled from the perfect “goldengrove” (Line 2) of the Garden of Eden in Paradise. Interestingly, the first thing Adam and Eve do when they gain knowledge is experience shame at their state of undress and clothe themselves in leaves. Shame is again a negative emotion. However, the speaker’s