“Waterfall” Introduction

• Read the full text of “Waterfall”

“Waterfall” Summary

“Waterfall” Themes

• 

  Time, Aging, and Love

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-24

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Waterfall”

• Lines 1-3

  I do not ...
  ... of the waterfall

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 4-6

  in which I ...
  ... fast, fast falling.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 7-9

  I do not ...
  ... spices the air

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 10-12

  moss, crushed, gives ...
  ... if for ever.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-15

  It is enough ...
  ... that are shrewd

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 16-18

  but trustful still, ...
  ... conversation, without nostalgia.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 19-24

  But when you ...
  ... dark pool below.

  

  

  

  

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“Waterfall” Symbols

• 

  Water

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-6: “I do not ask for youth, nor for delay / in the rising of time's irreversible river / that takes the jewelled arc of the waterfall / in which I glimpse, minute by glinting minute, / all that I have and all I am always losing / as sunlight lights each drop fast, fast falling.”
  • Lines 11-12: “and water holds our reflections / motionless, as if for ever.”
  • Lines 22-23: “remembering that water, / however luminous and grand, falls fast”
  • Line 24: “and only once to the dark pool below.”

“Waterfall” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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  Where enjambment appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-2: “delay / in”
  • Lines 2-3: “river / that”
  • Lines 3-4: “waterfall / in”
  • Lines 5-6: “losing / as”
  • Lines 8-9: “darkness / where”
  • Lines 9-10: “air / moss”
  • Lines 10-11: “sweetness / and”
  • Lines 11-12: “reflections / motionless”
  • Lines 13-14: “room / and”
  • Lines 14-15: “other / — calling”
  • Lines 15-16: “shrewd / but”
  • Lines 16-17: “years / of”
  • Lines 17-18: “afternoons / in”
  • Lines 19-20: “jauntiness / sinewed”
  • Lines 20-21: “strength / — suddenly”
  • Lines 21-22: “quick / intensity”
  • Lines 23-24: “fast / and”

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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  Where repetition appears in the poem:

  • Line 4: “minute by glinting minute”
  • Line 5: “all that I have and all I am always losing”
  • Line 6: “fast, fast”
  • Line 8: “darkly in love's green darkness”

• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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  Where consonance appears in the poem:

  • Line 2: “rising,” “irreversible,” “river”
  • Line 3: “jewelled,” “waterfall”
  • Line 4: “glimpse,” “glinting”
  • Line 5: “all,” “all,” “always,” “losing”
  • Line 6: “sunlight,” “lights,” “fast,” “fast,” “falling”
  • Line 7: “do,” “dream,” “you,” “young”
  • Line 8: “might,” “come,” “darkly,” “love's,” “green,” “darkness”
  • Line 9: “dust,” “bracken,” “spices”
  • Line 10: “moss,” “an,” “astringent,” “sweetness”
  • Line 11: “reflections”
  • Line 12: “motionless”
  • Line 13: “enough,” “now,” “come,” “into,” “room”
  • Line 14: “find,” “kindness”
  • Line 15: “calling,” “love,” “shrewd”
  • Line 16: “trustful,” “still,” “face,” “chastened,” “years”
  • Line 17: “careful”
  • Line 18: “conversation,” “nostalgia”
  • Line 19: “jauntiness”
  • Line 20: “sinewed,” “resolution,” “strength”
  • Line 21: “suddenly,” “then”
  • Line 22: “intensity,” “remembering”
  • Line 23: “luminous,” “grand,” “falls,” “fast”
  • Line 24: “only,” “once,” “pool,” “below”

• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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  Where assonance appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “do,” “youth,” “nor,” “for”
  • Line 2: “rising,” “time's”
  • Line 4: “in,” “which,” “glimpse,” “minute,” “glinting,” “minute”
  • Line 5: “all,” “all,” “always”
  • Line 8: “come,” “love's”
  • Line 9: “dust”
  • Line 16: “face,” “chastened”
  • Line 20: “strength”
  • Line 21: “suddenly,” “then”
  • Line 22: “intensity,” “remembering”

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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  Where alliteration appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “do,” “not,” “nor,” “delay”
  • Line 4: “glimpse,” “glinting”
  • Line 5: “all,” “all,” “always”
  • Line 6: “fast,” “fast,” “falling”
  • Line 7: “do,” “dream,” “you,” “young”
  • Line 8: “darkly,” “darkness”
  • Line 9: “dust”
  • Line 20: “sinewed,” “strength”
  • Line 21: “suddenly”
  • Line 23: “falls,” “fast”

• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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  Where imagery appears in the poem:

  • Lines 2-4
  • Line 6
  • Lines 7-12
  • Lines 15-18
  • Lines 22-24

• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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  Where metaphor appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-6
  • Lines 7-12
  • Lines 22-24

“Waterfall” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Irreversible
• Delay
• Bracken
• Astringent
• Shrewd
• Chastened
• Resolution
• Jauntiness
• Sinewed
• Luminous

• (Location in poem: Lines 1-2: “I do not ask for youth, nor for delay / in the rising of time's irreversible river”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Waterfall”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Waterfall” Speaker

“Waterfall” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Waterfall”

More “Waterfall” Resources

• External Resources

  • An Interview with Edmond — Read a 1982 interview with Lauris Edmond in which she discusses her life and work.

  • Edmond's Reception — Read a 1985 review of Edmond's Selected poems to learn more about how her work was received during her lifetime.

  • An Edmond Reading — Watch Edmond reading her poetry aloud.

  • Edmond's Legacy — Read an obituary of the poet that talks about her life and legacy.

  • A Short Biography — Learn more about Lauris Edmond in this biography from ReadNZ.