Norman Nicholson's "Rising Five" deals with an enduring problem: the difficulty of trying to stay in the present moment. In this poem, the speaker encounters a little boy who insists he's not four years old, but "rising five"—leading the speaker to reflect that people often look ahead to what comes next rather than fully experiencing the life right in front of them. The poem's images of birth and decay remind the reader that looking too far forward means seeing only death. The poem was originally published in Nicholson's 1954 collection The Pot Geranium.

• Read the full text of “Rising Five”

• “Rising Five” Summary

• “Rising Five” Themes

  • 

    The Fleeting Nature of Time

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-31

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Rising Five”

  • Lines 1-6

    "I’m rising five,” ...
    ... his toffee-buckled cheeks.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 6-9

    He’d been alive ...
    ... But rising five.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 10-13

    Around him in ...
    ... swilled with green.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 14-17

    It was the ...
    ... But rising June.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 18-23

          ...
    ... But rising soon.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 24-26

    The new buds ...
    ... away his toffee-wrappers.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 26-31

    We never see ...
    ... But rising dead.

    

    

    

    

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• “Rising Five” Symbols

  • 

    Spring and Nature

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 10-17: “Around him in the field, the cells of spring / Bubbled and doubled; buds unbuttoned; shoot / And stem shook out the creases from their frills, / And every tree was swilled with green. / It was the season after blossoming, / Before the forming of the fruit: /                                                                 not May, / But rising June.”
    • Line 24: “The new buds push the old leaves from the bough.”
    • Lines 26-28: “We never see the flower, / But only the fruit in the flower; never the fruit, / But only the rot in the fruit.”
  • 

    Light

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 4-5: “His spectacles, brimful of eyes to stare / At me and the meadow, reflected cones of light”
    • Lines 18-19: “And in the sky / The dust dissected the tangential light:”
  • 

    Toffee

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “his toffee-buckled cheeks”
    • Lines 25-26: “We drop our youth behind us like a boy / Throwing away his toffee-wrappers.”

• “Rising Five” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 5: “me,” “meadow”
    • Line 8: “four”
    • Line 9: “five”
    • Line 11: “Bubbled,” “buds”
    • Line 15: “forming,” “fruit”
    • Line 19: “dust,” “dissected”
    • Line 20: “day”
    • Line 21: “night”
    • Line 22: “not,” “now”
    • Line 24: “buds,” “bough”
    • Line 25: “behind,” “boy”
    • Line 26: “flower”
    • Line 27: “fruit,” “flower,” “fruit”
    • Line 28: “bed”
    • Line 29: “baby’s,” “bed”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “I’m rising five”
    • Line 7: “more”
    • Line 8: “four”
    • Line 9: “rising five”
    • Line 11: “Bubbled,” “doubled,” “buds unbuttoned”
    • Line 12: “creases,” “frills”
    • Line 13: “every tree,” “swilled with,” “green”
    • Line 14: “season”
    • Line 15: “Before,” “forming”
    • Line 21: “rising night”
    • Line 29: “baby’s cradle,” “grave”

  • Caesura

    

    

    

    

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    Where caesura appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: ““Not four,” and”
    • Line 4: “spectacles, brimful”
    • Line 5: “meadow, reflected”
    • Line 6: “cheeks. He’d”
    • Line 10: “field, the”
    • Line 11: “doubled; buds”
    • Line 26: “toffee-wrappers. We”
    • Line 27: “flower; never”
    • Line 28: “fruit. We”
    • Line 29: “cradle; we”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “five”
    • Line 2: “four,” “little coils”
    • Line 3: “clicked”
    • Line 4: “spectacles”
    • Line 5: “me,” “meadow,” “reflected cones”
    • Line 6: “buckled cheeks”
    • Line 8: “four”
    • Line 9: “five”
    • Line 10: “field,” “cells,” “spring”
    • Line 11: “Bubbled and doubled; buds unbuttoned; shoot”
    • Line 12: “And stem shook,” “creases from their frill”
    • Line 13: “tree was swilled with green”
    • Line 14: “season,” “blossoming”
    • Line 15: “Before,” “forming,” “fruit”
    • Line 19: “dust dissected,” “tangential light”
    • Line 22: “not now”
    • Line 24: “buds,” “old leaves,” “bough”
    • Line 25: “drop,” “behind,” “boy”
    • Line 26: “Throwing away,” “toffee-wrappers. We,” “flower”
    • Line 27: “fruit,” “flower,” “fruit”
    • Line 28: “rot,” “fruit,” “bed”
    • Line 29: “baby’s cradle,” “bed”

  • Irony

    

    

    

    

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    Where irony appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-9: “"I’m rising five,” he said, / “Not four,” and the little coils of hair / Un-clicked themselves upon his head. / His spectacles, brimful of eyes to stare / At me and the meadow, reflected cones of light / Above his toffee-buckled cheeks. He’d been alive / Fifty-six months or perhaps a week more: /                                                                                    not four, / But rising five.”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 2-3: “the little coils of hair / Un-clicked themselves”
    • Lines 10-13: “Around him in the field, the cells of spring / Bubbled and doubled; buds unbuttoned; shoot / And stem shook out the creases from their frills, / And every tree was swilled with green.”

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “"I’m rising five,” he said, / “Not four,””
    • Lines 8-9: “not four, / But rising five.”
    • Lines 16-17: “ not May, / But rising June.”
    • Lines 20-23: “not day, / But rising night; /                                    not now, / But rising soon.”
    • Lines 26-28: “We never see the flower, / But only the fruit in the flower; never the fruit, / But only the rot in the fruit”
    • Lines 28-29: “We look for the marriage bed / In the baby’s cradle; we look for the grave in the bed;”
    • Lines 30-31: “not living, / But rising dead.”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 2-3: “hair / Un-clicked”
    • Lines 4-5: “stare / At”
    • Lines 5-6: “light / Above”
    • Lines 6-7: “alive / Fifty-six”
    • Lines 10-11: “spring / Bubbled”
    • Lines 11-12: “shoot / And”
    • Lines 18-19: “sky / The”
    • Lines 25-26: “boy / Throwing”
    • Lines 28-29: “bed / In”

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Lines 2-6: “the little coils of hair / Un-clicked themselves upon his head. / His spectacles, brimful of eyes to stare / At me and the meadow, reflected cones of light / Above his toffee-buckled cheeks.”
    • Lines 10-13: “Around him in the field, the cells of spring / Bubbled and doubled; buds unbuttoned; shoot / And stem shook out the creases from their frills, / And every tree was swilled with green.”
    • Lines 18-19: “And in the sky / The dust dissected the tangential light:”
    • Lines 24-29: “The new buds push the old leaves from the bough. / We drop our youth behind us like a boy / Throwing away his toffee-wrappers. We never see the flower, / But only the fruit in the flower; never the fruit, / But only the rot in the fruit. We look for the marriage bed / In the baby’s cradle; we look for the grave in the bed;”

  • Antithesis

    

    

    

    

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    Where antithesis appears in the poem:

    • Lines 8-9: “not four, / But rising five.”
    • Lines 16-17: “not May, / But rising June.”
    • Lines 20-21: “not day, / But rising night;”
    • Lines 22-23: “not now, / But rising soon.”
    • Lines 30-31: “not living, / But rising dead.”

  • Simile

    

    

    

    

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    Where simile appears in the poem:

    • Lines 25-26: “We drop our youth behind us like a boy / Throwing away his toffee-wrappers.”

• “Rising Five” 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.

  • Un-clicked
  • Brimful
  • Spectacles
  • Toffee-buckled
  • Dissected
  • Tangential
  • Bough
  • (Location in poem: Lines 2-3: “the little coils of hair / themselves upon his head.”; Line 3: “Un-clicked”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Rising Five”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Rising Five” Speaker

• “Rising Five” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Rising Five”

• More “Rising Five” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The Nicholson Society Newsletter — Visit the University of Lancaster's Nicholson website, with archives and resources.

    • A Reading of the Poem — Hear "Rising Five" read aloud by the scholar Iain McGilchrist.

    • A Short Biography — Read a brief overview of Nicholson's life and work.

    • The Norman Nicholson Society — A website by and for Norman Nicholson enthusiasts, with more information about Nicholson's life and work.

    • Interviews and Readings — Hear recordings of interviews with Nicholson and discussions of his poetry.

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