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The Full Text of “Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)”
1By the road to the contagious hospital
2under the surge of the blue
3mottled clouds driven from the
4northeast—a cold wind. Beyond, the
5waste of broad, muddy fields
6brown with dried weeds, standing and fallen
7patches of standing water
8the scattering of tall trees
9All along the road the reddish
10purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy
11stuff of bushes and small trees
12with dead, brown leaves under them
13leafless vines—
14Lifeless in appearance, sluggish
15dazed spring approaches—
16They enter the new world naked,
17cold, uncertain of all
18save that they enter. All about them
19the cold, familiar wind—
20Now the grass, tomorrow
21the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf
22One by one objects are defined—
23It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf
24But now the stark dignity of
25entrance—Still, the profound change
26has come upon them: rooted, they
27grip down and begin to awaken
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“Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)” Introduction
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“Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)” Summary
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“Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)” Themes
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Rebirth and Renewal
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)”
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Lines 1-6
By the road to the contagious hospital
under the surge of the blue
mottled clouds driven from the
northeast—a cold wind. Beyond, the
waste of broad, muddy fields
brown with dried weeds, standing and fallen -
Lines 7-13
patches of standing water
the scattering of tall trees
All along the road the reddish
purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy
stuff of bushes and small trees
with dead, brown leaves under them
leafless vines— -
Lines 14-15
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish
dazed spring approaches— -
Lines 16-19
They enter the new world naked,
cold, uncertain of all
save that they enter. All about them
the cold, familiar wind— -
Lines 20-23
Now the grass, tomorrow
the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf
One by one objects are defined—
It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf -
Lines 24-27
But now the stark dignity of
entrance—Still, the profound change
has come upon them: rooted, they
grip down and begin to awaken
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“Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)” Symbols
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Winter and Spring
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“Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Consonance
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Enjambment
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Repetition
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Caesura
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Personification
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Asyndeton
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“Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)” 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.
- Stark
- Surge
- Mottled
- Waste
- Upstanding
- Twiggy
- Wildcarrot
- Quickens
Stark-
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)” Speaker
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“Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)”
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More “Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky reading "Spring and All" aloud.
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A Short Biography — Learn about Williams's life and work through the Poetry Foundation.
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A Reflection on the Poem — Read the President of the Library of America's response to the poem.
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Spring and All — Check out the rest of the book in which the poem first appeared.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Carlos Williams
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