The speaker of "The Spring" describes the changing seasons using rich, evocative metaphors. For example, in lines 1-2, the speaker describes the melting snow as "the earth" taking off "Her snow-white robes." This is also an example of personification. The image conveys the elegant beauty of winter and is also a bit suggestive—perhaps hinting at the speaker's unfulfilled longing (maybe he wishes his actual beloved would loosen her robes!).
This personification continues when the speaker says that the sun "thaws the benumbed earth." Calling the earth "benumbed" suggests not just that it's frozen solid but also that it's unfeeling (until the sun comes and warms it up, that is). The sun also "gives sacred birth / To the dead swallow." This is a metaphorical birth: the sun's warmth nudges creatures out of hibernation. (Carew is building on an old mistaken belief that swallows hibernate for the winter.) The sun also "wakes" sleepy birds and bumblebees. Birds (and perhaps insects) become a metaphorical "choir of chirping minstrels"—a chorus of singing musicians whose song ushers in the season.
All these vibrant metaphors emphasize the power and beauty of spring. They make the world feel vividly alive—in turn emphasizing the stark juxtaposition between the vibrant, joyful season and the icy demeanor of the speaker's beloved. Not even "the scalding noonday sun" can "melt that marble ice" that grips his beloved's heart. Her heart is stiff and unyielding as stone. Even as the world around her softens, the woman's heart is stuck in "January." She remains cold and untouchable, unmoved by the changing seasons.
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