July 18, 2016
The theme of the poem is Nature. The writer, Jose Zorilla, wrote the poem in a first person perspective. The poem must have been birth forth out of keen observation of the movement of Springlet.
The mood of the poem, according to naijapoets.com perspective, is somehow indifferent, but in the sense of it, there was a sense of appreciation to nature. The tone was rather passive, as the theme was approached lightly. The atmosphere is cool, a spring ambience.
The dictions employed are perfect. They painted the images well in an appreciative manner.
The first line, 'hasting on, the springlet flows', tells of the movement of spring water, which is rapid. It's bed is dark brown, painting the picture of algae growing across it. The spring licks up the bed as it goes... Moving water carries anything it comes across in its paths; the bed was being washed away as it moves.
A clear water glows as crystal when viewed as it strides along its path. The
springlet is a sought of blessing to grasses and brushes. This green population experience a benevolence of the small spring, even the sand felt its touch, and became moist.
Its face is fanned...with laughter light and gay... This depicts the image of the sun. Water glows in the sun. The next line tells of the overflow of the small spring on the valley, and how temporal this can be as a result of the waves and ripples dancing along the current of the moving water. The birch trees are commonly found in countries at the northern hemisphere. This is a good pointer that opens our eyes to nativity of the writer.
Bursts it on the open sky!
What was all its running for,If beneath the
cliff it die
Engulfed forevermore?
This poem must have been inspired through a careful study of a spring. The line, bursts it on the open sky, paints a clear image of a spring throwing up itself from its fountain. The writer left us with a question to ponder; the water that sprung up ended its cycle under the cliff, what's all the running all about? The small spring had gone through crevices and crannies to find its way out to the surface, but at the end, it terminates under the cliff.
The springlet can be said to be humans. After all life's throes and travails, man ends his life under the ground. Despite, the good of blessing the grasses (helping people), taking away decaying bed; despite the good and the bad, all will end under the cliff. The writer left us with the thought of life as vanity. What's the main purpose of life if we live and blossom as flowers today, and tomorrow we die as grass, of what use is our struggle in life.
We all are springlets; of what use is getting to be the best on earth, and there is no relevance in our life in eternity.
José Zorilla Moral was a Spanish poet born in Valladolid on 21st February 1817 to a magistrate in whom Ferdinand VII placed special confidence. According to wikipedia article, "he was educated by the Jesuits at the Real Seminario de Nobles in Madrid" Jose eventually concluded his mortal life on 23rd January 1893.
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Moses Chibueze Opara aka Mr. Humility
(A nigerian contemporary poet and poetry analyst)
