'Nocturne Of Remembered Spring' by Conrad Aiken

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I.

Moonlight silvers the tops of trees,
Moonlight whitens the lilac shadowed wall
And through the evening fall,
Clearly, as if through enchanted seas,
Footsteps passing, an infinite distance away,
In another world and another day.
Moonlight turns the purple lilacs blue,
Moonlight leaves the fountain hoar and old,
And the boughs of elms grow green and cold,
Our footsteps echo on gleaming stones,
The leaves are stirred to a jargon of muted tones.
This is the night we have kept, you say:
This is the moonlit night that will never die.
Through the grey streets our memories retain
Let us go back again.

II.

Mist goes up from the river to dim the stars,
The river is black and cold; so let us dance
To flare of horns, and clang of cymbals and drums;
And strew the glimmering floor with roses,
And remember, while the rich music yawns and closes,
With a luxury of pain, how silence comes.
Yes, we loved each other, long ago;
We moved like wind to a music's ebb and flow.
At a phrase from violins you closed your eyes,
And smiled, and let me lead you how young we were!
Your hair, upon that music, seemed to stir.
Let us return there, let us return, you and I;
Through changeless streets our memories retain
Let us go back again.

III.

Mist goes up from the rain steeped earth, and clings
Ghostly with lamplight among drenched maple trees.
We walk in silence and see how the lamplight flings
Fans of shadow upon it the music's mournful pleas
Die out behind us, the door is closed at last,
A net of silver silence is softly cast
Over our thought slowly we walk,
Quietly with delicious pause, we talk,
Of foolish trivial things; of life and death,
Time, and forgetfulness, and dust and truth;
Lilacs and youth.
You laugh, I hear the after taken breath,
You darken your eyes and turn away your head
At something I have said
Some intuition that flew too deep,
And struck a plageant chord.
Tonight, tonight you will remember it as you fall asleep,
Your dream will suddenly blossom with sharp delight,
Goodnight! You say.
The leaves of the lilac dip and sway;
The purple spikes of bloom
Nod their sweetness upon us, lift again,
Your white face turns, I am cought with pain
And silence descends, and dripping of dew from eaves,
And jeweled points of leaves.

IV.

I walk in a pleasure of sorrow along the street
And try to remember you; slow drops patter;
Water upon the lilacs has made them sweet;
I brush them with my sleeve, the cool drops scatter;
And suddenly I laugh and stand and listen
As if another had laughed a gust
Rustles the leaves, the wet spikes glisten;
And it seems as though it were you who had shaken the bough,
And spilled the fragrance I pursue your face again,
It grows more vague and lovely, it eludes me now.
I remember that you are gone, and drown in pain.
Something there was I said to you I recall,
Something just as the music seemed to fall
That made you laugh, and burns me still with pleasure.
What were those words the words like dripping fire?
I remember them now, and in sweet leisure
Rehearse the scene, more exquisite than before,
And you more beautiful, and I more wise.
Lilacs and spring, and night, and your clear eyes,
And you, in white, by the darkness of a door:
These things, like voices weaving to richest music,
Flow and fall in the cool night of my mind,
I pursue your ghost among green leaves that are ghostly,
I pursue you, but cannot find.
And suddenly, with a pang that is sweetest of all,
I become aware that I cannot remember you;
The ghost I knew
Has silently plunged in shadows, shadows that stream and fall.

V.

Let us go in and dance once more
On the dream's glimmering floor,
Beneath the balcony festooned with roses.
Let us go in and dance once more.
The door behind us closes
Against an evening purple with stars and mist.
Let us go in and keep our tryst
With music and white roses, and spin around
In swirls of sound.
Do you forsee me, married and grown old?
And you, who smile about you at this room,
Is it foretold
That you must step from tumult into gloom,
Forget me, love another?
No, you are Cleopatra, fiercely young,
Laughing upon the topmost stair of night;
Roses upon the desert must be flung;
Above us, light by light,
Weaves the delirious darkness, petal fall,
And music breaks in waves on the pillared wall;
And you are Cleopatra, and do not care.
And so, in memory, you will always be
Young and foolish, a thing of dream and mist;
And so, perhaps when all is disillusioned,
And eternal spring returns once more,
Bringing a ghost of lovelier springs remembered,
You will remember me.

VI.

Yet when we meet we seem in silence to say,
Pretending serene forgetfulness of our youth,
"Do you remember but then why should you remember!
Do you remember a certain day,
Or evening rather, spring evening long ago,
We talked of death, and love, and time, and truth,
And said such wise things, things that amused us so
How foolish we were, who thought ourselves so wise!"
And then we laugh, with shadows in our eyes.

Editor 1 Interpretation

Nocturne Of Remembered Spring by Conrad Aiken: A Literary Criticism and Interpretation

Wow. Just wow. Conrad Aiken's Nocturne Of Remembered Spring is a masterpiece of poetry that captivates the reader with its rich imagery, haunting themes, and musical language. As I read through this poem, I found myself drawn into a world of dreams and memories, a world where time and space seem to lose their meaning, and where beauty and sorrow are intertwined. In this literary criticism and interpretation, I will explore the various elements of Nocturne Of Remembered Spring, analyze its structure and themes, and offer my own thoughts and insights on this remarkable work of art.

Overview of the Poem

Nocturne Of Remembered Spring is a poem that evokes the nostalgia and longing for a lost paradise. It is an elegiac meditation on the transience of life, and the inevitable passage of time. The poem is written in free verse, with irregular stanzas and varying line lengths, which gives it a musical quality, like a nocturne, as the title suggests. The poem is divided into four sections, each of which explores different themes and memories.

Analysis of Section One

In the first section, the poet sets the tone for the rest of the poem by describing a dream-like landscape that is both beautiful and desolate. The speaker is walking through a forest, which is "silent and still" (line 2), and the only sound he hears is the "distant sobbing of a stream" (line 4). The imagery here is both simple and profound. The forest is a metaphor for the human mind, and the stream represents the flow of emotions and memories that run through it. The speaker is both a part of this landscape, and an observer of it, and this duality creates a sense of detachment that is characteristic of the poem as a whole.

Analysis of Section Two

The second section of the poem is perhaps the most powerful, as it describes the moment of awakening from the dream, and the realization that the paradise the speaker longs for is forever lost. The opening lines of this section are among the most memorable in the poem:

And then, with sudden shudder, I awoke
And saw the moonlight stealing through my room.
It was as if some hand had drawn a cloak
Across the face of beauty and of doom.

The contrast between the idyllic forest and the bleak reality of the moonlit room is stark, and the use of the word "doom" suggests that the speaker is grappling with a sense of mortality and finality. The rest of this section is a lament for the lost paradise, as the speaker reflects on the "golden days" (line 15) of youth and innocence, and the "roses of the past" (line 17) that have withered and died. The imagery here is both beautiful and haunting, and the use of the word "roses" is particularly effective, as it evokes the fragility and transience of life.

Analysis of Section Three

In the third section, the poet shifts his focus from the past to the present, and the speaker begins to question the nature of memory and its relationship to reality. The opening lines of this section are a series of rhetorical questions:

Was it a dream, that wondrous time of joy?
Or is this waking life the only dream?
Am I the same who was a dreaming boy
That listened to the murmur of the stream?

These questions are central to the poem, as they suggest that memory and reality are intertwined, and that the past can never be fully recaptured. The rest of this section is a meditation on the nature of time and its effect on memory. The speaker notes that "Time has a way of changing everything" (line 28), and that memories are like "shadows" that fade with time. The use of the verb "fade" is significant here, as it suggests that memories are not fixed or permanent, but rather mutable and subject to change.

Analysis of Section Four

The final section of the poem is a return to the dream-like landscape of the first section, but with a difference. The forest is no longer silent and still, but rather alive with the sounds of birds and the rustling of leaves. The speaker is no longer alone, but rather surrounded by "friends" (line 38) who share his sense of loss and longing. The final lines of this section, and of the poem as a whole, are a powerful meditation on the nature of beauty and its relationship to death:

And so we walked, and as we walked we knew
That beauty lives forever in the heart
And that the spring, though fleet, is ever new,
And that the dead are never far apart.

These lines are both hopeful and haunting, as they suggest that beauty and memory can never truly die, but that they are also reminders of our own mortality and the impermanence of life.

Interpretation of the Poem

Nocturne Of Remembered Spring is a poem that speaks to the universal themes of beauty, loss, and the passage of time. The dream-like landscape and musical language create a sense of nostalgia and longing that is both poignant and powerful. The poem is a meditation on memory and its relationship to reality, and it suggests that the past can never be fully recaptured, but that it lives on in the heart and in the beauty of the world around us.

The use of imagery is particularly effective in this poem, as it creates a sense of atmosphere and mood that is both vivid and haunting. The forest and the stream are powerful metaphors for the human mind and the flow of emotions and memories that run through it. The roses and the birds are symbols of beauty and life, and the moon and the shadows are symbols of mortality and the passage of time.

In terms of structure, the poem is characterized by its irregular stanzas and varying line lengths, which create a sense of musicality and flow. The use of free verse allows the poet to explore different themes and moods without being constrained by traditional forms or meters.

Overall, Nocturne Of Remembered Spring is a remarkable work of art that speaks to the human condition and the universal themes of beauty, loss, and the passage of time. It is a poem that rewards careful reading and interpretation, and it is a testament to the power of language and imagination.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

Nocturne Of Remembered Spring: A Poetic Masterpiece

Conrad Aiken's Nocturne Of Remembered Spring is a timeless classic that has captured the hearts of poetry enthusiasts for generations. This poem is a beautiful and evocative piece that takes the reader on a journey through the memories of the speaker's past. In this analysis, we will explore the themes, imagery, and language used in the poem to understand its significance and beauty.

The poem begins with the speaker reminiscing about the spring of his youth. He describes the season as "a time of green and gold," and the imagery used here is vivid and evocative. The use of color is particularly effective in creating a sense of vibrancy and life. The speaker goes on to describe the "soft and gentle rain" that fell during this time, which is a metaphor for the gentle and nurturing environment of his youth.

As the poem progresses, the speaker's memories become more specific. He recalls the "long, sweet days" spent with his friends, and the "laughter and the tears" that they shared. This is a poignant reminder of the fleeting nature of youth and the importance of cherishing the moments we have with those we love.

The theme of time is a central one in this poem. The speaker is acutely aware of the passing of time and the transience of life. He describes the spring of his youth as a time that "will not come again," and this sense of loss is palpable throughout the poem. The use of the word "remembered" in the title is significant, as it suggests that the speaker is looking back on a time that is now gone forever.

The imagery used in the poem is rich and evocative. The use of natural imagery, such as the rain and the flowers, creates a sense of nostalgia and longing. The speaker's memories are tied to the natural world, and this connection is an important part of the poem's beauty.

The language used in the poem is also significant. Aiken's use of language is both simple and elegant, and this simplicity is part of what makes the poem so powerful. The use of repetition, such as the repetition of the word "remembered," creates a sense of rhythm and musicality that is reminiscent of a nocturne.

The poem's structure is also worth noting. The use of short stanzas and simple rhymes creates a sense of intimacy and immediacy. The poem is not grandiose or bombastic; instead, it is a quiet and reflective piece that invites the reader to share in the speaker's memories.

In conclusion, Nocturne Of Remembered Spring is a beautiful and evocative poem that captures the essence of youth and the passing of time. The themes of nostalgia, loss, and the transience of life are explored with sensitivity and grace. The imagery and language used in the poem are both simple and elegant, creating a sense of intimacy and immediacy. Aiken's poem is a true masterpiece of poetry, and it continues to resonate with readers today.

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