Spring Pools by Robert Frost

Question 1

What could be taken as the straight forward subject/meaning of Spring Pools?

Answer 1

That it is a meditation on the spring and the transient nature of nature itself

Question 2

What did Jay Parini say about the water in Spring Pools?

Answer 2

He reads it as a poem about poetry and the creative process and says that the water can be taken to mean

“a substance into which one dips for inspiration”

Question 3

What are the themes of Spring Pools?

Answer 3

○ The transient nature of nature itself/ of time

○ The writing process

Question 4

What type of poem is Spring Pools?

Answer 4

Lyric poem

Question 5

Describe the structure and layout of Spring Pools

Answer 5

○ Both stanzas are of equal length and have similarly patterned rhyming schemes
○ i.e. they are perfectly mirrored on the page, which is fitting for a reflective poem about reflection
○ Each stanza is one sentence long

Question 6

What is the tone of Spring Pools?

Answer 6

○ Loss and regret
   ► "soon be gone"
   ► "pent-up buds"
○ Weary
   ► "let them think twice before they use their powers"

Question 7

Give examples of personification in Spring Pools

Answer 7

► “…the flowers beside them chill and shiver”
► “let them think twice before they use their powers”
► “..To blot out and drink up and sweep away”

Question 8

Talk about the rhyme in Spring Pools

Answer 8

○ The rhyming scheme is mirrored in both stanzas
○ Reflected
○ Rhythm, routine, continuity, time running its course