Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Spring," Paul Verlaine crafts a poem steeped in sensuality, eroticism, and the vibrant energies of youth and nature. Here, two young women are in intimate conversation, revealing the latent sexual tension between them. It's a dialogue that unfolds against the backdrop of spring, a season often linked with rebirth and budding desires.

"Tender, the young auburn woman, / By such innocence aroused, / Said to the blonde young girl / These words, in a soft low voice." In these opening lines, Verlaine paints an idyllic picture-two young women, different yet complementing each other, sharing a hushed conversation. The "auburn" woman is moved by the "innocence" of her blonde companion, suggesting a balance of experience and naivety between them.

Verlaine proceeds to delineate a sensual natural world, talking of "Sap which mounts, and flowers which thrust," paralleling the natural urgency and movement to the young women's own burgeoning desires. This metaphor of nature encapsulates the erotic undercurrents present in the poem; the "sap" that "mounts" and the "flowers" that "thrust" mirror the characters' internal energies and unspoken urges.

"Let my fingers wander in the moss / Where glows the rosebud." The poet doesn't mince words; he directly dives into the eroticism latent in the scenario. The "moss" and the "rosebud" here serve as metaphors for the intimate landscapes of the body, waiting to be explored.

The poem emphasizes tactile sensations as much as it does visual ones: "Her dear rare body, harmonious, / Fragrant, white as white / Rose, whiteness of pure milk, and rosy / As a lily beneath purple skies?" These lines overflow with sensory detail-the body is "fragrant," "white," and "rosy," an amalgam of delightful scents and hues, inviting touch and gaze alike.

"Beauteous thighs, upright breasts, / The back, the loins and belly, feast / For the eyes and prying hands / And for the lips and all the senses." This passage leaves no room for ambiguity; the erotic tension culminates in a feast for the senses, the body becoming a landscape to be enjoyed through sight, touch, and even taste.

The closing lines, "Little one, let us see if your bed / Has still beneath the red curtain / The beautiful pillow that slips so / And the wild sheets. O to your bed!" reveal the ultimate destination of the women's dialogue and underlying desires. The "bed" is explicitly highlighted as the space where their emotional and sensual tensions may finally find release.

"Spring" is not just a chronicle of a season but an exploration of the naturalness of desire, the beauty of the body, and the intimate spaces-both physical and emotional-that young love or lust can occupy. Verlaine manages to encapsulate the spirited essence of spring through a lens of human eroticism, framing the season not just as a time of natural renewal, but as a season of sensual and emotional awakening as well.

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