Winter-Break

By Archibald Lampman

Sonnet
    All day between high-curded clouds the sun     Shone down like summer on the steaming planks.     The long, bright icicles in dwindling ranks     Dripped from the murmuring eaves till one by one     They fell. As if the spring had now begun,     The quilted snow, sun-softened to the core,     Loosened and shunted with a sudden roar     From downward roofs. Not even with day done     Had ceased the sound of waters, but all night     I heard it. In my dreams forgetfully bright     Methought I wandered in the April woods,     Where many a silver-piping sparrow was,     By gurgling brooks and spouting solitudes,     And stooped, and laughed, and plucked hepaticas.

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Poem Details

Language: English
Keywords: Public Domain
Source: Public Domain Collection
Rights/Permissions: Public Domain
Analysis & Notes:
This sonnet captures the sensuality of spring’s arrival, blending sensory richness with a dreamlike reverie. The poem’s iambic pentameter and loose rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef mirrors the natural world’s unruliness, while the volta at line 9 shifts from waking observation to nocturnal fantasy. The speaker begins with sunlit details: icicles dripping, snow sliding, and water’s persistent murmur, all rendered in tactile and auditory imagery. The final quatrain dissolves into a vision of April woods, where laughter and hepaticas (spring flowers) suggest renewal and joy. The poem’s sonic texture sibilance in silver-piping sparrow and alliteration in gurgling brooks heightens its lyrical momentum. The closing lines, though, betray a wistful undercurrent: the speaker’s laughter feels fleeting, as if the dream’s pleasure is already slipping away. The poem’s true power lies in how it balances vivid realism with ephemeral longing, leaving the reader with a sense of both abundance and impermanence.

Understanding the Sonnet

The sonnet is one of the most enduring and celebrated forms of poetry, known for its strict structure and profound themes. With a history spanning centuries, sonnets have been used to explore love, beauty, politics, and mortality, all within the confines of just 14 lines.

Sonnets are characterized by their precise form and rhyme scheme, which vary depending on the type of sonnet. Here’s a closer look:

  • Shakespearean (English) Sonnet: Composed of three quatrains followed by a final couplet, with a rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG. This form often builds a complex argument or narrative, culminating in a powerful closing statement.
  • Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet: Divided into an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines), with a typical rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA for the octave, followed by various patterns in the sestet such as CDECDE or CDCDCD. The octave usually presents a problem, with the sestet providing a resolution.
  • Meter: Sonnets are traditionally written in iambic pentameter, which gives the poem a rhythmic and melodic quality that enhances its emotional impact.

The sonnet’s enduring appeal lies in its ability to condense complex emotions and ideas into a small but potent package, making it a favorite form for poets seeking to explore profound themes with precision and elegance.