A Calendar Of Sonnets - May

By Helen Hunt Jackson

Sonnet
    O month when they who love must love and wed!     Were one to go to worlds where May is naught,     And seek to tell the memories he had brought     From earth of thee, what were most fitly said?     I know not if the rosy showers shed     From apple-boughs, or if the soft green wrought     In fields, or if the robin's call be fraught     The most with thy delight. Perhaps they read     Thee best who in the ancient time did say     Thou wert the sacred month unto the old:     No blossom blooms upon thy brightest day     So subtly sweet as memories which unfold     In aged hearts which in thy sunshine lie,     To sun themselves once more before they die.

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Poem Details

Language: English
Keywords: Public Domain
Source: Public Domain Collection
Rights/Permissions: Public Domain
Analysis & Notes:
<s> [OST]
The poem celebrates May as a month of love and vivid natural splendor, weaving sensory imagery with philosophical reflection. Its fourteen lines adhere to a strict rhyme scheme (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG) and iambic pentameter, evoking the formal precision of a sonnet while resisting strict adherence to its traditional volta. The speaker’s voice oscillates between reverent wonder and intimate nostalgia, as they grapple with the challenge of conveying May’s essence to those who know it not. The poem’s imagery rosy showers, green fields, robins’ calls captures the month’s ephemeral beauty, yet the speaker ultimately suggests that May’s true magic lies not in its fleeting blooms but in the memories it awakens in aging hearts. The final couplet shifts from external observation to internal reverie, suggesting that the poem itself may be an act of remembrance. The speaker’s uncertainty about which aspect of May best embodies its spirit underscores the poem’s tension between sensory immediacy and the ineffable nature of memory. The closing lines reveal that the poem’s true subject is not May itself, but the act of recalling it a fleeting moment of renewal before inevitable decline. The poem’s final image of aging hearts basking in remembered sunshine is both tender and melancholic, capturing the bittersweet interplay of beauty and mortality. [/OST]

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.