Spring and Fall
by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Márgarét, áre you gríeving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leáves like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! ás the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep and know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sórrow’s spríngs áre the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It ís the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.

Question
Which statement best expresses the theme of "Spring and Fall"?

Responses

The loss of a child's innocence should be mourned.

Children cannot understand death.

Innocence is best left in childhood.

Nature is the best place to meditate.

The poem explores the theme of growing up and losing innocence. The speaker addresses Margaret, who is grieving over the falling leaves of Goldengrove, a symbol of the passing of innocence. The poem suggests that as we grow older, we become desensitized to the beauty and wonder of the world, and our hearts grow "colder" to the passing of things. The speaker acknowledges that Margaret will eventually come to understand the sorrow and loss that is inherent in life, and that it is this loss of innocence that should be mourned.

The other options do not accurately capture the theme of the poem:

"Children cannot understand death" is not the main theme of the poem, although it is mentioned as a aspect of growing up.

"Innocence is best left in childhood" is not a statement that is supported by the poem, which instead acknowledges the inevitability of growing up and losing innocence.

"Nature is the best place to meditate" is not a theme that is explicitly stated in the poem, although nature is used as a backdrop to explore the theme of growing up and loss

Explanation: