THE ENKINDLED SPRING by D. H. Lawrence: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
Spring bursts forth in vibrant life all around the speaker, so intense that he likens it to a wildfire of green.
The poem
THIS spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green, Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes, Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes. I am amazed at this spring, this conflagration Of green fires lit on the soil of the earth, this blaze Of growing, and sparks that puff in wild gyration, Faces of people streaming across my gaze. And I, what fountain of fire am I among This leaping combustion of spring? My spirit is tossed About like a shadow buffeted in the throng Of flames, a shadow that's gone astray, and is lost.
Spring bursts forth in vibrant life all around the speaker, so intense that he likens it to a wildfire of green. Yet, instead of feeling invigorated, he feels adrift — a shadow consumed by all that fiery energy. The poem raises a quiet, unsettling question: where do *I* belong in a world that is so fiercely, indifferently alive?
Line-by-line
THIS spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green, / Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes,
I am amazed at this spring, this conflagration / Of green fires lit on the soil of the earth, this blaze
And I, what fountain of fire am I among / This leaping combustion of spring?
Tone & mood
The tone follows a distinct path: starting with awe, shifting to disorientation, and finally settling into quiet despair. Lawrence writes with a sense of urgency—his short, punchy sentences and vivid language keep the energy alive—but beneath that vibrancy is a speaker who feels increasingly insignificant. It never falls into self-pity; the language is too dynamic for that. The overall sensation is more akin to vertigo than to sadness.
Symbols & metaphors
- Fire / Conflagration — The central symbol of the poem transforms spring's growth into wildfire — wild, consuming, and indifferent to everything in its way. Here, fire represents the raw, impersonal force of nature, which is exciting to observe but frightening to experience firsthand.
- The Shadow — The speaker's self-image shifts by the final stanza. A shadow doesn't have its own light; it only exists in relation to other objects. Describing the shadow as "buffeted in the throng of flames" conveys the sense of lacking a stable identity amid such vibrant energy.
- Green — Green symbolizes life and renewal, yet Lawrence removes its comforting aspect by linking it to fire and smoke. Phrases like "bonfires green" and "green fires" give growth a violent edge instead of a gentle one, implying that nature's fertility is a powerful force to be reckoned with rather than just something to celebrate.
- Faces of people streaming — The unexpected arrival of a crowd in the second stanza connects the chaos of nature to the chaos of society. People become just more sparks in the fire, intensifying the speaker's feeling of being overwhelmed by forces greater than himself.
Historical context
Lawrence wrote this poem in the early twentieth century, during a time when he was grappling with his long-standing interest in how human consciousness relates to the natural world. He was quite skeptical of the notion that the modern, thinking self is the center of everything — pushing back against both Victorian sentimentality about nature and the increasing mechanization of industrial England. "The Enkindled Spring" embodies this perspective: nature isn't just a backdrop for human emotions; it's a powerful force that overshadows them. Lawrence's working-class Midlands upbringing also played a significant role in shaping his worldview, as the vibrant natural landscape surrounding the coal-mining towns was always present in his life. His early poetry, including this piece, tends to use free verse with strong rhythmic pulses instead of rigid formal patterns, reflecting his belief that form should emerge from the energy of feeling.
FAQ
The poem explores the sensation of being lost within something vast and vibrant that defies understanding. When spring bursts onto the scene, the speaker doesn't feel rejuvenated; instead, they feel wiped away. The underlying message, if there is one, is that nature is indifferent to our existence — and that awareness can be both terrifying and awe-inspiring.
That's precisely the point Lawrence is highlighting. He intentionally rejects the gentle, pastoral image of spring — the usual lambs and daffodils — and substitutes it with something fierce and overwhelming. Fire embodies the *speed* and *intensity* of spring's growth in a way that softer imagery fails to convey. It also adds a sense of danger to spring, reflecting how the speaker perceives it.
A shadow doesn't have its own light — it's shaped entirely by its surroundings. When the speaker refers to himself as a shadow "buffeted in the throng of flames," he's expressing that the energy around him has completely consumed his sense of self. It's not just that he's physically lost in a crowd; he's also struggling with a deeper loss of identity. In the midst of all that intense life, he can't seem to find himself.
It's composed of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) with a loose ABAB rhyme scheme. Lawrence doesn't stick to it strictly — the rhymes occasionally veer into slant rhymes, and the meter is flexible — but this structure provides enough shape to the poem to feel controlled, even while the content explores chaos and losing control. This tension between form and feeling is a hallmark of his early work.
Lawrence doesn't specify who they are, and that's intentional. They might be a real crowd the speaker is navigating through, or they could represent faces blending into the vibrant rush of spring. In either case, people and nature flow together into an intense wave of sensation, leaving the speaker unable to separate himself from it all.
"Enkindled" refers to being set on fire or ignited. This older, somewhat formal term that Lawrence employs indicates right from the beginning that this spring isn't just a gentle awakening; it's a brightening, a combustion. The title prepares you to interpret everything that comes next through the perspective of fire.
It feels more like being overwhelmed than experiencing clinical depression. The speaker isn't numb — he's *amazed*, fully engaged with the intensity of everything around him. The issue is that he's feeling too much, not too little. He gets lost not because the world lacks substance, but because it's so overflowing that he can't find his place within it.
Romantic poets such as Wordsworth and Keats often found solace, significance, or spiritual renewal in nature. Lawrence turns that idea on its head. His spring doesn't rejuvenate the self — it risks erasing it. While a Romantic poet might feel exhilarated by a surge of natural energy, Lawrence's voice experiences a sense of destruction from it. This reflects a distinctly modern, post-Romantic anxiety.