April Love by Ernest Dowson Rachel Lewis

After the Disaster By Abigail Deutsch New York City, 2001 One night, not long after the disaster, as our train was passing Astor, the car door opened with a shudder and a girl came flying down the aisle, hair that looked to be all feathers and a half-moon smile making open air of our small car. The crowd ignored her or they muttered “Hey, excuse me” as they passed her when the train had paused at Rector. The specter crowed “Excuse me,” swiftly turned, and ran back up the corridor, then stopped for me. We dove under the river. She took my head between her fingers, squeezing till the birds began to stir. And then from out my eyes and ears a flock came forth — I couldn’t think or hear or breathe or see within that feather-world so silently I thanked her. Such things were common after the disaster.

Speaker: a young man (20ish) that is on a date. April Love By Ernest Dowson 1 We have walked in Love's land a little way, 2 have learnt his lesson a little while, 3 And shall we not part at the end of day, 4 With a sigh, a smile? 5 A little while in the shine of the sun, 6 We were twined together, joined lips, forgot 7 How the shadows fall when the day is done, 8 And when Love is not. 9 We have made no vows--there will none be broke, 10 Our love was free as the wind on the hill, 11 There was no word said we need wish unspoke, 12 We have wrought no ill. 13 So shall we not part at the end of day, 14 Who have loved and lingered a little while, 15 Join lips for the last time, go our way, 16 With a sigh, a smile? 1 stanza 16 lines End rhyme Lyric Speaker: a young man (20ish) that is on a date. The tone is loving and joyful because he says “shall we not part at the end of the day” as if he’s having a good time in the poem.

Literal Meaning The poem is about a couple. He explains how they were, “twined together, joined lips” meaning they were kissing. He also says “there was no word we need wish unspoken” meaning they talked about everything.

Figurative Meaning The figurative meaning of the poem is a man who is talking about a date he went on that he doesn’t want to end. The title “April Love” suggests he wants the relationship to last longer than April. This ties in with his personal life because his relationships don’t ever last long.

About The Poet Ernest Dowson was fell in love in 1889 when he was 23 with an 11 year old girl. She was only 15 when he unsuccessfully proposed to her in 1993. He also has a poor past with relationships because they all failed. This may have inspired his poem because he doesn’t want his new lover to leave him like all the others have. Ernest Dowson tends to write a lot about his failures at relationships and how he feels about them. His purpose for writing the poem “April Love” is to express how he wants his love to last.

Poetic/Literary Terms April Love By Ernest Dowson We have walked in Love's land a little way, We have learnt his lesson a little while, And shall we not part at the end of day, With a sigh, a smile? A little while in the shine of the sun, We were twined together, joined lips, forgot How the shadows fall when the day is done, And when Love is not. We have made no vows--there will none be broke, Our love was free as the wind on the hill, There was no word said we need wish unspoke, We have wrought no ill. So shall we not part at the end of day, Who have loved and lingered a little while, Join lips for the last time, go our way, Alliteration

Repetition April Love By Ernest Dowson We have walked in Love's land a little way, We have learnt his lesson a little while, And shall we not part at the end of day, With a sigh, a smile? A little while in the shine of the sun, We were twined together, joined lips, forgot How the shadows fall when the day is done, And when Love is not. We have made no vows--there will none be broke, Our love was free as the wind on the hill, There was no word said we need wish unspoke, We have wrought no ill. So shall we not part at the end of day, Who have loved and lingered a little while, Join lips for the last time, go our way, April Love By Ernest Dowson We have walked in Love's land a little way, We have learnt his lesson a little while, And shall we not part at the end of day, With a sigh, a smile? A little while in the shine of the sun, We were twined together, joined lips, forgot How the shadows fall when the day is done, And when Love is not. We have made no vows--there will none be broke, Our love was free as the wind on the hill, There was no word said we need wish unspoke, We have wrought no ill. So shall we not part at the end of day, Who have loved and lingered a little while, Join lips for the last time, go our way, Repetition

Personification: This is personification because it says that Love has a land and that people have learnt his lesson as if love was a person. They also capitalize love as if it were a person. (Line 1) walked in Love's land a little way (Line 2) learnt his lesson (his=love) (Line 10 ) Our love was free as the wind on the hill Simile: This is a metaphor because it says that their love was free as the wind on the hill.

We have walked in Love's land a little way, We have learnt his lesson a little while, And shall we not part at the end of day, With a sigh, a smile? A little while in the shine of the sun, We were twined together, joined lips, forgot How the shadows fall when the day is done, And when Love is not. We have made no vows--there will none be broke, Our love was free as the wind on the hill, There was no word said we need wish unspoken, We have wrought no ill. So shall we not part at the end of day, Who have loved and lingered a little while, Join lips for the last time, go our way, Imagery

Theme The theme of the poem is that time flies when your having fun. The poem says “joined lips, forgot” and “shadows fall when the day is done.” This could mean that they kissed, but were having so much fun that they forgot, and the shadows fall because they parted after being together.

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