Close Reading of Spring and Fall by Gerard M. Hopkins

1.

"Margaret are you grieving

Over Goldengrove unleaving?"

•  'Margaret why are you sad about the trees dying?'

 Do any words have double meanings? Do they have extra connotations? 

The word 'unleaving' carries extra meaning as it gives an sense of opposition is using the prefix un- where as the speaker of this poem could have used the prefix de- (deleaving) to describe the shedding of trees; however, the speaker chose un- adding a feeling, to an otherwise action, to provide a parallel to Margaret's grieving. Unleaving not only holds the literal actions of trees shedding but also describes Margaret's opposition.

2.

"Leaves, like the things of man, you

With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?"

• 'Can you care for your fresh happy thoughts when leaves and men die?'

Look at the punctuation. Is there anything unusual about it?

The placement of 'leaves' and 'you' force me to compare those words as the punctuation adds 'like the things of man' to interrupt the flow of the sentence but you realize both of the words of the left and right must relate to that of the middle. Also, the commas remind me of listing like things, as leaves, everything related to man, and 'you' are all relating in death, as they all die.

3.

Ah! as the heart grows older

It will come to such sights colder

• 'When you become older, you won't feel as bad' 

What is the sentence rhythm like? Short and choppy? Long and flowing? Does it build on itself or stay at an even pace? What is the style like?

The sentence structure is shorter staying at an even pace and there is rhyme to it. It gives an attitude of the speaker in the way they are speaking toward Margaret as they are curt and give of a sense of superiority in how one who is experienced and older would say this to someone who is younger.The style is emote.  

4.

"By and by, nor spare a sigh

Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;"

• "Don't be dejected in the fall time;'

What is the first thing you notice about the passage?

First thing I noticed was the words 'wanwood' and 'leafmeal' as they looked as made up as 'unleaving'. I had to look up the direct definitions of 'wan' and 'meal', wan carrying relation to strain and meal to occasion, which relates to this poem's gist of leaves dying. Meal relating to the seasonal occasion of leaves starting to die in the fall and the waning of tree's bark as the trees are going through yet another season becoming weak under climate change. This poem still seems to focus on Fall.

5.

"And yet you will weep and know why."

• "But you will keep on weeping because there's an ulterior reason to leaves dying"

What mood does the passage create in you? Why?

I feel despair, and the author's tone is hopelessness as the word 'will' is emphasized to explain Margaret's grieving is inevitable. 

6.

"Now no matter, child, the name:

Sorrow's springs are the same."

• "Don't worry, Spring's the same as fall."

Which words do you notice first? Why? What is noteworthy about this diction?

At first I noticed the alliteration of the 's' sounds of sorrow, spring, and same. The repetition in this word choice dramatizes the being of the shift in the poem as now we are going to talk about spring.

7.

"Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed

What héart héard of, ghóst guéssed:"

• 'No one alive can ever express what the heart knows'

Do any words seem oddly used to you? Why?

I analyzed this line the longest of among the others, as the word 'heard' is odd to me. I usually think of listening with your ear when I think of hearing which is the wrong sensory word to heart as it feels; however, by listening you can gain knowledge, and I looked up the word 'hear' to which I received the definition 'know of the existence of" which is basically what this line is saying that the heart knows of something.

8.

"It is the blight man was born for,

It is Margaret you mourn for."

• 'You mourn for death Margaret'

Is there any repetition within the passage? What is the effect of that repetition?

These lines are an example of symploce, where both lines start and end with the same words 'it' and 'for'. The repetition of words makes the idea of this poem clear that Margaret is grieving death which is inevitable.    

How To Analyze Literature Reflection

1. One thing that I have learned is how authors control the pace of a story. What I have picked up is that pace is indicated by diction and syntax; for example, diction can prolong the time a reader takes to read by how complex a word is in getting through and syntax can control if the sentences are long or short to regulate time. Symbolism is something I have always been taught, yet I never realized it does not 'mean but suggest, reflect, or remind,' or in my own words, it pulls the reader to some specific idea for consideration. Also, something useful I have learned is that using figures of speech should be avoided when analyzing literature, especially on the AP English test, as you want to be as literal and anal as possible when conveying an idea. 
2. I am still confused about the difference between the author, narrator, and speaker roles of a story, and if a speaker of a poem is closer to an author than a narrator. Also with proving that something is a symbol, you need to provide proof that it is one by searching around the story that backs your theory; however, my question is what if the proof that you are trying to prove is a far fetched interpretation of the text? 
3. A skill that I believe to know the best is setting: for an event, such as a story, there must be a circumstance to which the event must take place--this circumstance is setting. Setting can also be used as literary tactics to convey meaning or set a mood to deliver a reader to perceive a story a certain way.