Song of a Second April

Integral to Millay’s portrayal of April are the symbols of butterflies and flowers, which both represent the natural world’s ability to adapt and persist. Despite the mud, snow, (Line 4) and cold, the hepaticas “[a]re here again” (Line 6) once more. These perennial flowers survive the winter and bloom in spring, much to the delight of human observers (Line 5). Though they might suffer during the winter, the flowers persist and return just as they always were. Similarly, Millay evokes butterflies as an image of spring. Like the hepaticas, the butterflies return in April, but beyond the persistence the flowers represent, the butterflies also represent adaptability. Butterflies are caterpillars that have successfully cocooned and undergone metamorphosis, symbolizing the ability to move on and reinvent oneself despite significant changes of life. Millay uses the hepaticas and butterflies to juxtapose the idea of life persisting through trials and change with the speaker’s stagnant mental state.