Setting in Patterns

Notice that as the speaker shifts back to the present, her perception of the setting changes. Shadows replace the “light laughing maze” and and speaker’s power disappears. With this shift in setting come a darker tone that signifies her weakness and gloom on this afternoon.

In the 18th century, powdering one’s hair was a fashion statement used by the aristocracy as a sign of wealth and status. Men would wear powdered wigs, long curly hair covered in bright white powder. Women would not wear wigs but would powder their hair grey, or blue-grey. The speaker’s powdered hair suggests that she is of the upper-class and sets the story in the 18th century when such a fashion trend was popular.

While the initial images of the garden emphasize the beauty and vibrancy of spring, this line introduces a new element. The speaker repeats the first line of the poem but adds the adjective “patterned” to describe the garden paths. This adjective implies that humans intervened in this natural place to create order. This line introduces the theme of human-made patterns shaping the natural world. What was first presented as robust, unrestrained springtime now appears more socially ordered or controlled.

Daffodils are bright, yellow flowers with a long trumpet-shaped center. The presence of daffodils creates a bright, spring setting for the poem. These first lines suggest that the poem will celebrate the experience of spring’s beauty, and that this illusion will shortly be dispelled.