Winter
Winter is used symbolically to represent war, death, and destruction. Winter is often used in such a way, as an absence of light, life and growth. In the poem, it is used as a winter of the world, implying hopelessness and despair that came with the war that broke out. This image is further emphasized at the end of the first stanza, with autumn grains rotting, meaning that there is no preparation or hope for the future.
Spring
Spring as a symbol appears in the second stanza, which is in direct contrast with the first one. Where the first stanza represents winter, darkness and death, the second one represents spring, sun and growth. Therefore, spring is symbolically used as a representation of growth, hope and new life.
Harvest
The motif of harvest is present in both the first and second stanza. In the first stanza, the grain of autumn needed for spring is rotting, it’s destroyed. In the second stanza, the rich harvest of the roman civilization is compared to the harvest of “us” in the poem. Despite the desperation that came with the “winter of the world” there is still hope for the future, the civilization will pick itself up using blood for seeds.
Motif of destruction of progress
The first stanza is metaphorically rich in its description of progress and the destruction of it. Sailing and natural disasters, famine and destruction of grain, are all used to represent the motif of destruction of progress that civilization made thus far.
