Perhaps

== =‘Perhaps’= =Vera Brittain=

The poem reflects on the beauty of nature which the speaker can no longer appreciate. The speaker uses nature to demonstrate the passing of time and her feelings of grief for her lost lover.

The speaker questions whether she will ever be able to appreciate the beauty of nature again after experiencing such loss. The poem is both personal and universal in its address; the capitalization of “You” is both the speaker’s named lover and the name of any loved one lost in the war.

The ending is poignant and optimistic at the same time and reflects the British fashion of resilience common during the period. Time is a healer and life does go on. Nature aids the process of grief as it is a constant phenomenon and continues to live on and provide familiar structure for those coping with loss.

Five quatrains are used with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef ghgh ijij. This reflects the monotony of the seasons and the steady rhythm of change.

The poem would have been appreciated by many young women at the time, since such a vast number of men died during the war, and as a consequence the birth rate dropped significantly and many women lived their lives as spinsters or widows.