Question

The sky has given over
its bitterness.
Out of the dark change
all day long
rain falls and falls
as if it would never end.
Still the snow keeps
its hold on the ground.
But water, water
from a thousand runnels!
It collects swiftly,
dappled with black
cuts a way for itself
through green ice in the gutters.
Drop after drop it falls
from the withered grass-stems
of the overhanging embankment.
"Spring Storm" by William Carlos Williams
Use the poem to answer the question.
In 1-2 sentences, analyze the effects of the figurative language used in the poem.

Answer 1

Williams uses personification, repetition, and vivid sensory imagery—"the sky has given over its bitterness," "rain falls and falls," and "water...from a thousand runnels"—to make the storm feel relentless and active. This figurative language emphasizes the cleansing, erosive power of spring rain as it breaks winter's hold and signals inevitable change.