Fern Hill Time Quotes

In the beginning of the poem, the speaker personifies time as something with eyes. The speaker felt like he was under the watchful gaze of time. And because he says, "the heydays of his eyes" (5), we know that the speaker believes he's in his prime. Time's prime, that is, as if time was at his best when the speaker was young. Life couldn't have been better.

Time seems like an awesome guy here, right? The speaker says, "[t]ime let me play and be" as if time is giving him permission to play and just "be." The speaker doesn't have any worries and is just enjoying himself, and it's all thanks to time, who's a kind, benevolent, compassionate figure here. So what happens between now and the end of the poem?

Okay, what in the world is the "first, spinning place?" Well, the speaker doesn't say the word time, but we still think he's referring to time here. It's the beginning of a new day, and the speaker feels refreshed and like the day is brand new. You know that phrase, "every day is a new beginning?" Well, the speaker literally feels like he's waking to a day as new as the first day of time.