A is for April

wHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath pierced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendered is the flour…


Thus begins one of the most famous poems of English Literature: Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Written in the 14th Century, it is about a group of pilgrims en route to the shrine of Thomas Beckett. It is the month of April. Spring is in the air, the winter gloom is gone.

Almost six centuries later, T.S. Eliot writing in the wake of the Great War, turned English Literature on its head by depicting April as a month of despair, awakening desires which are most likely to be crushed. APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain… Two different sensibilities. What is your take? What does April mean to you?

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Day 1 Entry for A – Z Blogging challenge