Helen Hunt Jackson’s sonnet begins with a mild rebuke: ancient people called March the month of war, but where is the war? Outdoors, winds clash and branches fall, yet she sees no violence in nature. Instead, she points to violets that lift their heads calmly and sleep through the noise like a trusting child. The real story of March is one of hidden, sweet expectation. Jackson imagines the earth as a pregnant mother, quietly joyful and already preparing for the spring. There is something sacred in this secret work—she describes the earth bearing “Annunciation lilies,” linking the season’s renewal to the biblical story of new life and quiet annunciation. The speaker’s tone is gentle and full of wonder, seeing past the blustery weather to the tender promise underneath. The mood is peaceful, hopeful, and almost reverent, as if the storms are just a surface behind which life stirs.
A Calendar of Sonnets: March — Summary
Month which the warring ancients strangely styled The month of war,--as if in their fierce ways Were any month of peace!--in thy rough days I find no war in Nature, though the wild Winds clash and clang, and broken boughs are piled As feet of writhing trees. The violets raise Their heads without affright, without amaze, And sleep through all the din, as sleeps a child. And he who watches well may well discern Sweet expectation in each living thing. Like pregnant mother the sweet earth doth yearn; In secret joy makes ready for the spring; And hidden, sacred, in her breast doth bear Annunciation lilies for the year.