The Cycle of Spring
The Cycle of Spring is a lyrical drama by Rabindranath Tagore, written in 1917. This play blends poetry, drama, and philosophy to explore themes of youth, renewal, and the cyclical nature of life, particularly the transition from winter to spring. The narrative follows a group of youths on a quest to capture the personification of old age, engaging in whimsical dialogues that reflect their struggles with time and growth. Ultimately, the play celebrates the beauty of life and the invigorating power of nature through music and song.
Editions
X-Ray
“The newer people, of this modern age, are more eager to amass than to realize.””
— Rabindranath Tagore
“Did you leave behind you your love, my heart, and miss peace through all your days? And is the path you followed lost and forgotten, making your return hopeless? I go roaming listening to brooks' babble, to the rustle of leaves. And it seems to me that I shall find the way, that reaches the land of lost love beyond the evening stars.””
— Rabindranath Tagore
“When we feel for certain that we are alive, then we know for certain that we shall go on living. Those who have never put life to the test,in all possible ways, these keep on crying out:Life is fleeting, Life is waning, Life is like a dew-drop on a lotus leaf.But, isn't life inconstant?Only because its movement is unceasing. The moment you stop this movement, that moment you begin to play the drama of Death.””
— Rabindranath Tagore
“King, they work, because they must. We work, because we are in love with life. That is why they condemn us as unpractical, and we condemn them as lifeless.””
— Rabindranath Tagore
“It seems as if, through the flowers, there came the whisper of those we have forgotten, saying Remember us.””
— Rabindranath Tagore
“Come and rejoice, for April is awake. Fling yourselves into the flood of being, bursting the bondage of the past. April is awake. Life's shoreless sea is heaving in the sun before you. All the losses are lost, and death is drowned in its waves.Plunge into the deep without fear, with the gladness of April in your heart.””
— Rabindranath Tagore
“I lose thee, to find thee back again and again, My beloved. Thou leavest me, that I may receive thee all the more, when thou returnest. Thou canst vanish behind the moment's screen Only because thou art mine for evermore, My beloved.When I go in search of thee, my heart trembles, spreading ripples across my love. Thou smilest through thy disguise of utter absence, and my tears sweeten thy smile.””
— Rabindranath Tagore
“Ah, the dear earth! The beautiful earth! She wants all that we have--the touch of our hands, the song of our hearts.She wants to draw out from us all that is within, hidden even from ourselves.This is her sorrow, that she finds out some things only to know that she has not found all. She loses before she attains.Ah, the dear earth! We shall never deceive you.(They sing.)I shall crown you with my garland, before I take leave. You ever spoke to me in all my joys and sorrows. And now, at the end of the day, my own heart will break in speech. Words came to me, but not the tune, and the song that I never sang to you remains hidden behind my tears.””
— Rabindranath Tagore
“What a strange tune is this, that comes out of the music of Spring.It seems like the tune of yellow leaves. Spring has stored up its tears in secret for us all this while.It was afraid we should not understand it, because we were so youthful.It wanted to beguile us with smiles.But we shall sleep our hearts tonight in the sadness of the other shore.””
— Rabindranath Tagore
