Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 10-11
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
- The speaker says that the sources of sadness ("sorrow's springs") are the same whether we are young or old—it doesn't matter what we call them. You say "tomato," we say "to-mah-to."
- There's some more cool alliteration here with the repeated "s" sounds in line 11. Check out the "Sound Check" section for more on alliteration in this poem, and also the "Imagery: Sorrow" section to learn more about this particular type of alliteration.
- The speaker is also using a metaphor when he describes the sources of sadness as "springs," or water sources.