Willa Cather’s poem entitled Prairie Spring is one of the greatest epigraphs in literature. The use of symbolism, personification, foreshadowing, and similes is the key to Cather’s success of Prairie Spring. The major theme of O Pioneers is the dramatic transformation of the prairie landscape. In 16 years, “the little town of Hanover, anchored on a windy Nebraska tableland” (3) goes from “trying not to be blown away” (3) to a “high, active, resolute stretch of country.” (57) The theme is detected through the shifting tones in Prairie Spring. The prairie landscape is “somber, always silent, heavy, black, and sullen.” (Lines 2-8) Intentionally, the atmosphere of the land is recognizable as the atmosphere of a funeral. Which foreshadows the death
