✦ Class 12 English Poetry · Bihar Board

Now the Leaves
Are Falling Fast

W. H. Auden

A somber yet ultimately hopeful lyric that uses the imagery of autumn — falling leaves, fading flowers, cold winds — to meditate on human mortality, loneliness, and the inevitable journey toward death. Yet even in this landscape of decay, there is a promise of renewal.

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W. H. Auden Poet · Pulitzer Prize Winner · 1907–1973

The Poet

W. H. Auden (1907–1973)

A versatile and intellectually vigorous poet, verse dramatist, critic, translator and editor.

Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) was a versatile and intellectually vigorous poet, verse dramatist, critic, translator and editor. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for his collection The Age of Anxiety[reference:0].

Poetry to him was a 'serious game' which should deepen people's self awareness but it should, in no case, directly affect men's political or religious choices. His early poems exhibit his interest in political affairs and ideas, but his later poems are overtly Christian and more personal in tone.

As a technician, Auden explored a variety of stanza forms and meters. He had a passion for word-coining and using archaic words, which makes him, at times, difficult to understand. He left England as early as 1939 to settle permanently in the United States.

Auden's work is divided into the British and American phases. The notable works of the English phase are The Orators, The Dance of Death, Look Stranger, Spain, and Another Time. The notable works of the American phase include New Year Letter, For the Time Being, The Age of Anxiety, and The Shield of Achilles.

The present lyric 'Now the Leaves are Falling Fast' enacts the frustration inherent in human life, the aspirations that are not fulfilled and the sense of loneliness in which every individual lives and dies[reference:1].

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Full NameWystan Hugh Auden

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Born21 February 1907, York, England

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Died29 September 1973

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Pulitzer Prize1948 · The Age of Anxiety

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Famous WorksThe Orators · Spain · The Age of Anxiety · The Shield of Achilles

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PoemNow the Leaves Are Falling Fast

Quick Overview

Summary

Concise overview of the chapter.

This poem by W.H. Auden is a sombre meditation on mortality, decay, and the quiet end of things. The poem is written in a simple, almost ballad-like style — but it carries a profound philosophical weight.

The poem opens with an image of autumn: "Now the leaves are falling fast, / Nurse's flowers will not last." Autumn is a season of endings — leaves fall, flowers wither, and the world prepares for winter. This is a metaphor for human frailty.

The second stanza describes the passage of time: days grow shorter, the wind grows colder. The poem notes that life moves in cycles — birth, growth, decay, death. Nothing escapes this rhythm. Even the young, the beautiful, and the strong will one day be gone.

The poem also touches on loneliness and isolation. Modern humans, despite all their technology and comfort, often feel disconnected from nature and from each other. The falling leaves are a reminder that we too are part of nature — and nature has its own laws.

The final stanza asks us to accept this truth — not with despair, but with a kind of quiet acceptance. The speaker says that the dying of the year is not a tragedy. It is part of the way things are. Life and death are the same river flowing.

Now the leaves are falling fast, / Nurse's flowers will not last; / Nurses to the graves are gone, / And the prams go rolling on. — W.H. Auden, "Now the Leaves Are Falling Fast"

The Text

Now the Leaves Are Falling Fast

W. H. Auden's meditation on mortality and renewal.

Stanza 1 The Falling Leaves and the Rolling Prams

1Now the leaves are falling fast,

2Nurse's flowers will not last;

3Nurses to the graves are gone,

4And the prams go rolling on.

The poem opens with the image of autumn: leaves are falling fast, and the flowers that grow under the "nurse" tree will not last. The nurses themselves have gone to their graves, yet the prams — the baby carriages — go rolling on. The falling leaves symbolize the rapid approach of death, while the prams suggest the continuity of life[reference:2]. Even as one generation passes away, the next generation continues its journey.

Stanza 2 Whispering Neighbours and Freezing Hands

5Whispering neighbours, left and right,

6Pluck us from the real delight:

7And the active hands must freeze

8Lonely on the separate knees.

The "whispering neighbours" — the messengers of death — pluck us away from real delight. The active hands that once worked and loved must freeze, lonely on the separate knees. This stanza speaks of the loneliness that accompanies death: each person dies alone, their hands frozen in isolation. The words "whispering," "pluck," and "freeze" all suggest death and its effect on the human body[reference:3].

Stanza 3 Dead in Hundreds

9Dead in hundreds at the back

10Follow wooden in our track,

11Arms raised stiffly to reprove

12In false attitudes of love.

Hundreds of dead bodies follow us in wooden coffins. Their arms are raised stiffly in reproach, in false attitudes of love. The dead seem to mock the false love of the living — the empty gestures of affection that people show while they are alive. The "wooden" refers to the wooden coffins that carry the dead to their graves[reference:4].

Stanza 4 Starving Trolls and the Dumb Nightingale

13Starving through the leafless wood

14Trolls run scolding for their food:

15And the nightingale is dumb,

16And the angel will not come.

In the leafless wood, starving trolls run scolding in search of food. The nightingale is dumb — its song has ceased. And the angel will not come. The trolls represent the wicked and ugly creatures of Scandinavian mythology, and here they symbolize the suffering and starvation that characterize human life[reference:5]. The silence of the nightingale and the absence of the angel suggest that the world has deteriorated so much that no divine rescue is possible.

Starving through the leafless wood
Trolls run scolding for their food:
And the nightingale is dumb,
And the angel will not come. — W. H. Auden

Stanza 5 The Mountain's Lovely Head

17Cold, impossible, ahead

18Lists the mountain's lovely head

19Whose white waterfall could bless

20Travellers in their last distress.

Ahead lies the cold, impossible mountain, listing its lovely head. Its white waterfall could bless travellers in their last distress. The travellers are the old — those nearing the end of their journey toward death. The mountain, cold and impossible, represents the final challenge, but its white waterfall offers a blessing — death as a release, a purification, a peace[reference:6]. The poem ends with a note of hope: even in the face of death, there is the possibility of blessing and renewal.

Quick Revision

Key Themes — Now the Leaves Are Falling Fast

Six ideas that shape W. H. Auden's somber lyric.

🍂 Mortality and the Inevitability of Death

The falling leaves are a metaphor for human mortality. Like leaves, human lives fall away — quickly and inevitably. The poem reminds us that death is the final destination for every "traveller."

🔄 Continuity and Renewal

Even as the nurses go to their graves, the prams go rolling on. Life continues. The white waterfall blesses the travellers. The poem ends with a note of hope, suggesting that death is not the end but a transformation.

😔 Loneliness and Isolation

"And the active hands must freeze / Lonely on the separate knees." Death is a solitary journey. Each person dies alone, isolated from the crowd, their hands frozen in loneliness.

💔 False Love and Hypocrisy

The dead are "Arms raised stiffly to reprove / In false attitudes of love." The poem criticizes the false love of the living — empty gestures of affection that conceal selfishness and hypocrisy.

😢 Suffering and Starvation

The starving trolls in the leafless wood represent the suffering and deprivation that characterize human life. The nightingale is dumb, and the angel will not come — the world has grown cold and silent.

🏔️ The Journey and Its Destination

Life is a journey through a leafless wood, over a cold mountain, toward a final destination. The white waterfall — death — blesses the travellers in their last distress, offering peace and release.

Assessment

Test Your Understanding

Multiple choice · Fill in the blanks · Short answer. Everything is drawn from the poem above.

🧠 Part A — Multiple Choice

Choose the best answer for each question. Click Check Answers at the end to see your score.

Score: — / 0

✏️ Part B — Fill in the Blanks

Complete each sentence on the basis of the poem. Type your answer, then click Check Answers.

Score: — / 0

📝 Part C — Short Answer Questions

Think through your answer first, then click Show Model Answer to compare.

Textbook Exercises

Complete Exercise Bank

All questions from the Bihar Board Class 12 English Poetry textbook — with answers and model responses.

B.1 Write T for True and F for False

Read the following sentences and write T for true and F for false. Click to reveal the answer with explanation.

aThe leaves are falling very fast.

True (T). The poem opens: "Now the leaves are falling fast."

bThe nurses are still there to take care of the flowers.

False (F). "Nurses to the graves are gone." The nurses have died.

cAll the prams are gone to the grave.

True (T). The prams (baby carriages) go rolling on — but they too will eventually reach the grave.

d'Whispering neighbours' disturb the 'real delight' of the ageing persons.

True (T). "Whispering neighbours, left and right, / Pluck us from the real delight." The messengers of death take away our joy.

eOld persons feel lonely as they gradually become inactive.

True (T). "And the active hands must freeze / Lonely on the separate knees."

fDeath freezes the body and separates us from the crowd of the people.

True (T). The active hands freeze lonely. Death separates each person from the crowd.

gThe promises of love are often deceptive.

True (T). The dead raise "Arms raised stiffly to reprove / In false attitudes of love."

hStarvation and suffering do not characterise human life.

False (F). "Starving through the leafless wood / Trolls run scolding for their food." Starvation and suffering do characterize human life.

iTravellers get one relief in the waterfall of the mountain.

True (T). "Whose white waterfall could bless / Travellers in their last distress."

j'The prams go rolling on' suggests the continuity of life.

True (T). The prams rolling on suggest that life continues even as individuals die.

B.2 Complete the Sentences

iNurses to the ____________ rolling one.

"Nurse's flowers will not last; Nurses to the graves are gone, And the prams go rolling on.

iiCold, impossible, ahead ____________ lovely head ____________ could bless ____________ last distress.

Cold impossible ahead. Lists the mountain's lovely head Whose white waterfall could bless Travellers in their last distress.

B.3 Answer the Following Questions Briefly

1What does the poet mean when he says "Now the leaves are falling fast"?

The poet means that the leaves of the branches of the trees are falling and the trees are becoming leafless. It is also meant by a person who slowly goes to his death and at last to a grave. Like a tree, every human life has to be destroyed. There is none who can be alive forever. Everyone is mortal[reference:7].

2What are the words in the second stanza that suggest death and the effect of death on the human body?

In the second stanza, the following are the words that suggest death and the effect of death on the human body: "Whispering neighbours," "Pluck," and "Freeze"[reference:8].

3How do we complete our last journey to the grave?

When a man is dead, hundreds of men carry the dead body in a wooden coffin to the grave. This is our last journey[reference:9].

4What do 'Trolls' do in the 'leafless wood'?

Trolls run in search of their food in the leafless wood. They search for food to live[reference:10].

5Who are the 'travellers' and how will they be 'blessed'?

Old persons are the travellers, and they are blessed with their last distress, which is death. The white waterfall of the mountain could bless travellers in their last distress[reference:11].

6Which words in the first stanza suggest objects from Nature?

'Nurse's flowers' is the word in the first stanza that suggests objects from nature. It means a nurse tree that supports flowers[reference:12].

7Who are the 'whispering neighbours'?

The 'whispering neighbours' are the agents or messengers of death. They are present everywhere in different forms to snatch human happiness.

8How does human life become miserable?

Human life becomes miserable because people live in a sense of loneliness. Their desires and aspirations are not fulfilled. They suffer from starvation and suffering. The world has deteriorated so much that no angel comes to rescue them.

9In what way will the travellers be blessed?

The travellers — the old — will be blessed by the white waterfall of the mountain, which offers them release from their last distress. Death provides silence and peace, like white waterfalls which produce inner pleasantness and peace[reference:13].

C.1 Long Answer Questions

Prepare detailed answers. Click to reveal model responses.

1Falling of leaves suggests the process of death and human waste on a large scale. Explain with reference to the poem.

The falling of leaves is one of the central images of the poem and symbolizes the process of death and human waste. In the first stanza, the poet says "Now the leaves are falling fast" — the leaves fall rapidly, just as human lives pass away quickly. The "Nurse's flowers will not last" — beauty and youth fade. "Nurses to the graves are gone" — even those who care for others eventually die. "Dead in hundreds at the back" — human beings die in large numbers. The poem presents death as a universal, inevitable process that affects everyone, regardless of age or status. The "wooden" coffins and the "leafless wood" further emphasize the scale of human waste and the barrenness that death leaves behind.

2The poet is critical of negative tendencies of the human society. What are these tendencies? Give details.

The poet criticizes several negative tendencies in human society. First, he criticizes false love and hypocrisy: the dead raise "Arms raised stiffly to reprove / In false attitudes of love." People show empty gestures of affection that conceal selfishness. Second, he criticizes indifference and isolation: "And the active hands must freeze / Lonely on the separate knees." People live and die alone, disconnected from one another. Third, he criticizes the loss of real delight: "Whispering neighbours, left and right, / Pluck us from the real delight." The distractions and pressures of society steal our joy. Fourth, he criticizes the normalization of suffering: "Starving through the leafless wood / Trolls run scolding for their food." Starvation and suffering have become so common that they characterize human life itself.

3Who are the 'Trolls' in the real world?

In Scandinavian mythology, trolls are wicked and ugly creatures. In the poem, the "starving" trolls in the "leafless wood" represent the negative forces in the real world — the selfish, the greedy, and the cruel who run scolding in search of their own food, ignoring the suffering of others. They symbolize the dehumanizing effects of poverty and deprivation, and the way human beings, when reduced to mere survival, lose their compassion and dignity. The trolls are a mirror of the worst in human nature — the part of us that is willing to scold and fight for food while the nightingale is dumb and the angel does not come.

4Though the poet refers to 'death' several times, yet the poem is not a pessimistic one. Justify your answer.

While the poem is filled with images of death — falling leaves, graves, wooden coffins, freezing hands, starving trolls, the dumb nightingale, the absent angel — it is not ultimately pessimistic. The poem ends with the image of the mountain's "white waterfall" that "could bless / Travellers in their last distress." This waterfall represents death as a release, a purification, a blessing. The travellers are not abandoned; they are blessed. Furthermore, the prams go rolling on — life continues even as individuals die. The poem acknowledges the reality of death but also suggests that death is not the end. It offers peace and renewal. The poem's final note is one of hope and acceptance, not despair.

C.2 Group Discussion

Discuss the following in groups or pairs.

Mortality and continuity are the two wheels on which 'life' runs.
Love and compassion alone can save humanity.

C.3 Composition

Write a paragraph in about 100 words on each of the following.

If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
Let us make this world a better place to live in.

D.1 Dictionary Use

Look up a dictionary and write two meanings of the following words — the one in which it is used in the lesson and the other which is more common.

Qlast · lonely · reprove · freeze · stiff · attitude · distress

last: (lesson) final, at the end; (common) to continue for a period of time.

lonely: (lesson) alone, isolated; (common) feeling sad because one is alone.

reprove: (lesson) to rebuke or express disapproval; (common) to criticise gently.

freeze: (lesson) to become ice cold after death; (common) to become frozen with cold.

stiff: (lesson) in a hardened, difficult way; (common) not easily bent or moved.

attitude: (lesson) a way of thinking or feeling; (common) a posture or pose.

distress: (lesson) end of life, death; (common) extreme anxiety or suffering.

D.2 Word-formation

Write down the short forms of the following.

Qexamination · programme · department · congratulation · modern · advertisement

examination → exam
programme → program
department → dept.
congratulation → congrats
modern → mod
advertisement → ad

D.3 Word-meaning

Write the antonyms of the following words and use them in your own sentences: falling, fast, last, real, freeze, separate, responsive, false, impossible, bless.

QWrite antonyms and use them in sentences.

falling → rising → The rising sun painted the sky orange.
fast → slow → The tortoise was slow but steady.
last → first → She was the first to arrive.
real → unreal → The scene looked unreal.
freeze → melt → The ice will melt in the sun.
separate → join → Please join the two pieces.
responsive → unresponsive → The patient was unresponsive.
false → true → The news turned out to be true.
impossible → possible → With effort, everything is possible.
bless → curse → He did not curse his fate.

E. Grammar

Ex 1Write five similar sentences with 'go on' using the following verbs: swim, walk, read, sleep, sketch.

1. The fish went on swimming in the pond.
2. The old man went on walking despite the rain.
3. She went on reading the book till midnight.
4. The baby went on sleeping peacefully.
5. The artist went on sketching the landscape.

Ex 2Fill in the blanks with 'must', 'should', 'ought to' to complete the following sentences.

1. We must follow a suitable time-table of study.
2. The young should be considerate about the sentiments of their elders.
3. Death does not mean the end of everything, life must go on.
4. Why should always follow the fashion?
5. We, the Indians, ought to show respect to the national flag.

F. Activities

Ex 1Have you read any other poem that describes the process of decay and regeneration? Make a summary of the poem and compare the ideas of the two poems.

(Suggested approach) Compare with Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind" or Keats's "To Autumn." In Shelley's poem, the west wind is both a destroyer and a preserver — it scatters the leaves but also carries seeds to their wintry bed. The poem ends with the hopeful question: "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" Like Auden's poem, Shelley's ode acknowledges decay but looks forward to regeneration.

Ex 2Observe how plants and trees grow and change in different seasons. Write one short paragraph each for the three main seasons. Use pictures of the seasons and paste them on the class-board.

Summer: In summer, the trees are full of green leaves. The sun shines brightly, and the days are long and hot. Flowers bloom, and the world feels alive.

Autumn: In autumn, the leaves change colour — they turn yellow, orange, and red — before falling to the ground. The trees become bare, and the air turns cooler.

Winter: In winter, the trees are leafless and bare. The cold wind blows, and sometimes there is snow. The world looks asleep, waiting for spring to return.

📚 Glossary & Notes

Key words from the poem with their meanings.

Nurse's flowers (n): flowers growing under or beside a supporting tree called 'nurse'
prams (n): (perambulators) a four-wheeled baby carriage
whispering neighbours: agents or messengers of death
pluck (v): detach, take away
freeze (v): become ice cold after death
wooden (adj): in wooden coffins
stiffly (adj): in a hardened, difficult way
reprove (v): rebuke
attitudes (n): ways of thinking
trolls (n): wicked and ugly creatures in Scandinavian mythology
angel (n): artistic or human perspective
last distress (n): end of life, death