Spring
The speaker describes the springtime using imagery, saying "it was the coming in of May, when gay and gladsome is the day, banished the chilly winter showers, and every field is full of flowers." This use of imagery sets the scene of the poem, emphasizing the beauty and the growth of the season.
The Queen's illness
After sleeping in the orchard, the queen becomes very ill, which causes a physical and psychological change in her. This change is described in the following passage:
"But when she woke, ah me, the change!
Strange were her words, her actions strange;
She wrung her hands and tore her face
Till that the blood ran down apace."
Here, we get a sense of the Queen's changed personality. This imagery of chaos and volatility is in stark contrast to the relative delicacy and calmness of the Queen before her transformation.
The King's Crown
The King's crown is described using the imagery of affluence, in order to emphasize the King's power and esteem. For example, it "was not wrought of gold so red, nor of silver, but of a precious stone, bright as the noonday sun it shone."
The return of the King
When the king returns from his journey, he is described as being disheveled and untidy:
"The man is by hair, as by moss, o'ergrown.
Look how his beard hangeth to his knee!
'Tis e'en as he were a walking tree!"
This imagery describes the King's unkempt physical appearance, which is the result of years of struggle to find his wife. Ultimately, this is the reason his subjects do not recognize him as first and symbolizes the suffering endured to save his wife.
