"Little Green" Analysis

Shifting point of view throughout “Little Green”, Joni Mitchell utilizes naturalistic imagery, revealing characterization, and earthy personification to reveal the underlying idea that life can be filled with joyful moments, but “sometimes there’ll be sorrow”.

Incorporating vivid descriptions within the song creates a clear naturalistic image. Mitchell begins with strong imagery in “Born with the moon in Cancer” which is meant to describe the astronomical time when a baby was born, but also contains prominent nature based imagery. Comforting imagery is also found toward the end of the song referencing thoughts of childhood and happiness like in the line “there’ll be icicles and birthday clothes”, which are typically joyful memories from one’s childhood.

Characterization of the child’s father in the song is important to the development of the universal idea that “sometimes there’ll be sorrow”. “He went to California, Hearing everything’s warmer there” and left his child before she was even born. The mother of the child had no way of taking care of her daughter and gives her up for adoption. The progression of this characterization of the father helps support the story within the song.

Personifying earthy elements consistently throughout “Little Green” enhances the feeling of the naturalistic imagery. Both devices play off one another to create an intense connection to nature in the song, which also ties into the birth of the child, “born with the moon in Cancer”. The personification of seasons and the Northern Lights also strengthen the nature feel in the song. By utilizing many instances of nature being personified, the focus of the song is put on the connection between the beauty of nature and the beauty of the child.

Joni Mitchell’s use of naturalistic imagery, earthy personification, and revealing characterization reveal the idea that throughout one’s life, there will be enjoyable moments and there will be unpleasant moments. “Little Green” tells the story of a mother who has no choice but to give her daughter up for adoption, and the song is meant to convey to the child that although she will encounter many difficult things in life, she is blessed and her life can be very successful.