Question

All nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair— The bees are stirring—birds are on the wing— And Winter slumbering in the open air, Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring! ("Work without Hope," lines 1-4) What does slumbering mean in this passage? wakefulness insomnia sleeping rejoicing

Answer 1

it means that winter seems to be sleeping no wanting to get up

Answer 2

It means sleeping (Option 3).

To slumber is to sleep, to doze, to be in a resting state. In the excerpt, the author uses the verb 'slumbering' (as it is used for living beings) to covey that winter season is inactive, is resting, it will be gone for a while because the spring has arrived now and has become the season protagonist, and nature is an indication of that.