Nature and Love

Question 1

Poems to Compare:

Answer 1

Love’s Philosophy - Percy Shelley
Winter Swans - Owen Sheers
Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Question 2

Relevant Context:

Answer 2

PS: believed in pantheism over religion
OS: poem is a part of the ‘Skirrid Hill’ collection - about divorce
EBB: wrote these to Robert, challenged Victorian societal views by expressing passion

Question 3

Structure:

Answer 3

S29: regular rhyme scheme that changes pattern after volta (after “renew thy presence”); LP: alternate rhyme scheme (flow); WS: no regular rhyme pattern (broken relationship) with half-rhyme couplet ending (nearly a sonnet ending - love again?)
S29: volta - thought to him; WS: volta when they see the swans

Question 4

Language:

Answer 4

WS: 1st stanza “break/in” enjambment mimic the endless bad relationship; LP: enjambment throughout
Sibilance: S29: “presence: as a strong tree should” mimicking him being there as a tree; WS: “slow-stepping in the lake’s shingle and sand” - calm and peaceful - worked their problems out
Harsh verbs used to show desperation: S29: “burst, shattered, everywhere”; LP: “clasp” and “kiss”