Poem 13 - Owen Sheers - Winter Swans

Question 1

When was the poet born?

Answer 1

1974

Question 2

When was the poem published?

Answer 2

2005

Question 3

How was the poem published?

Answer 3

As part of the poet’s Skirrid Hill collection, which centred on relationships.

Question 4

What is the poem about?

Answer 4

A couple walks around a lake after two days of bad weather. They don’t talk to one another and walk apart- which shows how their relationship is troubled. They stop to look at some swans, watching as they tip under the water, right themselves and swim away. This seems to change the mood between the two of them. They carry on, holding hands this time, they appear to have made up.

Question 5

Describe the form of the poem.

Answer 5

The poem is written mostly in tercets, which makes the poem appear unbalanced. The uneven line lengths and the lack of a rhyme scheme both assist this disjointed feeling, which reflects their troubled relationship. However, the frequent enjambment emphasises their continuity. The final stanza is a couplet, which mimics how they’ve reunited as a couple.

Question 6

Describe the structure of the poem.

Answer 6

The narrator and his partner are separated for the first five stanzas. The swans provide a turning point at the start of stanza three, they’re beautiful and inspirational, in contrast to the earlier descriptions of nature as a place of suffering. This reflects how the couple have reached a turning point in their relationship.

Question 7

Describe the use of natural imagery in the poem.

Answer 7

Natural Imagery reflects how their relationship struggles and then improves, swans are a metaphor for their relationship- as they’re part of the natural world- they epitomise how natural love is. This influences the couple- they hold hands so naturally that they don’t even notice it happen.

Question 8

Describe the use of contrasts in the poem.

Answer 8

Language about disturbance and peace, separation and togetherness, leaving and returning, is used to show how the couple is making up after a conflict in their relationship.

Question 9

Describe how direct speech is used in the poem.

Answer 9

The poem contains one piece of dialogue, which shifts the focus back onto the couple. It also literally breaks the silence between them, which shows that there’s hope for their relationship.

Question 10

What is the effect of “clouds have given their all” (Line 1)?

Answer 10

The personification of the weather suggests that the heavy rain may have negatively affected their relationship.

Question 11

What is the significance of “break// in which we walk” (Lines 2 and 3)?

Answer 11

The enjambment mimics the pause in the weather and perhaps their arguing.

Question 12

What does “gulping for breath” (Line 5) suggest?

Answer 12

The personification of the earth as desperate links to how their relationship is also struggling.

Question 13

What effect does “skirted” (Line 6) have on the reader?

Answer 13

“skirted” has multiple implications, they keep to the edge of the lake, but also keep their distance to one another and perhaps aren’t addressing the issues troubling them.

Question 14

What is the significance of “lake, silent” (Line 6)?

Answer 14

The caesura creates a pause, which emphasises their silence and separation.

Question 15

What is suggested by “a show” (Line 8)?

Answer 15

That the swans’ activities are meaningful to the couple.

Question 16

What is the significance of “As if rolling weights” (Line 9)?

Answer 16

The image implies the couple feels weighed down with problems in their relationship.

Question 17

What is the effect of “halved” (Line 10)?

Answer 17

The word implies the two have separated but were whole to begin with, which reflects the couple’s relationship.

Question 18

What is suggested by “icebergs” (Line 11)?

Answer 18

Most of an iceberg is under the surface of the water, the metaphor reflects how the couple may have hidden things from one another and aren’t communicating. Conversely, it may simply suggest that their relationship has a strong foundation.

Question 19

What effect does “like boats righting in rough weather.” (Line 12) have on the reader?

Answer 19

The simile shows that they’ve been through a “rough” time in their relationship but things have gotten more stable. The “rough weather” also reflects the rain of stanza 1.

Question 20

What is the significance of “‘They mate for life’” (Line 13)?

Answer 20

This is the first an only time that either one of them speaks in the poem. This appears to confirm that things are improving.

Question 21

What is the effect of “porcelain” (Line 14)?

Answer 21

Porcelain is both beautiful and strong, the metaphor implies that the couple hopes their relationship will share these properties.

Question 22

What is the significance of “stilling water.” (Line 14)?

Answer 22

The verb reflects how the disruption in their relationship is settling down.

Question 23

What does “slow-stepping” (Line 16) suggest to the reader?

Answer 23

The act is reminiscent of dancing, the two are moving together in unison as the swans did.

Question 24

What is the effect of the sibilance in stanza 6?

Answer 24

The repeated “S” sounds throughout the stanza create an impression of softness, which reflects how the tension between them has eased.

Question 25

What is the significance of “swum” (Line 18) and “wings” (Line 20)?

Answer 25

The use of swan imagery to describe them holding hands suggests that they are following the swans’ example.

Question 26

What is the significance of “distance between us” (Line 18)?

Answer 26

Their hands have crossed the physical distance between them, but also a metaphorical one, they have gotten closer emotionally.

Question 27

What is the effect of “pair” (Line 20)?

Answer 27

It shows they are no longer separate from one another but are instead part of a whole.