winter swans

Question 1

Themes?

Answer 1

Nature, Separation, Loss, Reconciliation

Question 2

Tones

Answer 2

Tense and Painful shifting to Hopeful

Question 3

Context

Answer 3

-Owen Sheers grew up in South Wales.
-Winter Swans was part of his 2005 collection of
poems entitled ‘Skirrid Hill’, a title which originates
from the Welsh name ‘Ysgirid Fawr’: this roughly
translates as ‘shattered mountain’.
-The collection deals with themes of separation, as
exemplified by this raw poem about a man and a
woman in the grip of relationship problems.

Question 4

Content, Meaning and Purpose

Answer 4

-The poem describes a troubled couple walking around
a lake after two days of heavy arguments.
-They are “silent and apart” until they are captivated
by the sight of two swans on the lake.
-The swans become a metaphor for companionship,
commitment and longevity (“They mate for life”), and
inspire reconciliation between the couple.
-Inspired by nature, the couple’s problems begin to
heal by the end of the poem.

Question 5

Language

Answer 5

-“The clouds had given their all – two days of rain”:
personification and pathetic fallacy symbolise two days
of arguments and heartbreak between the couple.
-“the waterlogged earth gulping for breath”: speaker
feels like he is weighed down and drowning in their
problems. It may be the last breath of their marriage.
-“slow-stepping in the lake’s shingle and sand”: they
are dancing, although slowly. The sibilance creates a
soft, calming sound, helping to heal their problems.
-“like a pair of wings settling after flight.”: they are
reunited. Present participle “settling” conveys how
they will need to continue to work on their problems

Question 6

Form and Structure

Answer 6

-Organised in tercets (three-line stanzas) which have
no rhythm nor rhyme: this reflects the turbulent
nature of their relationship.
-The first four stanzas portray their troubles; the final
three stanzas convey the healing of their relationship.
-The volta occurs in line 14 (“porcelain over the stilling
water”) when the troubled waters of their relation
ship suddenly become still, starting the reconciliation.
-Final stanza is a couplet: the unbalanced tercets are
now replaced by a balance and harmony. A couplet
also traditionally represents a conclusion.