Winter Swans - Owen Sheers

Question 1

Themes? (1)

Answer 1

Relationships

Question 2

Tones? (2)

Answer 2

Ambivalent, contemplative

Question 3

Context? (1)

Answer 3

“Winter Swans” is a poem by Welsh
poet Owen Sheers. It was published in his 2012 poetry collection “Skirrid Hill.”

Question 4

Meaning and purpose? (3)

Answer 4

• The poem explores what it actually means to be a couple—that is, to play an active role in a partnership.
• At the beginning of the poem there
  seems to be tension between the speaker and his lover, but as they walk outside and look at the
  swans, they seem to quietly realize the value of their love and subtly commit to one another once
  again.
• By the end they are reconciled, walking off into the poem’s distance holding hands.

Question 5

Language? (5)

Answer 5

• Dark water” suggestive of secrecy. Juxtaposed with the white feathers of a swan, visible on the surface.
  Image representing the two sides of a relationship: what others see and is visible on the surface; and the private aspects of which other people are not
  involved. Icebergs have more below the surface of the water than they do above it- the metaphor may
  suggest that the couple keep things hidden from each other- they aren’t communicating.
• The consonance of the two /g/ sound (“waterlogged earth” is described as “gulping for breath at our feet”) similar to a gulp.
• Symbolism- the swans “tipping in unison” provides the couple with an instinctive and simple image of
  togetherness.
• Simile “as if rolling weights..”convey the way that the swans have graceful control of their movements.
• Pathetic fallacy and personification to indicate the way that the speaker and his lover view the world
  around them as a reflection of their own narrative— they seem to have fallen out with another and are
  barely speaking, and the weather has been awful to match. It has been raining relentlessly, a natural
  symbol of the couple’s misery. The way in which the muddy ground “gulp[s]” for breath provides an
  image for the way in which the couple’s relationship is suffocating

Question 6

Form? (2)

Answer 6

• However, frequent enjambment
  emphasises its continuity. The final
  stanza is a couplet, which shows that
  they have been reunited as a couple
• The caesura in lines 6 could convey the separation of the couple, as the
  punctuation breaks up the line.
  Stanza break and enjambment from
  stanza 3 to 4- the poem suddenly
  introduces the swans.

Question 7

Structure? (2)

Answer 7

• The poem is mostly written in tercets (three line stanzas). This makes each stanza look unbalanced The uneven line lengths and lack of rhyme scheme also contribute to disjointedness- this reflects the troubled nature of the couple’s relationship.
• Free verse could demonstrate the
  unpredictable and discordant nature of relationships. There is some iambic meter in the first line which could symbolise the patter of rain or sound of footsteps