Summary In-depth analysis notes of 'Winter Swans' by Owen Sheers
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Course
Love and Relationships
Institution
AQA English
Book
AQA GCSE 9-1 Poetry Anthology
In-depth analysis of the poem 'Winter Swans' by Owen Sheers from the AQA Poetry Anthology - Love & Relationships. Other poems from Cluster are available
Romantic Relationship Themes - “winter” symbolises a time of
sterility and death, demonstrating a Winter Swans
lack of growth or the death of a
Personification - Creates an
immediate stormy atmosphere. Also
relationship by the poet (similar in
‘Neutral Tones’ & ‘The Farmer’s Bride’) Owen Sheers
“clouds giving their all” represent the
Metaphor - “waterlogged” emotional exhaustion of the couple.
suggests saturation, again Juxtaposition - “swans” representing the hope of life
displaying how the relationship contrast to this deathly landscape. Contrasts to ‘Neutral
has been pushed to its limits. Tones’. The swans mating ritual symbolises fertility and
The clouds had given their all – the possibility of spring’s return. The swans mirror hope
Verb - Implies the avoidance of two days of rain and then a break for the couples’ future after a period of conflict.
confrontation and the physical and Metaphor - Allows for some rest agonist this time of
emotional distance of the couple. in which we walked,
turmoil showing a moment of hope where they could possibly
resolve their problems. Emphasised by the enjambment which
Movement the waterlogged earth illustrates the pause in the weather/arguing.
Change in Tone & Bird Imagery - Personification - Suggests a tension and desperation
Provides movement in an otherwise gulping for breath at our feet which affects everything around the couple.
static scene. See ‘Neutral Tones’ for
less positive use of bird imagery. as we skirted the lake, silent and apart, Themes & Metaphor - Gives the sense that this
Emphasised by conjunction “until”. performance acts as a symbolic mimicry of what
couples should be doing - synchronisation, unison.
until the swans came and stopped us
Noun - “Show” suggest a performance Adjective & Juxtaposition-
and something worth watching. with a show of tipping in unison. “unison” forms a stark contrast
Image of Weight - Suggests that As if rolling weights down their bodies to their heads between the swans and the couple.
the couple are weighed down by
problems in their relationship. Metaphor - The issues of the
they halved themselves in the dark water, couple are reflected by “dark
Verb - “Halved” suggests two separate water”. This ominous image
entities and the entities being lesser icebergs of white feather, paused before returning again of nature reflects the mood of
because they’re not together. the couple. Starkly contrasts
like boats righting in rough weather. to the “white swans”.
Nautical Imagery & Metaphor - “icebergs”
used to imply there are things hidden under
the surface in the relationship, a lack of ‘They mate for life’ you said as they left, Movement
communication or oppositely that their Turning Point - Dialogue is
relationship has a strong foundation. porcelain over the stilling water. I didn’t reply introduced where the couple are
but as we moved on through the afternoon light, finally speaking to each other again.
Nautical Imagery & Simile & Turning Point - Contrasts to other poems where the
Suggests that the swans have been through disconnection is never resolved like
some turmoil, and yet have survived and slow-stepping in the lake’s shingle and sand, in ‘When we Two Parted’, ‘Neutral
overcome it. Acts as a message for the Tones’ & ‘The Farmer’s Bride’.
couple about their own relationship . I noticed our hands, that had, somehow,
swum the distance between us Contrast & Progression - “dark water” is now
Contrast - “rough weather” is now “afternoon light”, implying a sense of hope and
“stilling water”, suggesting the disruption a future to come.
is now over and life is settling down again.
While there is a sense of delicate beauty in and folded, one over the other, Bird Imagery & Themes - Further
the description of the birds as “porcelain”. like a pair of wings settling after flight. emphasises their closeness - they
are part of a whole, rather than
Verb Phrase & Sibilance - two separate beings.
Connotations of dancing,
Analysing Structure (A02) implying they are moving in
union. Sibilant Alliteration give Full Stop - Emphasises
Focus & Movement impression of softness. the sense that the trouble
. in their relationship has
been resolved.
winter and the
The poem is set duringugg le and sickness
imagery of nature’s strmunication (see
reflect a lac k of com
, the brief break Summary 1
‘Neutral Tones’). Howeverrepresents some The speaker and his partner walk
in the poor weather mu flict.
hope amongst so ch con around a lake on a winter’s day. It
has been raining and there is now a
The swans’ mating ritua Context about Owen Sheers (A03) break in the weather. They are not
seems to symbolically rel of “tipping” • Owen Sheers was born in Fiji in 1974 but talking, and it is suggested that their
conflict of the couple, -enact the
the birds “returning ag yet the union of grew up in South Wales. relationship is under strain through
ain”
the humans reconciliatanticipates • ‘Winter Swans’ was published in his the lack of verbal communication.
ion. 2005 collection, ‘Skirrid Hill’.
Summary 2
Final Stanza • ‘Skirrid’ comes from the Welsh word
A pair of swans force the couple to pause as
Sheers emphasises theongly in ‘Ysgariad’, meaning divorce or separation.
they present a show of bowing as part of
reconciliation even mo re str
a, as me taphorically their mating ritual - they tip underwater
the final stanz pared to Contrast and Repetition and right themselves again. This prompts a
the couple’s hands ares”com
on one bird, • Silence VS Communication conversation between the couple who leave
a “single pair of wing
showing union . • Separation VS Union the lake holding hands, their relationship
ion Notes • Sterility & Death VS Fertility & Life problems seemingly resolved.
Ayla Maydanchi Revis
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