Winter Swans - Owen Sheers

Context
1. Published in 2005 collection, Skirrid Hill
  1. Skirrid comes from the Welsh word of Ysgariad, meaning divorce or separation
2. His work explores history, identity and relationships and he likes to explore the difficulties people face in simply trying to live.
Feelings & Attitudes
1. The swans’ display seems to change the mood between the couple.
2. They couple carry on walking and end up holding hands- they seem to have reconciled.
3. They don’t talk to each other and they walk apart from each other- their relationship is troubled.
Key Themes
1. Distance
  1. Fulfilment
    1. Nature
      1. Peace
        Tension
Direct Speech
1. One small piece of dialogue Shifts the focus back onto the couple
2. Breaks the silence Shows that there’s hope for their relationship
3. ‘They mate for life’
Form
1. Uneven line lengths and lack of rhyme scheme Contribute to a feeling of disjointedness Reflects the troubled nature of the couple’s relationship
2. ‘as we skirted the lake, silent and apart’
  1. Caesura Creates a pause Emphasises their silence and separation
3. Final stanza is a couplet that stands out
  1. ‘and folded, one over the other’ ‘like a pair of wings settling after flight.’
    1. Shows that they’ve been reunited as a couple
      1. Full stop Emphasises the sense that the trouble in their relationship has been resolved
Natural Imagery
1. Pathetic fallacy and Personification of the weather
  1. Reflects how their relationship is troubled and is struggling for life
    1. ‘the clouds had given their all’
      1. ‘the waterlogged earth gulping for breath’
2. Swans are an extended Metaphor for their relationship
  1. Part of the natural world, they show that love is natural Influences the couple
    1. They hold hands so naturally They don’t even notice it happening
3. ‘icebergs of white feather’
  1. Icebergs have more below the surface of the water than they do above it
    1. Metaphor could suggest that the couple keep things hidden from each other and aren’t communicating
      1. Or it could imply that their relationship has a strong foundation
4. ‘swum the distance between us’
  1. Their hands have crossed the physical distance between them
    1. They have come closer together emotionally and metaphorically
Contrasts
1. Language about disturbance and peace Language about separation and togetherness
2. ‘like boats righting in rough weather’
  1. Shows it’s been a rough time for their relationship, but things are becoming more stable
    1. The rough weather mirrors the rain in stanza 1 – pathetic fallacy
3. ‘slow stepping in the lake’s shingle and sand’
  1. Sibilance creates the impression of softness Reflects the softening of tension between them
4. ‘like a pair of wings settling after flight’
  1. They are no longer two separate things, but part of one whole

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Winter Swans - Owen Sheers

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