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12323525
Winter Swans - Owen Sheers
Description
GCSE English (Poetry Anthology) Mind Map on Winter Swans - Owen Sheers, created by Shannon Dhillon on 17/02/2018.
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english
poetry anthology
gcse
Mind Map by
Shannon Dhillon
, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by
Shannon Dhillon
over 6 years ago
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Resource summary
Winter Swans - Owen Sheers
Context
Published in 2005 collection, Skirrid Hill
Skirrid comes from the Welsh word of Ysgariad, meaning divorce or separation
His work explores history, identity and relationships and he likes to explore the difficulties people face in simply trying to live.
Feelings & Attitudes
The swans’ display seems to change the mood between the couple.
They couple carry on walking and end up holding hands- they seem to have reconciled.
They don’t talk to each other and they walk apart from each other- their relationship is troubled.
Key Themes
Distance
Fulfilment
Nature
Peace
Tension
Direct Speech
One small piece of dialogue Shifts the focus back onto the couple
Breaks the silence Shows that there’s hope for their relationship
‘They mate for life’
Form
Uneven line lengths and lack of rhyme scheme Contribute to a feeling of disjointedness Reflects the troubled nature of the couple’s relationship
‘as we skirted the lake, silent and apart’
Caesura Creates a pause Emphasises their silence and separation
Final stanza is a couplet that stands out
‘and folded, one over the other’ ‘like a pair of wings settling after flight.’
Shows that they’ve been reunited as a couple
Full stop Emphasises the sense that the trouble in their relationship has been resolved
Natural Imagery
Pathetic fallacy and Personification of the weather
Reflects how their relationship is troubled and is struggling for life
‘the clouds had given their all’
‘the waterlogged earth gulping for breath’
Swans are an extended Metaphor for their relationship
Part of the natural world, they show that love is natural Influences the couple
They hold hands so naturally They don’t even notice it happening
‘icebergs of white feather’
Icebergs have more below the surface of the water than they do above it
Metaphor could suggest that the couple keep things hidden from each other and aren’t communicating
Or it could imply that their relationship has a strong foundation
‘swum the distance between us’
Their hands have crossed the physical distance between them
They have come closer together emotionally and metaphorically
Contrasts
Language about disturbance and peace Language about separation and togetherness
‘like boats righting in rough weather’
Shows it’s been a rough time for their relationship, but things are becoming more stable
The rough weather mirrors the rain in stanza 1 – pathetic fallacy
‘slow stepping in the lake’s shingle and sand’
Sibilance creates the impression of softness Reflects the softening of tension between them
‘like a pair of wings settling after flight’
They are no longer two separate things, but part of one whole
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