winter swans

• quote 1 of winter swans?

  ' the waterlogged earth gulping for breath at our feet'
• quote 2 of winter swans ?

  they halved themselves in the dark water, iceburgs of white feather'
• quote 3 of winter swans ?


  ' like a pair of wings settling after flight'
• 'the water logged earth gulping for breath at our feet':

  • waterlogged- the couple feel overwhelmed and cant cope with the fighting
  • gulping- personification, desperate but struggling to move on
• ' they halved themselves in the dark water' :

  • halved- losing themselves, losing a partner is like losing your other half
  • dark water- metaphor, the couple are going through a tough time
  • iceburgs- metaphor, more underneath their surface
• 'like a pair of wings settling after flight':


  • pair- shows the couple are back together again
  • settling- implies the couple have made up
• structure :

  • poem is mostly written in tercets (3 line stanza), there is a couplet as the final stanza (the couple have been united at the end)
  • no rhyme scheme or rhythm- uncertainty in their relationship, lack of cohesion
• context: (swans)

  • they are monogamous and mate for life
  • universal symbols of love
  • live for a long time (usually around 20 years old)
• modern day relationships:

  • in england 42% of marriges end in divorce
  • less arranged marriges
  • less pressure to marry
• Summary of this poem 


  Seemingly romantic walk, the dynamic of their relationship is reflected in their natural surroundings
• more context

  • the group of poems containing winter swan was based off his interpretation of the welsh mountain ‘Skirrid Hill, he used it as inspiration for poems with themes of death, loss and distance in relationships (both family and romantic)
• the personification of nature takes inspiration from romantic poetic techniques
• • Easily compared to :
  • Neutral tones - both talk about the loss of love and use nature, WS ends happily, WS has no rhyme scheme, Hardy speaks from personal experience
  • WW2P- both use nature imagery to talk about relationships, ww2p has a bitter attitude and WS Hints that difficulties can be overcome in relationships