Winter Swans

• Winter Swans is about a couple going for a walk. They head to a lake and observe a group of swans
• The deeper meaning in Winter Swans is that it explores what it actually means to be a couple and to play an active role in a partnership.
• The poem is from a book called SKIRID HILL which is welsh for divorce/separation
• swans are a symbol of harmony and love
• The first two tersets talk about Owen Sheers doubts in the relationnship
• The tone shifts after the 2nd terset to hopeful when they see the swans
• The use of tersets in winter swans shows a strain/imbalance in the relationship
• "They halved themselves in the dark water," 


  Rich Imagery, halving themselves to make one whole, giving half of themselves to their partner, cannot be selfish
• What does Owen Sheers write about in his poems?

  The difficulty of modern relationships
• What emphasises the final stanza?

  Its a couplet, which symbolises the couples unity
• What does the enjambment represent?

  how the relationship keeps flowing even through tough times
• What does the rain represent?

  A time of conflict and upset in the relationship
• What does the waterlogged earth represent?

  Struggle for communication
• Light and dark represent what?

  Conflict and Imbalance in the relationship
• What does 'We skirted the lake, silent and apart.' suggest

  Avoidance, Conflict
• What does the speech ''They mate for life" do in the poem?

  Breaks the silence between the couple, to remind them they are meant to be together