Winter Swans - Owan Sheers

• themes of the poem

  • nature
  • conflict
  • resolution
  • pairs
  • separation
  • unification
  • partnership
• rhyme scheme of the poem

  no rhymes scheme BUT some rhymes

  • lack of rhyme scheme -> discordant state of coupe
  • rare rhymes (feather <-> weather + sand <-> hand) show growth of harmony
• structure of poem

  • 6x 3 line stanzas -> shows couple are separated by middle line
  • 1x 2 line stanza -> final unification of coupe only requires 2 lines
• context for AO3

  • written in early 2000s -> common stylistic choice to avoid rhyme to make it more artistic
  • swan ownership -> the king owns all unmarked mute swans + couple finds peace through controlled and powerful animals
• stanza 1

  'the clouds had given their all'

  • personification of clouds -> shows impact of external factors on relationship

  'two days of rain'

  • semantic of pairs -> shows both people in couple have volatile personalities

  'in which we walked'

  • co1lective pronoun -> hints at them intrinsically being linked due to enduring love
• stanza 2

  'waterlogged earth'

  • communication issues

  'gulping for breath at our feet'

  • caged environment -> relationship is claustrophobic and tightening
  • collective pronoun -> still hope for reconciliation

  'we skirted the lake'

  • bleak imagery -> lake is metaphorically the issue they are avoiding
• stanza 3

  'the swans came and stopped us'

  • pausing movement -> full stop on next line shows end to enjambement + reflection on issues

  'rolling weights down their bodies'

  • simile -> symbolic of issues that are a weight on the couples shoulders
• stanza 4

  'halved themselves in the dark water / icebergs of white feathers'

  • pairings -> figuratively shows swans to be a unit that cans till exist as separate entities
  • contrasting colours -> reassures they can reunite after setting differences aside

  'like boats righting in rough weather'

  • simile -> shows swans to be stable + continues theme of reconciliation at the end of the stanza
• stanza 5

  ' 'they mate for life' you said '

  • partner speaks for the first time -> regains sense of balance + breakers silence of direct dialogue

  'porcelain over the stilling water'

  • metaphor -> relationship is simultaneously strong + fragile
  • pathetic fallacy -> issues are subsiding

  'as we moved on through the afternoon light'

  • collective pronoun -> unified moving forwards
  • symbol of hope -> light emerges after the conflict of clouds
• stanza 6

  'slow stepping in the lakes shingle and sand'

  • sibilance -> soft tone reflects alleviation of tension
  • hard to walk on -> difficult to work though conflict but they walk in tandem to resolve it like swans

  'somehow swum the distance'

  • sibilance -> shows overcoming of uncomfortable sound
  • refers to early images + symbol of swans -> they become part of nature as they unify like swans
• stanza 7

  'like a pair of wings'

  • semantic field of reuniting pairs -> essentially becoming part of nature

  'settling after flight'

  • returning imagery -> stability + solidarity reminds us of the new couples approach