Understanding 'Winter Swans' by Owen Sheers

English

In 'AQA Love and Relationships Poetry', pupils compared the language, form and structure of a variety of poems connected by the themes of love and relationships. In 'AQA Love and Relationships Poetry continued', pupils work on making more nuanced comparisons between poems.

In 'Single Poet Study: Maya Angelou', pupils explore how Angelou uses her poetry to present strong relationships to people and place. In 'AQA Love and Relationships Poetry', pupils analyse how a variety of different relationships have been presented across time.

Poetry anthology: first study

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Broken into pieces; lacking togetherness or unity

Formed or integrated into a whole; cohesive or combined

An optimistic expectation; a longing for a positive outcome

Match up these words to the correct definitions.

As 'Winter Swans' progresses, the mood shifts from despair to {{   }}.

'Winter Swans' is from a collection called 'Skirrid Hill' which means {{  }}.

In line 14 of 'Winter Swans', Sheers uses a {{   }} to shift the mood of the poem and show a turning point for the couple.

"our hands, that had, somehow swum the distance between us"

"like a pair of wings settling after flight"

Starting with the first, put these quotations from 'Winter Swans' in the order they appear in the poem.

Her laugh sounded like it was jangling with joy.

Which of the following is an example of a metaphor?

Shaking with fury, they slammed the door and stalked away.

He stomped upstairs, fury coursing through his veins like molten lava.

Her eyes narrowed as she glared angrily at him.

Which of the following is an example of a simile?

The haunted house loomed over the landscape like a ghostly sentinel.

Creaking floorboards and rattling chains created a cacophony of chilling sounds.

 The haunted house exuded an unsettling atmosphere.

The haunted house stood on the hill, a silent witness to the passage of time.

The ancient staircase groaned under the weight of unseen footsteps.

Which of the following is an example of personification?

Both - you use quotation marks for longer quotes but not for single words

'When quoting from a poem you do not need to use quotation marks.' Is this statement true or false?

Read the poem and work out what it is about.

Identify the mood/emotive tone of the poem.

Re-read the poem and identify key words that stand out to you.

Annotate the poem, labelling the language techniques found in key words/phrases.

Starting with the first, put these stages of analysing a poem in chronological order.

If a poem has no regular rhyme scheme **and** no regular rhythmic pattern, we say it is written in {{   }}.

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Adult supervision recommended

Starter Quiz