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Year 10 - English

Analysing 'Winter Swans' by Owen Sheers

'Love and Relationships'

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupis explore 12 of the 15 poems from the 'Love and Relationships' anthology. Pupils complete two lessons about each poem: one on understanding and one on analysis. Pupils study the poems in four groups, and they pause after each group to compare how those poems present common themes.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explore how Sheers uses nature to symbolise the couple's relationship.

Key Notes

  • Sheers uses personification of the surroundings to present a fractured emotional landscape.
  • Sheers uses pathetic fallacy to subtly imply that the couple are facing trouble in their relationship.
  • Sheers uses a contrast in colour imagery to signify the hope that emerges from despair.
  • Sheers uses a simile in the resolution of the poem to convey how the couple are reunified.
  • Sheers uses the symbolism of the swans to mark a turning point in the tone of the poem - from despair to hope.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • personification: giving human traits to non-human entities
  • symbolism: representing abstract ideas using concrete objects or actions
  • contrast: differences between two or more things used to draw attention to them
  • simile: using 'like' or 'as' to compare two things with shared qualities
  • resolution: the conclusion or final outcome of a story or conflict

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Sheers tells us that the couple have been arguing before heading out for their walk.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

Sheers uses personification of the surroundings to present a fractured emotional landscape. Sheers uses pathetic fallacy to subtly imply that the couple are facing trouble in their relationship.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'personification'

giving human traits to non-human entities.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Sheers tells us that the couple have been arguing before heading out for their walk. Correction: Sheers doesn't explicitly tell us that the couple have been arguing but subtly implies this using personification and pathetic fallacy in the first two stanzas. He describes how the couple are "silent and apart" to show their fragmented relationship.

More Lessons In This Unit

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