Winter
By Walter de la Mare
And the robin flew
Into the air, the air,
The white mist through;
And small and rare
The night-frost fell
Into the calm and misty dell.And the dusk gathered low,
And the silver moon and stars
On the frozen snow
Drew taper bars,
Kindled winking fires
In the hooded briers.And the sprawling Bear
Growled deep in the sky;
And Orion’s hair
Streamed sparkling by:
But the North sighed low,
“Snow, snow, more snow!”
Summary of Winter
- Popularity of “Winter”: The poem of nature “Winter” by Walter de la Mare, an English poet, and literary figure, is a popular poetic piece. The poem appeared first in 1921. However, it has recently attracted the attention of critics due to its natural descriptions. The poetic quality of the poem lies in its description of nature in simplistic terms, using just metaphors.
- “Winter” As a Representative of Nature: Although the poem starts with a robin, the merger of this wild bird into the air points to the simple act of nature. The poet has cleverly used the robin and air to show that such scenes in a pure natural valley are rare and few and far between. The white mist, the frost, the calmness amid this small incident of the flight of robin lead the poet to check for the dusk and nocturnal scene which, too, mesmerizes him. He sees the moon and the stars gathering in the frosty night and showing him “winking fires.” This entire scene, then, reminds the poet of his childhood act of naming the astronomical shapes of Bear and Orion that he uses as if they are alive and kicking. Personifying these astronomical objects, the poem brings the poetic recitation to an end with the mention of the North and snow.
- Major Themes in “Winter”: Nature, natural beauty, and natural seasons are the major thematic strands of the poem. Although the poem opens up with the description of the natural living things such as the robin that merges in the air, it, then, goes on to describe the nocturnal scene and the childhood naming of the astronomical objects. However, almost all three stanzas discuss the winter season and its beautiful presentation as if winter has its own charm and beauty exactly like Keats presents in “Ode to Autumn.”
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Winter”
literary devices are elements of literature that make a literary piece worth reading. The analysis of these devices in the poem as given below shows this fact.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /a/ in “And small and rare”, /o/ in “On th frozen snow” and the sound of /i/ in “Kindled winking fires.”
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words such as /s/ in “streamed sparkling” as well as “snow, snow.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /th/ in “Into the air, the air”, /n/ in “Kindled winking fires” and the sound of /s/ and /n/ in “Snow, snow and more snow.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
Drew taper bars,
Kindled winking fires
In the hooded briers.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “The white mist through;”, “The nigh-frost fall” and “Into the calm and misty dell.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphors of nature such as the dusk, Bear, Orion, and the North wind.
- Personification: The poet has used Bear, Orion, and other natural elements such as the Northern wind as if they have emotions and life of their own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of the air and snow as if they are the maker of the new world that is enchanting and frosty.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Winter”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABABCC rhyme scheme that lasts until the end in all three stanzas.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three stanzas with each having six lines in the ABABCC rhyme scheme.
- Repetition: The poem shows the repetition of “the air” and “snow” to stress upon the thematic idea of the natural weather.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Winter” are useful when teaching the kids about astronomical shapes and their details.
And the sprawling Bear
Growled deep in the sky;
And Orion’s hair
Streamed sparkling by:
But the North sighed low,
“Snow, snow, more snow!”
