Want to revise your language comparison skills in 'Winter Swans' and other poems in your 'Love and Relationships' cluster?
Well, you've come to the right place. In this activity, you'll learn to practise comparing the way different poets use language to convey different and similar attitudes and ideas.
In your exam, you'll do really well to compare the way that poets use language to present their attitudes. You'll do even better if you can compare the way they use language to show different/similar attitudes and ideas. You'll do the best if you can compare the language that is used and how it is used.
Here's an example of some good language comparison:
In 'Winter Swans', Sheers uses present continuous verbs such as 'stilling' and 'settling' to convey a sense of immediacy. Furthermore, these verbs convey a sense of peace and unity, which the couple feel towards each other after seeing the swans. Day-Lewis in 'Walking Away' also uses present continuous verbs such as 'drifting away' and 'eddying away' to convey the separation between the speaker and his son. However, the use of verbs in this poem conveys movement away from the speaker. It reinforces themes of separation and distance.
You should always refer to your own text when working through these examples. These quotations are for reference only.