Powerful, Not Beautiful Nature as Presented in Winter Swans, Hill Fort, and Other Poems - Literature Essay Samples

While Sheers presents nature as outlasting man in his poetry, nature does not appear beautiful, as seen in the flint sky of Border Country. Instead, nature is powerful and strong in comparison to the people present in his poetry. The imagery of bad weather is also used to symbolise difficulties in relationships, as can be seen in Winter Swans, a further example of Sheerss ability to conjure natures brutal strength and its ability to reflect the human condition. Sheers uses the imagery of water in Winter Swans to suggest that bad weather is a reflection of their stormy relationship. In particular, the lines the waterlogged earth gulping for breath creates the image of drowning, perhaps suggesting that their relationship is literally drowning, which is reflected by the onomatopoeia of gulping. The personification of the earth here gives the couple a passivity, again suggesting an unease in the relationship which is mirrored by the drowning earth. This provides support for Sara Crownes critique that the ruptured terrain reflects the collections fractured emotional landscape, seen here in Winter Swans through the drowning earth. A progression in their relationship can be seen later through the description of the swans, porcelain over the stilling water. The stilling water, as opposed to the stormy weather earlier, could suggest a reconciliation, which is reflected by the tranquillity of the image. The imagery of porcelain suggests an ideal of l ove; whilst pure, fragile, and easily broken, there is also a connotation of worth, as the swans have stimulated conversation between the couple again. In comparison, Sheers uses bad weather in The Wake as an extended metaphor for the approach of death. Instead of storms signifying troubles in relationships, Sheers uses the imagery of storms, of squalls and depressions, to suggest oncoming illness. The inevitability of death seems to give the old man a stubborness, which is revealing of his character, as the narrators comforts are spoken into a coastal wind long after the ship has sailed, effectively blown away by the strength of the coastal wind, allying the old man nature, with a sense of his strength of opinion. The final stanza indicates the mans acceptance of his illness, through the alliteration of strangely settled, which suggests a smoothness in his acceptance of death. The final two lines of the poem suggest an eternal image, of the first sea there ever was or that ever will be, which is suggestive of nature continuing beyond man a theme which is continued throughout many of Sheers poems. Sheers presents nature as outlasting man in poems such as Y Gaer and The Hill Fort. The shift in titles from the Welsh to the English translation both signifies a change in the content of the poetry, from poems about Sheers Welsh background to poems about other subjects, whilst referencing his Welsh and English heritage. Nature is seen to outlast man in Y Gaer through the contrast of the man-made hill fort and the vivid description of the horse. The hill forts only defences now, a ring of gorse shows how nature has taken over the area now, as the ring of gorse is all that is left of the fort, suggesting a power of nature. In comparison to the mossy gums of the stone, the horse is described as jittery, twitching and threatens beneath the rider all words to suggest an energy and life in the horse. The use of the word threatens in particular highlights the power of the horse, and thus the power of nature. However, nature is not presented as overly beautiful in Y Gaer, particularly as the man takes the rains beating and the hails pepper-shot these short, blunt words of beating and pepper-shot portrays nature to be harsh, and Sheers uses pathetic fallacy in a reflection of the anger of the man at the loss of his son, which is based on a true story. The reminder of death from the context is another example of how nature outlasts man. This idea is repeated in The Hill Fort, the second poem of the pair, that Sheers says is when the man is feeling very positive about his son, and this is reflected in the structure of the second poem in contrast to the first; The Hill Fort is longer, with fewer endstops, which gives it a flowing quality, in comparison to Y Gaer, where the short, abrupt lines give the poem a sense of the mans anger at this sons death. The fathers acceptance of his sons death can be seen in the act of tipping these ashes onto the tongue of the wind, making the circle complete . The personification of nature in the tongue of the wind and the lack of personification for the mans son in these ashes is another reminder of the longevity of nature, as it continues to live on, whilst the son is dead. Making the circle complete, in a sense, the circle of life, portrays the mans acceptance of the sons death, and of returning him to nature. Although nature is seen to live on past the deaths of others, Sheers does not present it as particularly beautiful. Rather, nature is powerful, capable of beating. Sheers does use nature, in particular weather, to explore relationships, and especially difficulties in relationships.