Analysis of the poem “Winter” by Walter de la Mare

The title

Reading the title without reading the poem, I aspect the poem might be about the coldest season and the winter months, when there is the snow falling from the sky.

The layout

The structure of the poem is arranged in three stanzas of five lines each and its rhyme scheme is ABABCC.

Structure

The poem is arranged in three stanzas of five lines, called pentastiche.

Theme

The speaker is talking about the winter; he is talking about the moments of the winter, the singing robin and the sun’s rays.

In the end the speaker talks about the sea and the white moon.

He describes a landscape without specify the place, so it could be in every part of the world.

After reading the text

I don’t find this poem particularly difficult because the words used are simple enough but it isn’t easy to understand. The poet, through a careful choice of words, managed to describe precisely the phases of winter.

Tone, speaking voice adressing

If I heard the poet reciting this poem, probably his tone would be a bit sad but at the same time it would be calm and serene because it’s simply describing a season and why nothing bad happens.

Figures of speech

There are some enjambment, for example one between the last two lines of the first stanza, one on the last three lines of the second stanza and one on the three last lines of the third stanza.