To Winter

To Winter
CL AUDE MCKAY
The poem
1 Stay, season of calm love and soulful snows!
Rhyme scheme: abbaabba cdcdcd
2 There is a subtle sweetness in the sun,
3 The ripples on the stream’s breast gaily run,
Octave
4 The wind more boisterously by me blows, The poem is a Petrarchan

5 And each succeeding day now longer grows. sonnet.
6 The birds a gladder music have begun, A Petrarchan sonnet is
7 The squirrel, full of mischief and of fun, divided into an octave and a
8 From maple’s topmost branch the brown twig throws. sestet
9 I read these pregnant signs, know what they mean:
Sestet
10 I know that thou art making ready to go.

11 Oh stay! I fled a land where fields are green
12 Always, and palms wave gently to and fro,
13 And winds are balmy, blue brooks ever sheen,
14 To ease my heart of its impassioned woe.
Vocabulary
Subtle- so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyse or describe.
Gaily- in a cheerful or light-hearted way
Boisterously- in a noisy, energetic and rough way
Balmly- mild and refreshing; soft; soothing
Impassioned- filled with or showing great emotion.
Structure and form
The poem is only one stanza that rubs for 14 lines.
‘To Winter’ is a sonnet
A 14 line poem that follows a set
rhyme scheme
The poem is specifically a Petrarchan sonnet, and therefore follows an ABBAABB CDCDCD rhyme
scheme.
The rhyme scheme gives a the poem a song-like quality. ‘To Winter’ is a lyric poem this
means it is an expression of the narrators personal emotions.
The poem is also written in first person; showing that it is meant to be an expression of the
narrators personal emotions.
Analysis of the poem
Line 1
The poem starts with the narrator begging
winter to stay. Calm love and soulful snows
refer to the fact that winter is usually calm and
quiet, as all of nature is ‘sleeping’ at this time.
The poet romanticises the snowfall, showing
that he is passionate about the beauty of
Stay, season of calm love and soulful snows! winter
Soulful implies deep emotion, suggesting that
the beauty of the snow evokes strong feelings
within him.
Lines 1 – 5
The narrator describes the signs he sees of the
coming spring. His use of language gives spring
a very lively and exciting personality
Enjambment
There is a subtle sweetness in the sun,
He describes the sweet sun, the stream that

The ripples on the stream’s breast gaily run, gaily runs, and the wind that boisterously
blows. This image is in contrast with the calm
The wind more boisterously by me blows, and soulful winter
And each succeeding day now longer grows.

Lines 6 – 8
These lines continue to describe the upcoming
spring. The narrator talks about how the
animals and trees begin to stir and come back
to life.
The birds a gladder music have begun, The narrator refers to the squirrel as “full of
mischief and fun” and says the birds sing
happy songs. The poem uses language that
The squirrel, full of mischief and of fun, characterises spring as youthful, fun and
energised.
From maple’s topmost branch the brown twig He states that the maple tree’s branches
throws. begun to throw, meaning that they have began
to bud.
These are all signs of the approach of the
warmer months
Lines 9 – 10
The narrator states that he can tell that spring
is around the corner. The word “pregnant”
evokes an image of fertility which is associated
with spring time.
I read these pregnant signs, know what they The “thou” that is getting ready to leave refers
mean: to winter.
He can tell from all the signs of life and fertility
I know that thou art making ready to go. that winter is at its end.
I know that winter is ready to leave

The enjambment isolates the word always, almost as if he
puts it on its own, to emphasis the fact that the weather was
constant there- the weather never changed, which could have
Lines 11 – 14 become boring or frustrating after a while
In the final lines of the poem, the narrator

once again begs winter to stay.
He continues to describe a land that he fled
Oh stay! I fled a land where fields are green from that is characterised as being warm and
Enjambment
tropical.
Always, and palms wave gently to and fro, Despite these descriptions sounding
appealing, the speaker states that he left this
And winds are balmy, blue brooks ever sheen, location to soothe his “impassioned woe”.
Despite the narrator acknowledging its beauty,
To ease my heart of its impassioned woe. he personally does not enjoy this tropical
environment
He wants winter to stay-he wants winter to stay because he dislikes the warmer
weather
Claude McKay left his homeland of Jamaica to live in more northern climates.
Therefore this poem is an expression of his personal preference for the cold
weather.
He describes both spring and the climate of his homeland in an appealing way,
yet throughout the poem he begs winter not to go.
While he is able to appreciate the beauty of warmer seasons, he himself prefer

winter
Themes
The main theme of the poem is the beauty of nature. it is seen as an expression of his
appreciation of the natural world and its beauty.
despite the poet being sad about winter ending, his descriptions of spring are very positive and
detailed, suggesting that he pays careful attention to the world around him.
It shows that he is passionate about nature
Summary
The poem begins with the poet begging winter to stay.
Then he goes on to describe all the signs of the coming spring; the days
become longer and warmer, animals begin to stir, and the land begins to
come back to life.
The narrator knows that spring has arrived. He then begs winter to stay
and begins describing his homeland.
He states that he fled a tropical landscape, where it is always hot and
palm trees grow.
His familiarity with this climate makes him yearn for the calm cold months

To Winter - Grade 11

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

To Winter - Grade 11

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

To Winter - Grade 11

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

4 The wind more boisterously by me blows, The poem is a Petrarchan

10 I know that thou art making ready to go.

There is a subtle sweetness in the sun,

He describes the sweet sun, the stream that

And each succeeding day now longer grows.

I know that winter is ready to leave

Lines 11 – 14 become boring or frustrating after a while

In the final lines of the poem, the narrator

While he is able to appreciate the beauty of warmer seasons, he himself prefer

You might also like