Poem - Winter By William Shakespeare with Analysis
Winter:
When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail,
When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
To-whit! To-who!—a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
When all aloud the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson's saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian's nose looks red and raw,
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
To-whit! To-who!—a merry note,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail,
When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
To-whit! To-who!—a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
When all aloud the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson's saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian's nose looks red and raw,
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
To-whit! To-who!—a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
Analysis:
‘Winter’ is a short poem and a song sung by actors in two of Shakespeare’s Comedies. This is part of an entertainment at the end of the comedy ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’. It follows a corresponding poem describing spring, and paints a vivid picture of the effects of winter on human life in Europe. Each line adds a detail which builds up the impression of cold, and the warmth used by men to resist it.
The icicles; long pieces of ice formed by the freezing of water as it drips off the side of the house; hang by the wall; and Dick-The shepherd, blows on his finger nails to warm them; and Tom carries the logs of timber into the main hall to light the fire place. The milk in the pail gets frozen by the time it reaches home. The blood in their bodies gets completely chilled. The roads and paths are unpleasant
The starring owl makes a merry note while Joan-The Cook woman keeps the pot cool. When the cold dry wind begins to blow and the priest is preaching in the church; the cold weather has given his listeners coughs, which drowns his wise sayings. The birds of winter sit quietly and brood on the branches of the snow covered trees. ‘Marian’ a common girls name; Shakespeare means ‘many girls’. Noses look red like raw meat; the hiss is caused by the heating of the roasting. The owl continues to hoot throughout the long nights.
The icicles; long pieces of ice formed by the freezing of water as it drips off the side of the house; hang by the wall; and Dick-The shepherd, blows on his finger nails to warm them; and Tom carries the logs of timber into the main hall to light the fire place. The milk in the pail gets frozen by the time it reaches home. The blood in their bodies gets completely chilled. The roads and paths are unpleasant
The starring owl makes a merry note while Joan-The Cook woman keeps the pot cool. When the cold dry wind begins to blow and the priest is preaching in the church; the cold weather has given his listeners coughs, which drowns his wise sayings. The birds of winter sit quietly and brood on the branches of the snow covered trees. ‘Marian’ a common girls name; Shakespeare means ‘many girls’. Noses look red like raw meat; the hiss is caused by the heating of the roasting. The owl continues to hoot throughout the long nights.
Source: http://www.shvoong.com