Neutral tones

We stood by a pond that winter day,

• monosyllabic….

• pond shows reflection and open opportunities but not as much as lake/oceran therefore limitations

• winter is patehtic fallacy- emotional mayube physicals

And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,

• neutral colour

• not brifht and lifegiving anymore like their relationship/life

• feels chidden by god

• …

And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
– They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.

• shows deathh and forgotten by indifferent winter /depletion

• alliteration/sibilance adds to the bleakness and shows that like whe human turns to ash+die the relationship _+ passion is irreversible

• ash is symbol of frowth therefore had no growth

Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
Over tedious riddles of years ago;
And some words played between us to and fro
On which lost the more by our love.

• eyes would rather rove than focus on him , hence he is no longer focus of her life, she is tired and complex=love

• riddle shows past conversation were not understood/ words were as dead as the atmosphere

The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
Alive enough to have strength to die;

• oxymoron shows deception of the woman- sile =love but she turned it into mourning and she bailed them out as it was the only thing alive and she possesed it.

And a grin of bitterness swept thereby / Like an ominous bird a-wing…

anotehr oxymorron- shwos how the smile perhaps harmed him more than did him better.

augur-0 therefore death of relationship and forehsadows his damage

Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree,
And a pond edged with grayish leaves.

• cyclical structure showing that he has had ainy failed relationships throught seassons

• he sees god complicit in thsu failure

• polysyndeton shwos that he is getting tired

• wrings with wrongs creates a bitter tone but yet he tries to be neutral + keen which means sharp, decives- inner turmlil, anger an dtrau,a that shaped him

• love is his enemy maybe