GCSE (9-1): Literature: Poetry: AQA Love and Relationships: Letters from Yorkshire: Quotes

In February, digging his garden, planting potatoes,'

alliteration of the /p/ sound reflects the sound of working with nature, planting potatoes

he ... came / indoors to write to me ...'

links to the poem's theme of communication

his knuckles singing'

personification - 'singing' is a near homophone for 'stinging', as if they are slightly hurt or grazed or just very cold, but from the speaker's perspective, this makes him seem 'alive' and happy, unlike her, being stuck indoors in the city

It's not romance, simply how things are.'

suggests friendship as the theme rather than romantic love

seeing the seasons'

the use of assonance draws our focus to the image of 'seeing the seasons', observing nature

seeing the seasons ... feeding words onto a blank screen'

contrast between urban life / rural life; nature

feeding words onto a blank screen.'

suggests that city life is unrewarding and not real

Is your life more real because you dig and sow?'

rhetorical questions asks the reader to consider whether living a life closer to nature is more rewarding than living city life

You wouldn't say so, ... / clearing a path through snow. Still, it's you'

Caesura interrupts the thought that there's nothing special about his life, because the narrator thinks there is; she thinks his connection with the natural world is special

pouring air and light into an envelope.'

the contents of the envelope are more than just words; perhaps for the speaker they provide life as air provides life and brighten up her world as light does

our souls tap out messages'

Spiritual language suggests a deep and meaningful connection between the friends

across the icy miles.'

the use of the adjective 'icy' is subjective; she sees the miles as icy because it disconnects her from the person she is trying to connect with