Both ‘winter swans’ and ‘neutral tones’ explore how relationships can change from intimacy to isolation under the pressure of unspoken arguments as seen in winter swans, or perhaps through a painful breakup as seen in neutral tones. Both poems explore relationships which are undergoing a period of dissonance. In Winter Swans, Sheers starts his poem describing “the clouds had given their all, two days of rain and then a break” and here the pathetic fallacy may represent the turbulence in the couple’s relationship. The personification of clouds “giving their all” creates this sense of fatigue and tension, perhaps representing how nature, just like the couple, has reached a breaking point. The “two days of rain” may be metaphorical of how they have been arguing and this is clearly a point of emotional intensity but the “break” shows how they are willing to pause and reflect, already Sheers presents the readers with hope that perhaps all is not lost. Similarly, in Neutral tones, the speaker presents how their relationship is so broken that communication has lost its ability to bridge emotional chasms. He describes how “words played between us to and fro” and the use of enjambment on this line seems to mock the couple, almost visually representing how their words used to oscillate between them but was never truly understood by either party. The verb “played” has connotations of games and entertainment, perhaps revealing the futility and the triviality of their relationship. Alternatively, “played” also has connotations of theatre and acting, perhaps representing how on the surface their relationship seemed fine, perhaps it even seemed like it was flourishing. Yet, underneath the decay was prominent. This is compounded by the use of Hardy’s regular rhyme scheme which creates this sense of control, this may further this sense that their relationships seemed fine from an external viewer, but there is more than what meets the eye. Here, their communication just seems like the passing of blame, rather than offering any opportunity for respite or growth. Both poems explore the fragility of love and how easily it can get diluted by tension and arguments, being a source of isolation rather than intimacy. They suggest that love, though can bring feelings of immense passion, can also bring about pain or anguish when lost or when tested; however Sheers suggests that if love is strong enough it should be able to transcend and overcome any of these external pressures. Despite both presenting quite similar relationships - ones that have been broken down by conflict - their messages are wholly different. While Sheers suggests that there is potential for renewal and reconciliation in a relationship, Hardy completely rejects this as he seems to believe that love will inevitably fail and leave you broken. In Winter Swans, Sheers describes how “the waterlogged earth gulped for breath at our feet”. The adjective “waterlogged” evokes the image of soil which has been overburdened with water even to the point of suffocation and Sheers suggests that just as the earth is oversaturated with moisture, the couple’s relationship is oversaturated with unspoken tension. However this sense of despondency and hopelessness is contrasted with the verb “gulped” which personifies the soil. Though “gulped” suggests that the soil is perhaps struggling, it also suggests that the soil is actively seeking renewal and is trying its best to stay alive. Sheers may use this to highlight how this is just what the couple are also experiencing: though they are at a point of conflict, they are also actively working to bridge this emotional chasm and reconcile. This brings hope to the reader and Sheers presents how conflict is just temporary, and if people are willing to fight for it, love can transcend and overcome any barrier. This therefore reveals the endless nature of love. However, the use of the irregular rhyme scheme and stanza length may represent how the process of reconciliation does not come easily, there is no set formula or layout that can fix it. Instead, reconciliation has to happen organically, and requires both parties to reflect on their actions. The couple look to the swans to help catalyse and inspire the rejuvenation of their connection. Swans are symbols of loyalty and lasting connections due to their tendency to mate for life. The speaker compares the swans as being like “boats righting in rough weather”. Here the simile works on multiple levels. On the one hand, boats are specifically designed to be able to balance themselves even when they stumble or lose their way. This may metaphorically represent how relationships, if built on the correct foundations of respect and mutual understanding, should also be designed to automatically fix themselves and find balance. Alternatively, a boat requires someone to drive it, otherwise it will lose control and this may also be symbolic of how people in a relationship need to work together to fight for renewal. This image of the “rough weather” is used to present how conflict, just like a storm, is not permanent. The couple in the poem were able to face the “rough weather” together and this made their relationship stronger and more robust. Through this Sheers urges his readers to not view conflict as the end, but actually as a precursor to growth. The final rhyming couplet at the end of the poem creates this sense of finality, further compounding Sheer's message that love, even when tested, can endure. He suggests that relationships, like the flight of birds, can go through periods of turbulence and uncertainty, but they can settle back down to a state of balance and peace. By contrast, Hardy rejects Sheer’s idealised attitude towards love as he firmly believes in love’s inevitable decay. At the beginning of the poem Hardy describes how “the sun was white as though chidden of God”. Here Hardy subverts the typical connotations of the “sun” as being vibrant and jubilant, often a symbol of vitality and fertility. Here, the sun, perhaps like the speaker, seems bleached of all its energy perhaps representing that emotional and physical fatigue that failed relationships can bring. Perhaps Hardy is suggesting that even familiar and innately beautiful things like “the sun” can seem dull and monotonous when viewed under the lens of heartbreak. Hardy also suggests that their relationship was so broken and so dysfunctional that even “God” rebuked it, casting a pall of failure over the relationships which he once cherished. It seems as though this break up occurred quite a long time ago, yet Hardy seems to be stuck in the moment and unable to move on as seen through the use of a cyclical structure. Hardy returns back to this image of the “pond” perhaps to reveal the endlessness of his grief and how it gives him no respite. Hardy suggests that even time has not been able to heal his wounds and he reveals how love’s power is not in the happiness it provides, but actually the lasting pain that it causes. It could be said that Hardy’s poem acts as a warning to his readers to not give too much of themselves to relationships that are set to fail as unlike Sheers, Hardy presents how there is absolutely no chance of renewal, so it is better you end the relationships before it causes irreparable damage. In the final line of the poem Hardy describes the “pond edged with grey leaves” and the “pond” acts as a stationary body of water perhaps to reflect the stagnancy of their love. The verb “edged” also creates this sense of boundary, perhaps referring to not just the physical but also emotional separation which exists between the speaker and his ex lover. The reference to “grey leaves” reveals how Hardy is making a comparison between love and nature’s natural decay. He suggests that just as leaves in nature inevitably decay and die, so will love. Hardy’s pessimistic attitude towards love may perhaps stem from his many failed relationships, including his marriage which was said to be deeply troubling and broken. Unlike Sheers, Hardy sees this one failed relationship as a template for all others meaning that he not only rejects his lover but now rejects love as a whole. He describes how “love deceives” and through the verb “deceives” he paints love as being a cruel deceptive force that has intent to cause harm and pain to everyone in its path. Therefore he urges his readers to stay away from love before it is too late.