# Snow explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Edward Thomas.

## What happens

In the silent, white gloom of a snowy scene, a child mourns the killing of a white bird on its nest, watching the down fall through the dusky brightness.

## Themes in this chapter

### War and Mortality

The killing of the white bird on its nest evokes themes of death and violence.

### The Cycle of Life and Death

The bird's death and the falling down symbolize the end of life within the natural cycle.

## Character check-ins

### The Child

The child is sighing and crying over the death of a white bird in the snow.

### The Winter Thrush

The white bird killed on its nest, whose down flutters down through the snow.

## Key lines

> They have killed a white bird up there on her nest, The down is fluttering from her breast.

Someone has killed a white bird while she was nesting, and her feathers are drifting down.

_The child's lament reveals the violent act and its aftermath._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/snow
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_5_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters