'Blow! Blow! Thou Winter Wind'

'Blow! Blow! Thou Winter Wind' poem by William Shakespeare

1. Full Explanation

2. 'Blow ! Blow! Thou Winter Wind' : Blow, blow, thou winter wind, Thou art not so unkind As man's ingratitude; Thy tooth is not so keen, Because thou art not seen, Although thy breath be rude Heigh -ho! sing, heigh -ho! unto the green holly; Most friends is feigning, most loving mere folly: Then, heigh -ho, the holly! This life is most jolly. Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, That dost not bite so nigh As benefits forgot: Thou thou the waters warp, Thy sting is not so sharp As friend remembered not. ( Shakespeare , As You Like It, Act III, sc. ii)

3. FIRST STANZA: Blow, blow, thou winter wind  Thou art not so unkind  As man's ingratitude;  Thy tooth is not so keen,  Because thou art not seen,  Although thy breath be rude.  Heigh -ho! sing, heigh -ho! unto the green holly:  Most friendship if feigning, most loving mere folly:  Then heigh -ho, the holly!  This life is most jolly. Old English (Shakespeare’s words) Modern English Thou You Ingratitude Not thankful Keen Sharp Thy Your Feigning False / fake / untrue Mere Just / only Folly Foolishness / being silly Jolly pleasant Vocabulary meaning:

4. PARAPHRASE OF THE 1ST STANZA:                 The poet asks the wind to blow hard. He says that the cold, strong and biting wind is much kinder than ungrateful friends. He adds that although the wind blows very hard and it is unseen yet it is not as sharp as man and it can’t hurt as man. He says that friendship is fake and love is only foolishness. In this stanza the poet invites all people to leave their false life and unfaithful friends and come to nature where life is so simple and everything is true and peasant. Life in the forest is so happy and there is nothing to worry about or fight for. RHYME SCHEME:  aabccbdddd FIGURES OF SPEECH: 1. Personification in Blow! Blow thou winter wind. Thou art not so unkind 2. Simile in as man’s ingratitude

5. 2ND STANZA Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky,  That does not bite so nigh  As benefits forgot:  Though thou the waters warp,  Thy sting is not so sharp  As a friend remembered not.  Heigh -ho! sing, heigh -ho! unto the green holly:  Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:  Then heigh -ho, the holly!  This life is most jolly. Old English (Shakespeare’s words) Modern English Bitter Painful Dost not Does not Nigh Hard Benefits Good deeds Warp Change into ice Vocabulary meaning:

6. 2ND STANZA Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky,  That does not bite so nigh  As benefits forgot:  Though thou the waters warp,  Thy sting is not so sharp  As a friend remembered not.  Heigh -ho! sing, heigh -ho! unto the green holly:  Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:  Then heigh -ho, the holly!  This life is most jolly. PARAPHRASE OF THE 2ND STANZA:                  In this stanza, the poet asks the winter wind to freeze the water. He says that although the freezing winter water is so biting, it is less painful than a thankless friend who forgot friendship. The effect of man’s ingratitude is felt more and has more bad effect on human beings than cold weather that is so shocking and it can turn the water into ice. RHYME SCHEME:   aabccbdddd FIGURES OF SPEECH: personification in- freeze freeze thou bitter sky that dost not bite so nigh.

7. Shakespeare compares the harsh, 6rude6winter wind to man7s ingratitude and toturning ones back on a &riend, both o&which are seen as &ar worse than the bitingwind%  8isregarding o& the interpretation, this songshows that e)en the coldest and the most pain&ul weather cannot compare to theworst human su&&erings%                                                                                                                                                                                                          

8. Thank You….