This Winter Coming

Karen Press
Karen Press 1956 -
Born in Cape Town
Prolific writer and publisher
The date of publication is 1986, ten years
after the Soweto uprisings
A nationwide State of Emergency was
imposed to supress commemorations
Arrests and detention without charge were
common practise
There was widespread unrest in the
country at the time, which was met with
violence by the police and army
This Winter is Coming
walking in the thick rain
of this winter we have only just entered,
who is not frightened?

the sea is swollen, churning in broken waves

around the rocks, the sand is sinking away
the seagulls will not land
under this sky, this shroud falling
who is not frightened?

in every part of the city, sad women climbing buses,

dogs barking in the street, and the children
in every doorway crying,
the world is so hungry, madam’s house is clean
and the women return with slow steps
to the children, the street, the sky is tolling like a black bell;
these women are a tide of sadness
they will drown the world,
who is not frightened?
on every corner men standing
old stumps in the rain, tombstones
engraved with open eyes
watching the bright cars full of sated faces
pass them, pass them, pass them,
who is not frightened?

into the rain the children are running

thin as the barest twigs they kindle a fire
to fight the winter, their bare bodies
a raging fire of dead children
and the sky collapsing under centuries of rain
the wind like a mountain crying,
who is not frightened of this winter
coming upon us now?
Form and Structure
Five stanzas of varying length
No definite rhyme scheme
Like the bad weather, the poem is unstructured
and chaotic
The lives are the people are chaotic and unsafe
Rules of grammar, such as capital letters, are
ignored, just like the government ignores the
rights of its people
The recurring rhetorical question and the question
at the end of the poem points to the writer’s search
for justice in the face of fear and oppression
Title
Winter is usually associated with death
Due to the impending state of emergency and
the restrictions it would bring the poet sees it
as a time of hardship and death
Stanza 1
The winter rain is
No heavy. This
protection weather serves to
from the create a mood of
elements foreboding and
walking in the thick rain gloom

of this winter we have only just entered,

who is not frightened?
The “hard times”
are just beginning,
The rhetorical
and no one will
question, highlighting
escape the
the fact that these are
hardships
frightening times
 Stanza 2
Moving The waves
Rough and roughly crash
stormy sea, against the
usually due to the rocks
weather The land is
the sea is swollen, churning in broken wavesnot safe to
around the rocks, the sand is sinking away stand on as
the seagulls will not land A cloth it is
used to unstable
under this sky, this shroud falling
cover a
who is not frightened?Metaphor:coffin
The clouds are
There is so much likened to shroud used for
chaos and confusion covering dead bodies.
that even the seagulls Emphasizing the sense of
impending
will not land. Nature Repetition: doom on the
emphasis
is in turmoil fear felt by all
Stanza 3

in every part of the city, sad women climbing

buses,
dogs barking in the street, and the children
in every doorway crying,
• There is feeling of tiredness, unrest, hunger and
sadness
• The burden carried by women in the struggle is
highlighted. The sadness of their lives is shown
by their own children ‘in every doorway crying’
 Working for a
pittance, whilst
Stanza 3 neglecting their
Hyperbole own homes and
families
the world is so hungry, madam’s house is clean
and the women return with slow steps
to the children, the street, the sky is tolling like a
black bell;

The women return home

Metaphor: the disillusioned and exhausted, to
sounds of the storm their shacks and little houses
are likened to a bell
ringing for the dead
 Metaphor: the women are
Stanza 3 moving to and from home to
work like a sea moving with
the tides. Their mood matches
the weather
these women are a tide of sadness
they will drown the world, There are so many that
who is not frightened? they will overwhelm
everyone – the world

Repetition: emphasis on the

fear felt by all
 Stanza 4
Stanza 4 – the
focus is now on
the men
on every corner men standing
old stumps in the rain, tombstones
engraved with open eyes

Metaphor: The men have no

The men feelings, they are
stand and do emotionally dead. They
nothing; they “see” but do not feel
are stumps of anything. “Zombie like”
trees
 Stanza 4The rich in their
fancy cars,
having
everything they
want
watching the bright cars full of sated faces
pass them, pass them, pass them,
who is not frightened?

Repetition: emphasis on the

fear felt by all
Stanza 5 The children are not afraid
of the “storm”,
they are running into it.

into the rain the children are running

thin as the barest twigs they kindle a fire

Simile: The children are

Comparing making a fire to
the fight the winter/
children to the oppressive
twigs regime
Stanza 5
The children will
The children are making
sacrifice
a fire to fight the winter/
themselves and
the oppressive regime
will provide the
fuel to fend off
to fight the winter, their bare bodies
the “winter”.
a raging fire of dead children
Metaphor and
and the sky collapsing under centuries of rain
personification.

The sky will be seen after

centuries of domination
and oppression
Stanza 5
The children are seen the
wind of change that will Simile: The mountain is
change the society the giant that
represents the children
the wind like a mountain crying,pressing for change
who is not frightened of this winter
coming upon us now?

Seeing that the children are the

future and will fight for freedom
that will ultimately end the
“winter” is there a need to be
afraid?
Themes

Sufferin Oppress
g ion

Exploita Depriva
tion tion
Tone

Sombre Solemn

Bitter Angry
Mood

Anxious Restless

Fearful Dread
Answers
1. Comment on the poet’s choice of the word “thick” in line 1. (2)
 (This word relates to the rain – it is thick, like a blanket. Textured. A
very heavy rain.)
2. How does line 2 create an ominous tone? Refer to the extended
metaphor in your answer. (3)
 (This figurative winter – oppression – will only get worse – “only just
entered”. Things will get far worse before they get better. There is
an allusion to possible violence / uprising against the oppression.)
3. Who is the speaker addressing in line 3? What is the effect of this
address? (2)
 (All readers, in fact, all South Africans. All people should be afraid to
of the Resistance. There will be violence in response to oppression.)
4. How is a sense of violence portrayed in lines 4-5? (2)
 (The sea is described as ‘swollen, churning in broken waves” – this is
a destructive ocean, not a peaceful and serene ocean. It is a
dangerous place to be.)
5. Comment on the inclusion of the word “shroud” in line 7.
(2)
 (A shroud is a cloth traditionally used to cover dead bodies in
preparation for a funeral. The word intensifies the feelings of
fear, anger and helplessness in the face of the weather
conditions. This rain and cold can kill those unprotected from
it.)
6. Suggest a reason why people would fear winter? Refer to the
literal and figurative meanings of the word. (3)
 (Homeless people or people living in shacks would fear winter
because they are exposed to the elements all the time. It is
cold and wet. They can fall ill and possibly die. This is the
literal interpretation. The figurative element compares winter
to a time of political and social hardship in South Africa. Those
left unprotected (non-whites) will be exposed to hardship and
possibly death.)
7. Identify and explain the figure of speech in “these women
are a tide of sadness”. (3) (Metaphor – the amount of
sadness if so great that if it were in liquid form, it would
make up a sea. It would drown anything in its path.)
8. Explain the effectiveness of the metaphor,
“tombstones/engraved with open eyes”. (2)
 (The stillness of the men is such that they seemed to be
carved from stone. They have become so hardened that
they seem dead, if it were not for the open eyes. They look
dead but are alive.)
9. How does the reaction of the children to the rain differ
from the adults? (2)
 (The adults are fearful. The children run wildly, they are
active and alive. They use a fire to warm themselves,
because they are so thin. Here the rain is positive – it is
negative in the rest of the poem.)
10. To what does the “raging fire of dead children” (line 27)
refer? (3)
 (This seems to refer to the children who died in violent
uprisings (like Sharpeville, Soweto etc.). The word ‘raging’
suggests the passion of the children and the ugliness of the
system oppressing them. Children died when trying to
bring about change during the Apartheid era.)
11. Discuss how the “sky” has changed throughout the poem. What
is the implication of it in line 28? (3)
 (Rain comes from the sky and is now “collapsing under centuries
of rain”. At first the sky is just that – a sky.
 It then intensifies to a sky “tolling like a black bell” and in the
final stanza it is falling. The Apartheid system
 has become unbearable. The time for change has arrived. BUT
things are going to get worse before they get better.)
12. Comment on the effectiveness of the anaphora (“who is not
frightened?”) in the poem. (2)
 (Includes all readers and South Africans. It serves as an
emphasised warning to the oppressors – a revolution is coming.
Things have to change. Remember – this poem was printed in
1986.)
13. The last two lines of the poem breaks the ‘pattern’ of the rest
of the poem. Why did the poet write these lines differently to
the anaphora in the rest of the poem? (3)
 (At first the anaphora was one line. Now it is extended over two
lines. This adds to the idea that the ‘winter’ is about the arrive. It
is ominous. It acts as a warning of what is to come.)