who does the word 'their' refer in the poem snowdrop
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Answer:
The octave presents the snowdrop. The flower is presented as lonely from the beginning (“Lone Flower”). First, the snowdrop is presented in the winter (“hemmed in with snows and white as they”) and how it defies the cold weather (“But hardier far, once more I see thee bend”). In these lines, there is a snow imagery in order to portray the harshness of the climate, but, also, to express the distinguished quality of the flower. There is alliteration on the third line (“Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend”) to accentuate the characterization of the flower as an “unbidden guest”. Nature, particularly the snowdrop, is personified as a self-invited, embarrassed guest. The lyrical voice continues to depict how the flower struggles with the weather by using combat vocabulary such as “sallying” and “waylay”. The snowdrop’s movements are carefully described in order to emphasize the noble character of the flower that was mentioned in the beginning and the roughness of the winter climate. The lyrical voice, despite the harsh climatic conditions, welcomes the flower (“Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend”) and longs for spring: “Blue-eyed May/Shall soon behold this border thickly set”. The month of May is also personified, and it is seen as a way of overcoming the harshness of the winter climate.The sestet depicts the spring scenery. The imagery and the tone of the poem change dramatically, as the roughness of the winter is left behind to think of the possibility of a better climate: “With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing/ On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers”. The alliteration on these lines emphasizes the festive feeling of the scene. The tone of the poem shifts again, as the lyrical voice acquires a reflective tone in which he/she promises to remember the majestic and distinguished qualities of the flower (“Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,/Chaste Snowdrop, venturous harbinger of Spring”). In the last line, the snowdrop acquires a philosophical side, as it represents a flower that persists all the seasons and is a “pensive monitor of fleeting years”. This flower that goes through every season can be compared to life itself, which is full of changes and modifications.