Question 1

In Winter Mourning, Muncey uses what animal as a symbol to convey the nature of an old couple’s relationship?

Question 2

By beginning each section of the poem with similar two-word lines, “one deer,” “one wife,” and “one husband,” Muncey establishes what type of relationship between the deer and the couple?

Question 3

Muncey also links the description of the deer in Section I with later portrayals of which character in the poem?

Question 4

If the deer symbolizes the couple, then the description of its carcass “bloodied... waiting to be divided... frozen” suggests what about the relationship between the husband and wife?

Question 5

Through several subtle associations, Muncey transforms the deer, usually used to represent gentleness, innocence and grace, into a symbol that underscores the barren nature of the old couple’s relationship. Muncey is using what type(s) of symbol here?