Metaphor in Dead Love

While “wintry winds” can be interpreted as a metaphor for misfortune, it can also symbolize old age and death—a common, poetic metaphor. “Nigh” denotes close proximity in location or time. So, when the speaker tells her audience that they will be alone when “wintry winds draw nigh,” she means that when hardship or old age afflict the audience, love will not be there to protect them.

In this line, “red” can be read as a symbol for passionate love; “blue,” for coldness and melancholy. The speaker uses these metaphors to convey love’s fickle nature: it exists in two polar-opposite emotions.