The Wild Swans at Coole is a poem by Irish poet W.B. Yeats, published in 1919. It is a poignant reflection on the passage of time and the fleeting nature of youth and beauty. The poem is set at Coole Park, the estate of Lady Augusta Gregory, a close friend of Yeats and a fellow member of the Irish Literary Revival movement. The wild swans at Coole are a symbol of the ephemeral nature of life and the inevitability of change.
In the opening lines of the poem, Yeats describes the beauty of the swans as they glide across the surface of the lake: "The trees are in their autumn beauty, / The woodland paths are dry, / Under the October twilight the water / Mirrors a still sky." The swans are a contrast to the autumnal setting, representing the eternal and unchanging nature of their beauty.
However, as the poem progresses, Yeats reflects on the fact that the swans at Coole have remained unchanged for many years, while he himself has grown older and experienced the passing of time. He writes, "But now they drift on the still water, / Mysterious, beautiful; / Among what rushes will they build, / By what lake's edge or pool / Delight men's eyes, when I awake some day / To find they have flown away?" This passage highlights the transience of the swans and the impermanence of their beauty.
The final stanza of the poem is a lament for the passing of youth and the realization that time cannot be reversed: "All's changed since I, hearing at twilight, / The first time on this shore, / The bell-beat of their wings above my head, / Trod with a lighter tread." Yeats reflects on the past, when he was younger and the swans were a new and wondrous sight for him. Now, he is older and the swans have remained unchanged, a reminder of the passage of time and the fleeting nature of youth.
The Wild Swans at Coole is a powerful and evocative poem that explores the themes of change, time, and the fleeting nature of beauty. Yeats' use of the wild swans at Coole as a symbol of eternal youth and beauty serves to highlight the impermanence of life and the inevitability of change. It is a poignant reflection on the passage of time and the passing of youth.
The Wild Swans at Coole (poem)
All's changed since I, hearing at twilight, The first time on this shore, The bell-beat of their wings above my head, Trod with a lighter tread. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Peter Tucker as a narrator. Unwearied still, lover by lover, They paddle in the cold , Companionable streams or climb the air; Their hearts have not grown old ; Passion or conquest, wander where they will, Attend upon them still. I have looked upon those brilliant creatures, And now my heart is sore.
The Wild Swans At Coole by W.B. Yeats
He does not exit the state of being in-between but transcends it by moving from anxiety and grief into tranquility, acceptance, and expanded awareness. These forces are more powerful than the individual human being, even though in youth the drive for passion and conquest obscures this truth. He's slowly combining his trademark mysticism and folklore with the regret and yearning that comes with getting older, and concurrently his poems often can feel like spells. They will fly away, and the speaker will eventually die. The nineteenth autumn has come upon me Since I first made my count; I saw, before I had well finished, All suddenly mount And scatter wheeling in great broken rings Upon their clamorous wings.
The Wild Swans at Coole
It's believed this Poem was written when Yeats was staying with a friend - Lady Gregory at Coole Park in Ireland. All's changed since I, hearing at twilight, The first time on this shore, The bell-beat of their wings above my head, Trod with a lighter tread. The plot was super boring and really had a hard time trying to like this poem which I failed to do in the end. In his contemplation of the swans, he is drawn out of ordinary, everyday preoccupations and led to consider his life as a whole. As one would expect of Yeats. Less about what they say than the strange enchantment they cast.
The last two lines of "The Song": '. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work. . Chicago Bibliography Course Hero. For who could have foretold That the heart grows old. I haven't much experience with poetry, but am reading a second book by Yeats, The Celtic Twilight, a collection of short stories and I am already enjoying these. The fact that the speaker is making his annual count of the swans for the 20th time—it is 19 years since the first count—coupled with the weariness he expresses, places him in middle age.
