The Wild Swans at Coole by William Butler Yeats

The Wild Swans at Coole by William Butler Yeats

The trees are in their autumn beauty,

The woodland paths are dry,

Under the October twilight the water

Mirrors a still sky;

Upon the brimming water among the stones

Are nine-and-fifty swans.

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.

I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,

And now my heart is sore.

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.

 

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.

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?

INTRODUCTION -

The Wild Swans at Coole is a poem written by the famous Irish poet, William Butler Yeats. The poem was published in 1917. It consists of thirty lines which are divided into five sestets (six-line stanza). Each sestet follows the rhyme scheme of ABCBDD. The poem was written when Yeats was in his fifties. He was staying with his friend Lady Gregory at her home at Coole Park when he observed a large group of swans. He compares the present moment to his first visit to the park 19 years earlier. The poet admires the beauty of nature and the swans present, but he also shows emotions of sorrow and regrets for the amount of time he missed with these creatures. Also, he realizes how he may never see these swans again. The poem is about the poet's search for lasting beauty in a changing world where beauty is transient and perishable.

POET -

William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet and an important literary figure in the 20th century. Further, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923 for his great contribution to literature. A renowned poet, Yeats works include famous poems like Byzantium, Sailing to Byzantium, A Prayer for My Daughter, No Second Troy etc.

SUMMARY -

The poem begins with the speaker describing the natural surroundings around him. He says that the trees are filled with fall colors, and the paths through the woods are dry. It is the time of an October evening and the water in the lake reflects the calm and tranquil sky above. Also, the poet notices that the water of the lake is brimming near the stony shore. In this serene lake, the poet also sees a group of fifty-nine wild swans enjoying their surroundings. Hence, the place is filled with the natural beauty of plants and birds along the sparkling lake.

In the second sestet, the poet recalls that it has been nineteen years since he first visited this place and counted the number of swans. At that time, before he could complete his counting of the swans, they abruptly started flying above the poet's head in broken circular paths. The birds kept soaring around on their noisy wings making it difficult for the poet to finish his counting. This was the poet's first interaction with these swans.

In the next stanza, the poet says that by looking at these beautiful creatures his heart has turned painful. He feels a heartache. This is because the poet also recalls how everything has changed since he first stood on the shore of the lake during the evening time. The wings of the swans, even then, were beating like bells above his head. The birds were soaring in the sky as he heard their sound for the first time. But, it has been a long time, since the poet used to walk faster and with a lighter step.

In the next stanza, the poet describes the swans. He says that the swans may have lived a long life but they are still full of energy. They roam about in loving pairs or couples and sail in the cold water of the lake or fly high above in the air. Their hearts are still young and full of love for their companion. Their lives are still filled with passionate desires, with the freedom to go wherever they want. Hence, they enjoy every aspect of their beautiful life.

In the last stanza, the poet states his fears. He says that at this moment, though, the swans float on the calm surface of the lake looking distant and beautiful but in the future what will happen to them. Where will these swans make their nests? Which pool or lake's shore would they chose and who will be the lucky men to be able to enjoy their beauty? The poet fears that one day when he would wake up the swans would leave this Coole for a new home. He will be left all alone.

THEME -

• Time and Aging - The poem deals with the pain and melancholy of the poet. He understands the pace of the passing time. Also, the speaker knows that being in his fifties, he doesn't have a lot of years left. Instead of bringing him joy, the swans’ beauty and vitality fill the speaker with a bittersweet feeling. They remind the speaker that he has grown older and drifted further from the possibility of his youth. With aging, the poem thus suggests, comes a definite sense of loss for all the life left behind.

END -

It is said that Yeats developed his poetic genius later in his old age. Though he was a famous and successful writer in his youth, his poetic reputation today is founded almost solely on poems written after he was fifty. "The Wild Swans at Coole” is one such poem. The poem is essentially a tale of two moments: the memory of the speaker’s first visit to Coole, and the present-day in which he finds himself there again. There has been much consideration about the source of the speaker's feelings but it said that the loss of his true love made a lasting impression.