the wild swans at coole

Question 1

stanza 1 begins describing beauty of coole park in autumn
details like brimming water and dry woodland paths bring peaceful scene to life

Question 2

brimming water of lake contrasts with fry paths. as if lake and its occupants represent life and growth, while the land where yeats stands is barren

Question 3

autumn is linked to death and slowing down. does yeats feel that at 51 he’s reaching autumn years of his life

Question 4

there are “nine-and-fifty” swans. swans mate for life so why odd number. is one, like yeats, alone?

Question 5

repeated ‘m’, ‘s’ and ‘l’ sounds emphasize sense of peace and quiet
(stanza 1)

Question 6

tone of stanza 1 is quite detatchex. descriptions are given without any obvious emotion

Question 7

stanza 2 become more personal as he recalls it’s been 19 yrs since first count swans

Question 8

unlikely to be same swans but we accept it’s just an artistic construct

Question 9

before yeats finish counting all swans rise into air

Question 10

run on lines suggest movement and reflect the swans flight

Question 11

onomatopoeic word “clamorous” effectively captures clapping and beating of swans wings

Question 12

swans form a ring - a symbol of eternity - and perhaps this reminds yeats that while he might change, the swans stay the same, making the same pattern in sky every year

Question 13

stanza 3 poet reflects how everything in his life had changed since first seeing swans. “All’s changed”

Question 14

not as young or carefree as he was when he “Tread with a lighter tread”

Question 15

his “heart is sore” as he thinks of the loss of his youth and failed tomances

Question 16

“The bell-beat of their wings” id effective. alliteration in “bell-beat” captures and reinforces the steady beat of birds huge wings as they fly above him

Question 17

note of envy in stanza 4 as yeats watches the bird “Untouched still, lover by lover,” paddling together in the Companionable streams”.

Question 18

streams may be cold but they have each other. they’re united and time doesn’t seem to touch them. “Their hearts have not grown old”

Question 19

wherever they go “passion or conquest” are with them. this is in contrast with Yeat’s life. he implies he’s old and tired and heartbroken

Question 20

the swans can swim in the “brimming” water and fly in the air while yeats is limited to dry woodland paths

Question 21

stanza 5 ends with yeats wondering where the swans will go next to “Delight men’s eyes”

Question 22

maybe he means the swans will continue to bring pleasure to others like yeats, watching them glide in the still water

Question 23

poem set in autumn and winter will follow for the poet. the swans seem untouched by everything and will continue to “drift on the still water.”

Question 24

may be thinking of his creative life or love life or both as he reflects on changes time has brought. swans are unchanging content almost immortal. he’s none of that

Question 25

bleak and mournful poem

Question 26

instead of swans bringing him joy, their beauty and vitality fill him with bittersweet feeling

Question 27

the “unwearied” swans seem to be the same - still filled with passion, mystery and brilliance - while speakers own life has changed irreversibly by time

Question 28

swans remind speaker he’s older and drifted further from vibrancy and possibility of his youth

Question 29

with aging , the poem thus suggests, comes a tangible sense of loss for all the life left behind

Question 30

tale of two moments : memory of first visit and present day

Question 31

comparing these moments he’s able to explore way that time has affected him, diminish lust for life and making him weary

Question 32

speaker feels that he’s in the “autumn” of his life

Question 33

setting establishes sense of transition, echoes that speaker feels his hopes and dreams (“passion or conquest”) have passed him by

Question 34

speaker draws distinction between time first saw swans and present

Question 35

admires swans, calling them “brilliant.” but “All’s changed”

Question 36

swans brilliance is constant, contrasting with j’le speaker feels he’s changed

Question 37

speaker walked with “a lighter tread” but now his age and life experiences made him metaphorically heavier and slower

Question 38

that juxtaposes with the ever present grace of the swans

Question 39

swans remind him of how he used to be

Question 40

he used to have more of the traits he continues to see i. the swans

Question 41

the swans are “Unwearied still,” and “their hearts have not grown old,” the speaker can’t say the same for himself

Question 42

from mention of “lover[s]” and “hearts” we can presume speaker mourns for lost love

Question 43

speaker senses these changes are irreversible. the good times like his first visit to coole are only memories

Question 44

there’s something timeless about their way of being that’s why the swans evoke such a bittersweet feeling

Question 45

they seem free to “wander where they will,” and remain “‘mysterious, beautiful.” they remind him of what he’s lost to time

Question 46

poem shows person struggling to come to terms with path of life they’ve chosen

Question 47

speaker holds onto happier memories but these are tinged by sadness that they’ll never become real again

Question 48

nature presented as unchanging in its beauty and majesty

Question 49

sense of division between world of nature and humans, which is acutely aware of passage of time and plagued by sense of loss

Question 50

nature untroubled by human foibles. swans still full of passion and vigor while speaker weighed down by hopes dreams and disappointments that is experienced in human life

Question 51

this doubles down on poems sense of isolation and sadness about aging, heartbreak and maybe wider contextual issues like wwi

Question 52

these issues remain small or insignificant in face of natures everlasting grace

Question 53

speaker projects human thoughts and feelings onto swans but this is a one way relationship

Question 54

the swans, and nature more generally, go on as they’re without need for speakers observatikns

Question 55

complexity of human life contrast with more instinctive existence of swans

Question 56

nature not under speakers control: tried to count the swans (kind of application of human logic and rigor to nature) and they soared into sky “before [he] had well finished.”

Question 57

swans didn’t wait for him to finis, just did whatever came instinctively

Question 58

speaker characterizes swans as “lover[s]” with “hearts” that are set on “passion or conquest.” but sens of distance between speaker and swans remain

Question 59

swans are going about their lives in accordance with their nature

Question 60

swans don’t worry about themselves or place in world, just inhabit their environment

Question 61

there’s smthn comical and tragic about speakers attempt to view nature through his own feelings

Question 62

but it’s smthn everyone does so it indicates sumn fundamental about humans : need for understanding, sympathy and narrative within the broader world

Question 63

speaker wonders i swans might “some day” have “flown away.” it’s possible that they might do this in accordance with their nature

Question 64

this heightens sense of distance between speaker and swans and intensifies the sense of fundamental difference between humanity and nature

Question 65

makes the speakers life feel small and insignificant

Question 66

unchanging and majestic nature of swans is a kind of stand in for the way his own life had little effect in the world

Question 67

in the past he might’ve wanted his life to make a difference but he feels too weary now to believe that to be possible anymkre