The Wild Swans at Coole Flashcards
What is the context of ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’?
WBY has just been rejected by Iseult Gonne, following years of failed courtship with Maud Gonne.
- WBY is witnessing Ireland in turmoil and rebellion
- At the age of 51, he realises that he is coming to the end of his life
What’s the overall message of ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’?
- WBY failed love
- WBY feeling as though he is moving towards death
- WBY searching for eternal love and beauty- wants time to stop so he can record the beauty and so he doesn’t have to die or realise that his love is hopeless
How does the poem ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ show that WBY life is coming to an end?
“The trees are in their autumn beauty”- coming to the end of the year, metaphor for the end of his life- “autumn” is also repeated in the second stanza
“autumn beauty” also displays how the “beauty” that WBY is witnessing is also diminishing
“Under the October twilight the water/ Mirrors a still sky; / Upon the brimming water”- “October twilight” is tautological metaphor of the transition of coming to the end of WBY’s life
“water/ Mirrors a still sky” displays how the water is not actually a true image of beauty but just a reflection
“still sky” displays how the only true and eternal beauty is the intangible and celestial sky
“mirrors a still sky” vs “brimming water” displays how the water cant even maintain a reflection of the beauty for eternity as it begins to brim and overflow
How does WBY show his envy for the swans in ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’?
“I have looked upon those brilliant creatures” has plosive sounds to display how WBY envies the swans/ “I have looked upon” emphasises how it is subjective to Yeats- maybe nature maintains its beauty; however, it Yeats’ perspective all has changed as his life events have altered and his position and emotion are different.
“And now my heart is sore”- his “heart is sore” now that he has witnessed the brilliance of the swans: “heart sore” could be the swans representing his lovers (specifically Maude) and how every time he witnesses them (for 19 years now) his “heart” becomes “sore” as he has consistently faced rejection from them
“heart sore” could also be displaying how he is ageing and he is growing sore with age; in comparison to the “brilliant creatures”
“Their hearts have not grown old” - in contrast to Yeats’ “heart” that is “sore”. This emphasises the energy and youthfulness of the Swans and how they have a whole life before them, as if it is eternity
How do the swans in ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ show that he is without a lover?
“nine-and-fifty swans” – Old English style of counting emphasises WBY’s old age and his feeling of isolation
having the “nine” at the start also emphasises how the number is odd and implies that Yeats is the 60th swan, whilst he sees the other 59
→ By making himself the 60th swan he attempts to eternalise himself in nature create an eternal beauty through which he can last forever
→ Odd number also displays how WBY is noticing the imperfections within things he previously thought embodied eternal beauty
“unwearied still, lover by lover”- “unwearied” contrasts with WBY’s “and now my heart is sore” and displays the difference between the poet and the swan…”lover by lover” also displays how the swans go in pairs and as there are 60, one is without a pair and it is implied that he is the 60th swan who is also without a “lover”
“broken rings” makes subtle reference to his failed marriage attempt to both Iseult and Maude Gonne
“Among what rushes will they build” – The swans eventually choose to make their nest elsewhere which can be symbolic of WBY’s failed relationship with Maud Gonne and how she decided to marry someone else
How does WBY show imperfections in time in ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’?
“The nineteenth autumn has come upon me”- “nineteenth” further highlights imperfections that WBY notices in time itself: time cannot withstand beauty; time is detrimental to beauty and well-being
Also repetition of “autumn” to highlight the end of his time
How does WBY show confusion in time and nature in The Wild Swans at Coole?
“And scatter wheeling in great broken rings / Upon their clamorous wings”- the plosives in “scatter”, “broken” and “clamorous” juxtapose the soft homeoteleuten of “wheeling”, “rings” and “wings” to emphasise WBY’s confusion at the nature of time and beauty
How does WBY show the contrasts of his older self to his youth in ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’
“trod with a lighter tread”- polyptoton of “trod” and “tread” emphasises how although things have remained constant, they have changed in the subject eyes of Yeats…..It displays how in the past, Yeats was for more energetic and jovial when he thought he had a chance with Maud Gonne: links to “hot blood of youth” in ‘The Cold Heaven’
How does WBY show freedom of the swans in ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’?
“Their hearts have not grown old”- contrast between the swans heart and the poets: they appear immortal to him as he views them as a race, and idea, rather than an individual, and thus he recognises that they will outlive him, and their beauty will remain for longer than his
How does WBY show his discontent with the afterlife in ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’?
The last line “To find they have flown away?” has an unusual an anapaestic rhythm to add suspense and delay to “away?”
The question mark “to find they have flown away?” leaves the poem open ended and highlights his discontent at the future of his existence and the afterlife: If the world is eternal but no beauty is eternal, what will be left in the world?
What is significant about the line “All’s changed, since I” in ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’?
- no beauty is able to last forever: WBY’s complexion has changed; his emotions have changed; subtle reference that he realises that the swans, too, have changed…. “since I” displays how it is all in WBY’s perspective rather than a general fact- through his repeated use of pronouns, WBY accentuates how beauty is subjective and only changes in the eyes of the beholder: thus, only things intangible can remain constantly beautiful, as they are not viewed by many beholders
How does WBY show that nature is his only companion in ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’?
“companionable streams” display how Yeats feels his only companion now is nature and other than that he has nothing to cling to other than this image and hope for an eternal nature that he believes he can find in nature
