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‘The Wild Swans at Coole ’

‘The Wild Swans at Coole ’. W.B. Yeats. ‘The Wild Swans at Coole ’.

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‘The Wild Swans at Coole ’

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  1. ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ W.B. Yeats

  2. ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ • This poem is set in Coole Park, Co Galway, a place Yeats visited frequently throughout his life. He is wandering through the grounds of the park when he sees a flock of swans floating on a lake. The sight of the swans reminds Yeats of his first visit to the park nineteen years earlier. All of a sudden, he feels very old. He thinks about how much his life has changed in the nineteen years since he first visited the park and saw the swans.

  3. ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ STANZA 1 STANZA 2 19th autumn- swans appear eternal, living in past Well finished- death Scatter wheeling in great broken rings- life/memories flash before him • Autumn- near death • Water and sky calm- no reminiscing • 59 swans- odd man out

  4. ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ STANZA 3 STANZA 4 “Unwearied…air”- swans are coupled, seem unchanged, can’t find love “Their hearts have not grown old”- youthful “Passion…still”- swans seem passionate, vibrant (memories still fresh) • “I have looked…sore”- can’t relive memories, frustrating • “All’s changed…tread”- memories lift his spirits

  5. ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ STANZA 5 • But now they drift on still water”- comes to grips that memories gone • “Mysterious, beautiful”- admires memories so much (that’s why difficult to let go) • “By….away?”- doesn't want to lose memories, know where they’ll be

  6. THEMES • GROWING OLDER • In this poem, Yeats is preoccupied with growing older. He is struck by the fact that nineteen years of his life have rushed by since he saw the first swans. He is no longer as youthful and carefree as he used to be. He is weighed down by the cares of middle age and no longer walks on the ‘lighter tread’ of youth. The setting of the poem in autumn is significant, as the poet is in the ‘autumn’ stage of his life. • In the nineteen years he has grown older while they seem not to have changed at all. They are ‘unwearied’, whereas he has grown old and tired. The swans’ hearts ‘have not grown cold’ and are still filled with ‘passion’. As a middle-aged man, Yeats feels passion and adventure are no longer a big part of his life. They will soon leave his life completely, just as the swans will fly away from the lake at Coole. • THE BEAUTY & MYSTERY OF NATURE • The poet describes the peaceful, still atmosphere of Coole Park, with its trees and tranquil lakes. He also praises the majestic and inspirational beauty of the swans. He regards the swans as graceful and elegant. But he also considers them powerful and strong as they suddenly take to the air.

  7. FIRST READ: • Describe the park that the poet walks through. • What did the poet see when he was in the park nineteen years ago? • Why does the poet feel sad now? • How does he describe the swans in the fourth stanza? • How is he different to the swans?

  8. A CLOSER READING: • What is the poet’s attitude to growing older? • Why does he admire the swans so much? • Why does he think that the swans are ‘mysterious’?

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