“The Wild Swans at Coole” by W.B. Yeats 2/2/12

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?

REACTION

When first reading the poem, the subject matter seems very confusing. The author mentions 59 swans he is observing in autumn. Some references suggest that this is not the first time he has witness a large flock of swans in flight. Throughout the poem, it seems like the author is describing the different aspects of beauty he sees in this large flock of swans. AA

PARAPHRASE

            The woods are dry and the trees are turning beautiful colors. The water is the shade of the sky, and on the water are 59 swans.

            It is my 19^th time observing these swans. Before I could even count them all, all the swans suddenly took flight. They scattered in flocks, flapping their noisy wings.

            As I watch the swans, I grow sad. Everything has changed in 19 years, since I first saw the swans.

            Serenely, they paddle in the comfortable water or fly about the sky. They have not changed. Passion and conflict still affect them as if they have not aged a day.

            They now float upon the still water, mysterious and beautiful. Where will they be the day I wake and they are gone? Who else will see the beauty?

SWIFTT

-SW: The author uses no apparent meter, but there is a clear rhyme scheme of abcbdd. The author also uses conversational sentences within this poem. The word choice, however, is not as natural.  The author uses unusual words like clamorous and companionable that add to the meaning and elegancy of the poem.

-I: The poem uses imagery to describe the swans in the poem.  The water first mirrors the sky around trees that are in autumn beauty. This gives a clear image of the setting. Then, the swans scatter wheeling in great broken wings upon their clamorous wings. This allows a person to relate the swans’ flight to that of flocks of birds in semicircles. The clamorous wings also give a vision of disturbed water because of the noisy, violent upheaval. The beat of the flapping wings is then described as bell-beat, which gives a clear, known beat for the reader to relate.

-F: There are no similes within this poem and I do not see any apparent metaphors.

-T: The tone of the poem contributes to a serene tone. The subject matter of animals in undisturbed nature and the elegant word choice fuse together to create a peaceful, serene tone in the poem.

-T: This poem focuses on the beauty of nature. The author is describing a beautiful part of nature that he is able to observe year after year in autumn. He tries to portray the beauty of undisturbed swans in nature.

CONCLUSION

I was not wrong in my initial reaction to this poem. The author is relating the beauty that he is able to see year after year in autumn. Not every person is able to see this beauty, so the author tries his best to relay it to the general population through poetry.