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The poet has passed his prime and so the chances of his marrying and having children are now slim. He
therefore envies the virility of the swans, as well as their beauty and fidelity.
Every year for 19 years, the poet has counted the swans on the nearby lake at Coole Park. He describes
the setting -- a quiet lake just after sunset -- then tells us how the birds lift off into the air, or how they
swim around in pairs on the still water.
There is an air of beauty and mystery about these birds. They bring a sense of majesty to the lake, and
yet the poet is well aware that the flock is getting smaller each year and that one day they might leave
altogether, never to return.
ABOUT THE POET
William Butler Yeats was born in County Dublin (Ireland) in 1865, although the family soon relocated to
Sligo which the young poet came to think of as his spiritual home.
The family moved to England in 1876 so that their father could further his own career as an artist. At first
the young William was home-schooled and entered formal schooling only at the age of 12, where his
performance was described as mediocre.
When the poet was 15, however, the family returned to Dublin and it was here that he began writing
poetry, with his first works being published when he was about 17.
Yeats had a deep interest in mysticism, spiritualism, occultism and astrology, something that is reflected
in many of his poems. Indeed, his "Second Coming" cannot be understood unless this astrological
background is realised.
He was also involved in Irish nationalism, something that is reflected in much of his writing.
In 1883 -- when the poet was but 18 -- he met Maud Gonne, then a 23 year old heiress. Their
friendship would last some 33 years.
By 1916, when Yeats was already 51 years old, he probably realised that chance of marriage with children
was passing him by. He suddenly became intent on having both and decided to propose to Maud Gonne
but she turned him down.
Two rumours arose out of this: first, that his poem "Wild Swans at Coole" was written after the
"shock" of his being turned down and, second, that Maud Gonne suggested he rather marry her
daughter, Iseult.
Probably neither story is true although marriage to the daughter had a greater chance of bearing offspring
than did the poet's marrying the mother.
It seems also likely that the proposal to Gonne herself was more a point of etiquette and that the poet
couched it with such conditions that refusal was the intention.
Yeats did then propose to the daughter but she likewise turned him down. Within months, however, the
poet married the 24 year-old Georgie Hyde-Lees with whom he had two children.
Yeats won several awards for his work, including the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. He died in France
in January 1939 at the age of 74.
Have you looked at the questions in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer the following questions:
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.
- Why does the poet emphasize that it is autumn? (4)
[Need help?]
There are probably two reasons for this:
It is indeed autumn and the poet is particularly struck by the wonderful colours and the beauty of the chill
air. Autumn was probably also the time when the swans arrived.
It is also possible that the poet, being himself about 52 years of age, had reached the autumn of his sexual
life.
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- Why is the term "nine-and-fifty" used? Why does the poet not say
"fifty-nine"? (2)
[Need help?]
Poetic licence allows the poet to use whichever term best suits him. The rhythm of the poem, however,
would prefer "nine-and-fifty".
It sounds better to say, "Upon the brimming water among the stones | Are nine-and-fifty swans"
than it does to say, "Upon the brimming water among the stones | Are fifty-nine swans"!
By the way, is there any reason for their being 59 swans rather than their being an even number?
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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.
- What is the significance of it being the nineteenth autumn? (4)
[Need help?]
The most obvious reason is probably that the poet has been counting the swans for 19 years.
For 19 years, therefore, he has been keeping the tally of how many swans there are, and whether or not
the number is shrinking. Their number could be shrinking because of the growth of the industrial cities
and therefore pollution, causing the swans to seek homes elsewhere.
It does seem, though, that the poet has recently broken up with a lady friend. The memory of the swans
-- and the counting thereof -- is possibly somehow connected to this friendship.
The 19 autumns mark the passing of time, the years he has spent visiting with his friend, years of
happiness. But now everything is sad because she is no longer there.
Is that the reason for their being 59 swans: one swan (his lady love) is no longer with him?
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- Why has the poet been counting the swans? (4)
[Need help?]
For 19 years the poet has been keeping the tally of how many swans there are, and whether or not the
number is shrinking.
Their number could be shrinking because of the growth of the industrial cities and therefore pollution,
causing the swans to seek homes elsewhere.
Have a look at the previous answer as well.
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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.
- The poet says that seeing these swans causes his heart to be sore, that "all is changed". Why
would this be so? (4)
[Need help?]
There could be two reasons for his sadness:
The poet has been counting the swans for 19 years. That is a very long time.
Is it possible that he has noticed their number is shrinking, that perhaps the rest might migrate soon to
another lake and that he will therefore lose them? (See the final stanza!)
It does seem, though, that the poet has also recently broken up with a lady friend whose friendship had
been going for a very long time. The memory of the swans, and the counting thereof, is possibly somehow
connected to this friendship.
The 19 autumns are therefore the years he has spent with his friend, years of happiness. But now
everything is sad because she is no longer there.
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- The poet speaks of "the bell-beat of their wings"? EXPLAIN the language device used
here. (4)
[Need help?]
It is definitely onomatopoeia! The word "bell-beat" attempts to capture the sound that their wings
make.
It is also definitely alliteration! The word "bell-beat" repeats the "b" consonant!
It is also definitely a metaphor! The poet says that their wings create a bell-beat, comparing their wings
to bells.
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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.
- What does the poet mean when he speaks about the swans as swimming "lover by
lover"? (4)
[Need help?]
Swans have a fondness for swimming in pairs, like two lovers holding hands.
Because of this feature, it has always been believed that swans are monogamous, i.e. they keep to one
partner their whole life. Certainly to see a pair of swans swimming together is a very romantic sight.
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- Why are the streams said to be "companionable"? (2)
[Need help?]
The streams are companionable because the swans are companionable.
Is this a transferred epithet, where an adjective describing one thing is transferred to describe
another?
It is the swans which are companionable, but the poet switches the epithet to describe the streams, saying
that the streams are companionable.
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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?
- Why should the swans one day fly away? (2)
[Need help?]
Swans make their homes on tranquil lakes and streams. With growing industrialisation and pollution, it
is possible that they would migrate elsewhere.
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