"Wild Swans at Coole" by W.B. Yeats
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?
First reactions
In this poem, Yeats expresses longing for the days of nineteen years ago when he first came upon that shore. He regrets his age and his change, while the scenery here and the swans remain idle. It's quite easy to take this poem at face-value, and there's no real need to dig for a deeper, hidden meaning.
Paraphrase
The tree leaves have changed to autumn colors, the paths there are dry, and the water reflects the October sky; there are 59 swans there. There have been nineteen autumns since I began counting; before I'm done watching, the birds fly away. I have seen the swans and my heart aches. Everything has changed since I first came, stepping more lightly and hearing their beating wings. The swans are not tired and swim by their lovers, paddling in the streams or flying in the air; their hearts are not old. They feel passion and conquest and will leave whenever they feel like it. Now, they are at this lake, but where will they be and what will I do when they fly away?
Paraphrase
The tree leaves have changed to autumn colors, the paths there are dry, and the water reflects the October sky; there are 59 swans there. There have been nineteen autumns since I began counting; before I'm done watching, the birds fly away. I have seen the swans and my heart aches. Everything has changed since I first came, stepping more lightly and hearing their beating wings. The swans are not tired and swim by their lovers, paddling in the streams or flying in the air; their hearts are not old. They feel passion and conquest and will leave whenever they feel like it. Now, they are at this lake, but where will they be and what will I do when they fly away?
SWIFTT
SW – Years uses strong adjectives to express the admiration he has for the swans, as well as his regret at the change. They are focused on the scenes of nature, describing them as "companionable" and "brimming."
I – Yeats creates an ideal image of the lake, describing it in terms of the October twilight and autumnal grace. The imagery centers around the swans, which he describes as "mysterious, beautiful."
F – The figurative language centers around the heart, using it as a metaphor for change; his has become sore, while theirs has not aged.
T – The tone of the poem is one of longing and regret. In the two decades since he first visited the swans, he has changed while the scenery before him has not; he understands, however, that this too might change in the future.
T – The theme of the poem deals with change, of people and of things compared to memory. Yeats' memory of nineteen years ago will stay the same, but he has already changed, and it is impossible to say the swans will not.
Conclusions
The poem was probably not as straightforward as I thought. There's a second message there about the inevitability of change, compared to an ideal and nostalgic past. The swans certainly haven't changed, but that's coupled with an unspoken "yet."
