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The Wild Swans at Coole

BY WILLIAM BUTLER 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.
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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?

About The Poet:-

William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) was
an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century
literature. Yeats was born in Sandymount, Ireland, and educated
there and in London. He spent childhood holidays in County
Sligo and studied poetry from an early age, when he became
fascinated by Irish legends. In 1889, Yeats met Maud Gonne, a
23-year-old English heiress and ardent Irish Nationalist. Yeats
began an obsessive infatuation, and she had a significant and
lasting effect on his poetry and his life thereafter. “The Wild
Swans at Coole”, written by Yeats, got published in a collection of
the same name in 1917.

Explanation to the Poem:-

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.

• Brimming means overflowing.

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• Woodland means land covered with woody vegetation.

• Hue means colour.
• Alluring means beautiful

William Butler Yeats commences the poem by depicting the

scenic beauty of a place called Coole. The trees in the woodland
look beautiful because they are in an autumnal phase. The trees
create an attractive sight because the leaves of the trees are full
of autumnal colours. The leaves of the trees have transitioned
(changed) from their green colour to shades of yellow, red or
orange. These autumnal hues make the trees attractive.

The above picture is a depiction of autumnal leaves.

Since the poet has described autumnal scenery, therefore, the

woodland’s paths are dry. The poet then continues to describe a
lake at Coole Park that reflects the calm and motionless (still)
sky in an October evening. The poet then displays his observant
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skill when he says that he can see fifty-nine swans swimming in

that lake that seem to be overflowing with water. Hence, the
poet has introduced the poem with an alluring description of the
Coole Park and its surroundings.

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.

• Clamorous means making a loud and confused noise.

• Melancholy means sadness.
• Nostalgia means a bittersweet longing for the
things/moments of the past
• Fluttering means to flap the wings or to move the wings
up and down.
• Manifestation means to make something obvious to the
understanding or to make something evident to the
senses, especially to the sight.

The poet adds a tinge of melancholy and nostalgia to the poem as

he says that it has been nineteen years when he first came to the
Coole Park and counted the swans swimming in the lake. The
poet then continues to recall the last time that he counted the
swans. Before he counted all the swans back then, the swans
flew up in the sky and scattered in huge broken circles, thereby
creating a loud noise by fluttering their wings. This image of the
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swans flying in the sky while clamorously fluttering their wings

is in itself a manifestation of the natural beauty of Coole.

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.

• Grief means unhappiness.

• Tread means the steps taken while walking.
• Entanglement means being caught in barriers or obstruction.
• Devoid means completely without something.

The poet continues to say that the swans still look beautiful and lively.
The sight of the liveliness and beauty of the swans make the poet’s heart
sore. He feels a sense of grief because everything has changed since he
last stood on the shore of the lake and heard the swans beating their
wings creating a loud noise similar to the noise that is produced by the
beating of the bells. The poet’s grief could be attributed to his
entanglement in the constant worries of life and his realization that the
swans live a life that is devoid of any worries. The poet continues to
claim that nineteen years ago, he used to walk with lighter steps. This is
perhaps an indication towards the poet’s past life when he could walk
freely, without being constantly burdened with the worries of life.
However, the poet is now in a state of distress due to the miseries and
complexities of life and therefore, he cannot imagine a burden free
existence for himself unlike the swans.

Unwearied still, lover by lover,

They paddle in the cold
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Companionable streams or climb the air;

Their hearts have not grown old;
Passion or conquest, wander where they will,
Attend upon them still.

The above is a picture of swans paddling in the lake at Coole

Park (Ireland).

• Unwearied means not tired or becoming tired.

• Paddle means swim with short fast strokes.
• Streams means a narrow, small river.

The poet continues to compare himself and life with the life of
the swans. The poet says that the swans are not tired of the
worries of life unlike him. The swans either paddle in the cold
water or they fly in the air with their companions. The poet then
claims that the hearts of the swans are still full of passion and
vigour and they are carefree enough to wander wherever they
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want. On the contrary, the poet has grown weary with the
passage of time and his life is devoid of companionship.

The above is a picture of swans flying (climbing) in the air.

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?

• Wearisome means tired.

• Anxious means nervous.

The poet continues to admire the swans as they float on the surface of
the motionless water. The poet consider the swans as beautiful,
mysterious creatures but he says that he does not know the future course
of actions of the swans. He does not know the location where they will
build their nests, neither is he aware whether they will continue to stay at
the lake in Coole or they will fly away. He wonders which men’s eyes
will be delighted by the swans when he would wake up from his sleep to
find that the birds have flown away from Coole to some other
destination. Hence, the poet fears that one day, even the swans will leave
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him alone. This signifies that the poet has perhaps lost a lot in his life as
a result of which he has become wearisome and anxious.

Thematic Concerns:-

1. The Instability of Human Existence:-

Through the poem, the poet has beautifully
presented the undeniable fact that the human
existence is unstable. Human beings have to
constantly face the ravages of time and age.
With the passage of time, they are bound to
lose their youth, vigour, energy, passion and
even the people who are dearest to them.
Hence, in the race of life, human beings
gradually become wearisome (tired) because
of the constraints that are placed upon them
by time and age.

2.The Constancy Of Nature:-

In the poem, the poet has placed nature in a
position of stability and constancy. Unlike
human beings, nature does not wither away
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with the passage of time rather it remains

constant and unchanged. Hence, the swans
that represent nature remain unchanged even
after nineteen years whereas the poet
becomes old, weary and devoid of zeal
(enthusiasm).

3. Isolation as a Source of Melancholy:-

Through the poem, the poet also advocated
the fact that isolation is a source of misery for
human beings. The poet feels melancholic
when he witnesses the swans paddling in the
lake at Coole while he is devoid of
companionship. Hence, he subtly says that
human beings have a tendency of loving and
being loved in return and a lack of
comradeship brings grief in their lives.

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