William B.

Yeats

The wild Swans at Coole & Easter 1919

The wild swans at coole
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?
Summary ➔ The writer exposes here the beauty
of autumn, it was intended to
STANZA 1. describe how delicate and pretty
it is, specially around water.
“The trees are in their autumn beauty, ➔ He counted the swans as if he was
in the job to study each one, it
The woodland paths are dry, was more than observing there, he
wanted to know them.
➔ The introduction of the poem make
Under the October twilight the water The trees are in their readers recreate the scene, as he
autumn beauty, wanted to make them feel calm
while finding the purpose of the
The woodland paths are dry, poem.
➔ He specifically wanted to do it in
Under the October twilight the water
Coole since is a pacific place, he
Mirrors a still sky; is preparing the readers.

Upon the brimming water among the stones

Are nine-and-fifty swanS”
Summary
STANZA 2.
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.
➔ The writer changes the tone to a
more melancholic one, as you can
read, it seems he’s been there a
long time now.
➔ He seems very sad when the swans
decide to go away, as if he was
resembling that with his age or
his life.
➔ We can associate clamorous as
beautiful, just like all the path
he’s been having or as the life he
already had but like everything it
goes very fast.
Summary
STANZA 3.
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.
➔ He always loved watching the swans
as we can see, he keep saying how
beautiful and incredible this
creatures are, so we can tell he
was in love not specifically with
them but with the meaning of it:
being free.
➔ He says his heart is sore because
everything has changed, he doesn't
seem to be happy this 19th time
he’s been seeing the swans, the
reason might be that he is not the
same but the light of the swans
remains pure.
➔ When we read “trod with a lighter
tread” it means he misses being
young, like nothing mattered
before or his freedom was real and
no strings between him and the
life he has now, no
preoccupations. Not even jealousy.
Summary ➔ He seems very sad. As before, he
keeps comparing himself with the
STANZA 4. swans and his solitude.
➔ His heart is not pure anymore, he
Unwearied still, lover by lover, shows melancholy throughout the
lines, reminding him that he has
They paddle in the cold changed but the swans hasn`t .
➔ He keeps reminding us how bad is
Companionable streams or climb the air; to grow old because your passion
changes and all the reasons you
Their hearts have not grown old;
used to live for, die or simply
Passion or conquest, wander where they will, don’t exist anymore.
➔ A throwback to the past aches and
Attend upon them still. makes him uncomfortable with his
own skin.
Summary
STANZA 5.
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?
➔ Apparently the swans are the only
thing that is stable in his life.
We can read the fear of losing
that stability.
➔ “mysterious, beautiful” he
believes in uncertainty, he can’t
predict what will happen to them,
which is marvellous at the same
time. Life is unexpected.
➔ He explores here how fragile human
life is, he reminds us about our
mortality, that we are not gods
and time is a life changer.
➔ But also, even with aging he still
believes that life is so beautiful
and it can be sad sometimes but
thats why life is what it is.
key words
1. Swans: immutable.
2. life: time.
3. sadness: overwhelming.
4. solitude: heart ache.
5. aging: curse yet beautiful.
6. Autumn: good time to remember.
easter 1916
I have met them at close of day
Coming with vivid faces
From counter or desk among grey
Eighteenth-century houses.
I have passed with a nod of the head
Or polite meaningless words,
Or have lingered awhile and said
Polite meaningless words,
And thought before I had done
Of a mocking tale or a gibe
To please a companion
Around the fire at the club,
Being certain that they and I
But lived where motley is worn:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
That woman's days were spent
In ignorant good-will,
Her nights in argument
Until her voice grew shrill.
What voice more sweet than hers
When, young and beautiful,
She rode to harriers?
This man had kept a school
And rode our wingèd horse;
This other his helper and friend
Was coming into his force;
He might have won fame in the end,
So sensitive his nature seemed,
So daring and sweet his thought.
This other man I had dreamed
A drunken, vainglorious lout.
He had done most bitter wrong
To some who are near my heart,
Yet I number him in the song;
He, too, has resigned his part
In the casual comedy;
He, too, has been changed in his turn,
Transformed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
Hearts with one purpose alone
Through summer and winter seem
Enchanted to a stone
To trouble the living stream.
The horse that comes from the road,
The rider, the birds that range
From cloud to tumbling cloud,
Minute by minute they change;
A shadow of cloud on the stream
Changes minute by minute;
A horse-hoof slides on the brim,
And a horse plashes within it;
The long-legged moor-hens dive,
And hens to moor-cocks call;
Minute by minute they live:
The stone's in the midst of all.
Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.
O when may it suffice?
That is Heaven's part, our part
To murmur name upon name,
As a mother names her child
When sleep at last has come
On limbs that had run wild.
What is it but nightfall?
No, no, not night but death;
Was it needless death after all?
For England may keep faith
For all that is done and said.
We know their dream; enough
To know they dreamed and are dead;
And what if excess of love
Bewildered them till they died?
I write it out in a verse—
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
political context
Summary
I have met them at close of day
Coming with vivid faces
From counter or desk among grey
Eighteenth-century houses.
I have passed with a nod of the head
Or polite meaningless words,
Or have lingered awhile and said
Polite meaningless words,
And thought before I had done
Of a mocking tale or a gibe
To please a companion
Around the fire at the club,
Being certain that they and I
But lived where motley is worn:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
➔ He describes Dublin and the aging
of the buildings and the memories
of 18 centuries that have passed.
➔ He remembers his crosses of
history through his life, how
everything is different now, Yates
likes to remind how things
changes.
➔ He remarks here the social classes
that were at the time and also how
bad and wrong he was for being
part of one.
➔ The club was a socialite made for
rich people, it came from England.
“Terrible beauty” as the
rebels.The Easter Rising was
terrible because of its violence
and loss of life, but the beauty
was in the dream of independence,
a “winged horse” of romantic
imagination.
 Summary
That woman's days were spent
➔ Constance Markievicz was In ignorant good-will,
part of the Easter Her nights in argument
Rising, he is remembering Until her voice grew shrill.
her and all those womens What voice more sweet than hers
that fought for the When, young and beautiful,
She rode to harriers?
independence in the army.
This man had kept a school
➔ Horses here might
And rode our wingèd horse;
represent tenacity such This other his helper and friend
as it did in the Was coming into his force;
mythology. He might have won fame in the end,
➔ John MacBride he hates So sensitive his nature seemed,
him because in those So daring and sweet his thought.
times, Yates was in love This other man I had dreamed
with his wife. Rising A drunken, vainglorious lout.
He had done most bitter wrong
also means bitterness in
To some who are near my heart,
his love life.
Yet I number him in the song;
➔ He was a fan of
He, too, has resigned his part
Shakespeare, so thats why In the casual comedy;
he says “casual comedy” He, too, has been changed in his turn,
more like a tragedy. Transformed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
Summary
Hearts with one purpose alone
Through summer and winter seem
Enchanted to a stone
To trouble the living stream.
The horse that comes from the road,
The rider, the birds that range
From cloud to tumbling cloud,
Minute by minute they change;
A shadow of cloud on the stream
Changes minute by minute;
A horse-hoof slides on the brim,
And a horse plashes within it;
The long-legged moor-hens dive,
And hens to moor-cocks call;
Minute by minute they live:
The stone's in the midst of all.
➔ “hearts with one purpose alone”
refers to those rebels who are
against England and want freedom.
He says it as the passion of
liberty and respect.
➔ He is comparing the tenacity of
those hearts fighting with the
Horses. As mentioned before,
“winged horse” like Pegasus.
➔ 16 lines for 16 deceased people he
valued.
➔ He knew those hearts were about to
make history.

● “too long a sacrifice” like
if it was really worth it to
bring Ireland to
independence.
● What is Ireland without
their people? Nothing. Thats
why he remarks if being
dependent is more of a whim
than a real necessity.
● Thomas MacDonagh, mentioned
in the poem's final stanza,
was executed for his role in
the Easter 1916 uprising.
The memebers written here
gave freedom but also their
live, thats why at the end
he still remarks “terrible
beauty is born.
Summary
Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.
O when may it suffice?
That is Heaven's part, our part
To murmur name upon name,
As a mother names her child
When sleep at last has come
On limbs that had run wild.
What is it but nightfall?
No, no, not night but death;
Was it needless death after all?
For England may keep faith
For all that is done and said.
We know their dream; enough
To know they dreamed and are dead;
And what if excess of love
Bewildered them till they died?
I write it out in a verse—
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.