The Wild Swans at Coole Analysis

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The Wild Swans at Coole Coole Park is an area located in Dublin, Ireland. Coole Park consists of wooded areas, swans, and “disappearing” lakes. The author of “The Wild Swans at Coole,” W.B. Yeats used to visit every year, for the past twenty years, to observe the swans. Yeats notices that the swans haven’t changed over the course of twenty years, but he has changed and aged. “The Wild Swans at Coole” seems to be a poem about aging. However, this poem is about having to endure life in isolation. The reader notices that Yeats only counts fifty-nine swans – which means one swan does not have a companion. Therefore, the reader questions if Yeats sees himself as the lonely swan. Another thing to note is that “The Wilde Swans at Coole” was influenced by Yeats loving a woman who refused his proposals several times. Yeats uses the contrast of circular time and linear time to exhibit how his life compares and contrasts from the swans’ lives. Yeats also uses tone, the aspect of singular versus plural, time, and verb tense to showcase how he feels about his loneliness having to be tolerated. The fluctuation of tone helps the reader follow the different feelings of Yeats. The poem reveals that he feels at peace, surprised, sad, and reflective. The poem begins peacefully. Yeats states, “The trees in their autumn beauty,/ The woodland paths are dry,/ Under the October twilight water/ Mirrors a still sky;” (1-5). Here Yeats uses a peaceful tone to paint the visual of a lake and trees in Coole Park. The reader does not sense any signs of gloominess or contemplation in the first stanza. However, in the second stanza, the tone becomes one of surprise. “I saw, before I had well finished,/ All suddenly mount/ And scatter wheeling in great broken rings,” (9-12) explains Yeats. He is taken aback because the swans flew into the air before he could finish his usual routine of
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