William Butler Yeats 1865-1939

William Butler Yeats in his poem, "The Wild Swans at Coole" tells of the reflection of the speaker on his thoughts and sense of growth since he has been to this spot nineteen years before. The poem starts off with the speaker telling his readers that it was a very nice, clear dry autumn night and while he took a stroll near the pond or lake he counted fifty nine swans. Did the speaker incorrectly count the swans or did fate as they would have called it came to one of the swan. Based on what I have been told swans always travel in pairs. To convey to his readers that it was such a beautiful sight, the speaker states that the water was very still so that the sky reflected from it as stated in the words, "The water mirrors a still sky" (page 1118).

"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." (page 1118, lines 7-12)

After counting the swans the speaker then continued to tell us that the first time he attempted to count them was nineteen years ago. He could not tell us how many they were at that time because before he was finished counting they flapped their wings and flew away. As the speaker continued to look upon those "brilliant creatures" his heart became sore from realizing all this time had past between his last visit and he feels he has changed, although the swans remained unchanged as stated in these words "unwearied still."

The speaker then continued to state that "Lover by lover, they paddle in the cold companionable streams or climb the air; their hearts have not grown old" (lines 19-22) to stress the point that even at looking at the swans closer they have not changed. This reminds me of two lovers that are in love and though the years come and go, to them it seems as if it is just yesterday. Then the speaker must have started to compare his life with these swans. Here were these swans "lover by lover" and he had loved a woman who he will never have as a lover. He also thought about himself how he had grown so much older but the swans, with their love for each other, stayed young forever. The manner in which the speaker is caught up in the gentle pain of personal memory contrasts sharply with the beautiful, warm swans which appear unchanged. How has this happened he must have wondered?

The speaker then continued in the last stanza as he imagined what the future holds for these swans. In these words, "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" (lines 27-30), the speaker wondered if he will be able to come back sometime and find the swans still there or will they be gone to another lake to build their nest and produce more swans. The poem did not answer these questions but it is apparent that the speaker is thinking about the future and what lies ahead in his journey. Not seeing those swans, for the author is similar to dying. Will he be alive or not to see these lovely swans again. I assume that he is thinking that he might not be alive because if after nineteen years have past and the swans are still there, why wouldn't they be there in the future years? Life's uncertainties brings several questions to mind which most people are afraid of, and Yeats is no exception to this rule.