The Wild Swans at Coole by William Butler Yeats:


About the poet: William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), the national poet of the Republic of Ireland, was one of the finest poets of the twentieth century. He was a lyric poet, a mystic, a mythologist all at the same time. He was a poet with a distinctive form of prophetic vision and a unique political ideology. Born in Dublin, Ireland, the poet was immensely influenced by the Irish heritage, contemporary politics and nationalism. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.
  The poem, The Wild Swans at Coole, is an ideal expression of the serene beauty of Coole Park accompanied with a drastic undercurrent nostalgia .It explores the relation between man and nature. The themes of decay and mortality have been juxtaposed with the images of tranquility, beauty and the unvarying circle of the flying swans. The swans symbolize eternal youth, love and permanence in the world of decay and dejection.
Summary of the poem: The foliage of the deciduous trees is having the utmost sombre beauty of autumn. The rustic paths of the woodland are dry. The calm twilight sky  in October is reflected on the transparency of the motionless surface of the lake .On the brimming water of the rocky mountain lake, ‘ nine-and-fifty swans’ have gathered. It was nineteen years ago, when the poet observed the swans for the first time. The flock of swans rose up on their wings all of a sudden and in a haphazard way started flying in circles creating tremendous noise with their flapping wings. After nineteen years, when he witnesses the same sight, he felt that he lost the buoyancy of spirit due to his maturity and various experiences during these years. The swans swim in the cool stream in pairs paddling the cold water or fly up high in the air. The swans symbolize the indomitable spirit and passion, as their hearts have not grown old, wherever they roam. These mysterious and beautiful creatures make a wild rant in their keen pursuits of love creating a delightful spectacle for the people. But, on a certain day the poet may find that they have flown away.
                               

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