Objectives: Introduce and annotate the poem W.B. Yeats – The Wild Swans at Coole Date: Objectives: Introduce and annotate the poem Explore the theme of Lost Love and Nature.

Warm-up I see, I think, I wonder. One sentence for each.

Context Yeats was in love with an actress named Maud Gonne. She did not feel the same way. He was kind of creepy, asking out her daughter once and following Maud Gonne to France when her husband died in the 1916 Easter Rising. This is him, having ‘moved on’ after.

The Wild Swans at Coole by W.B. 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. 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?

Notes– stanza one The poets describes the beauty of Coole park in autumn. This season is linked to the slowing down and death of things. The land is dry and barren while the water is “brimming” with life. Question: Swans mate for life yet there are 59 swans. Can we link this, autumn or the dry land to Yeats and Maud. Twilight: Sunset Brimming: Full Odd number

Notes– Form Classic rhyming scheme – a four line rhyme and rhyming couplet. Meant to be pleasant, like the swans. The power and beauty of the poem comes from the swans and what they symbolise.

Notes– stanza 1 The poets describes the beauty of Coole park in autumn. This season is linked to the slowing down and death of things. The land is dry and barren while the water is “brimming” with life. Question: Swans mate for life yet there are 59 swans. Can we link this, autumn or the dry land to Yeats and Maud. Twilight: Sunset Brimming: Full Odd number

Notes – stanza 2 The poet has been counting these swans for a long time. Before he is done though they fly away. As they do, the swans look like circles or rings which are the symbol for eternity. While he is getting older then, the swans don’t seem to. Question: Is Maud Gonne a swan here? What would that mean? 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: Loud and confusing noise

Notes – stanza 2 The poet has been counting these swans for a long time. Before he is done though they fly away. As they do, the swans look like circles or rings which are the symbol for eternity. While he is getting older then, the swans don’t seem to. . Question: Is Maud Gonne a swan here? What would that mean? Clamorous: Loud and confusing noise

Notes – Stanza 3 The poet is sad at what has changed. He is no longer a young man and has spent many years admiring this beauty. There is the sense that he regrets his failed romance. Question: He had “Trod with a lighter tread”. What does that mean? (Trod is the past tense of tread). 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.

Notes – Stanza 3 The poet is sad at what has changed. He is no longer a young man and has spent many years admiring this beauty. There is the sense that he regrets his failed romance. . Question: He had “Trod with a lighter tread”. What does that mean? (Trod is the past tense of tread).

Notes – Stanza 4 The poet admires and envies the swans. They are different than him. They are full of energy, life and love. They have partners to keep them warm and they seem not to age. Question: This is in contrast to Yeats. How he is different? 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. Unwearied: not tired

Notes – Stanza 4 The poet admires and envies the swans. They are different than him. They are full of energy, life and love. They have partners to keep them warm and they seem not to age. Question: This is in contrast to Yeats. How he is different? Unwearied: not tired

Notes – Stanza 5 The swans will continue floating peacefully on the water even when the poet is gone. They might make other people happy because they will stay the same beautiful creatures. The poet cannot stay with them any longer though. Question: What comes after Autumn and what does it imply? 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?

Notes – Stanza 5 The swans will continue floating peacefully on the water even when the poet is gone. They might make other people happy because they will stay the same beautiful creatures. The poet cannot stay with them any longer though. Question: What comes after Autumn and what does it imply?

Questions: Remember “quotes”. Why is the poet sad? In your answer, discuss the differences between the poet and the swans. How do you respond to the end of the poem? Do you find it sad, optimistic or maybe a mixture of both? Choose your favourite image from the poem and explain why you have chosen it.