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?
* This poem is set in
Often a poem is superficially about one thing, but at a deeper level about another. Read this description of the swans and look beyond it to what it tells us of the speaker’s feelings. [Autobiographical information on Yeats suggests he’s expressing his own feelings on this occasion]
Task:
- Select the words and phrases that, as well as describing the scene, suggest that Yeats is middle-aged at the time of writing and explain each one and why the poet has chosen to use it.
- In stanza four there is an implied comparison between the swans’ and Yeats’ situation. Say in what ways he feels the swans are better off.