Create Interest In W. B. Yeats The Wild Swans At Coole

Life experiences and personal ideologies create interest in the poetry of W.B. Yeats- “The Wild Swans at Coole”

Life experiences, both positive and negative, deeply influence an individual’s perceptions and understanding of life and in turn are the deciding factor in what ideologies the individual accepts. William Butler Yeats was one of the most influential modern poets and was deeply influenced by his unfortunate life experiences and subsequently unorthodox personal ideologies which are especially obvious in “The Wild Swans at Coole”. His strong but ultimately futile endearment to Maud Gonne that lasted almost three decades played a large role both personally and professionally along with fascination with the occult and supernatural and his

Yeats believed major events in human history happened in 2000 year cycles or ‘gyres’. This ideology of cycles of life is repeated throughout the poem in varying degrees of transparency as seen in “The trees are in their autumn beauty, the woodland paths are dry, under the October twilights the water”. This is representative of his supernatural beliefs as the seasons are of a cycle with autumn one of the last seasons. “October twilight” also is the midpoint between day and night and refers to a liminal zone of change alluding to his change in thoughts and perceptions. Yeats wrote this poem after his last proposal and consequently shifted away from Gonne understanding he must move on as he was ageing or will otherwise be lonely. The quote “and scatter wheeling in great broken rings upon their clamorous wings” alludes back to the “broken” and platonic relationship between Gonne and Yeats. The broken rings represent ‘gyres’ and how his hope for a cyclical and loving relationship with Gonne never occurred. Therefore, his fascination in the occult and supernatural creates interest in his poetry by enabling multifaceted opinions to

“The nineteenth autumn has come upon me since I made my first count” relates to how the protagonist has aged and matured and shown personal growth in comparison swans which are seen as timeless creatures. This relates to why Yeats married as a response to his awareness understanding that he is ageing and must move on. “Companionable streams or climb the air; they’re hearts have not grown old” has an underlying motif of ageing and the degradation of abilities associated. The usage of “companionable stream” shows that the streams were made to be enjoyed and travelled with a significant other, in this case alluding to the relationship between Maud and Gonne. The line “they’re hearts have not grown old” is representative of the imperfect and platonic relationship between Yeats and Gonne and strongly alludes to the timeless relationship Yeats wanted. Yeats uses a rough iambic pentameter creates rhythm and flow, allowing the multiple and contrasting ideas present in the poem to flow. The traditional ballad format of the poem also creates familiarity amidst the deeply philosophical ideologies present in the poem, allowing the reader to appreciate the ideas present. Therefore, Yeats realisations of ageing, youth and love influenced “The Wild Swans at Coole” by using these