SWANS

On the surface Yeats’s poems in The Wild Swans at Coole suggest that his relationship with nature has began to fissure in some way. It seems the optimism and wonder he once held for nature as evidenced in Seven Woods has transformed into feelings of desertion. In this collections namesake Yeats writes, “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.” From this I gather that nature has shown Yeats how he has changed and he is subsequently saddened by it. How is it that “their hearts have not grown old,” but his has? Yeats envies the swans and their ability to remain true to their partner (swans choose a mate and stick with them for their entire life) and “attend upon them still” with a heart unchanged by outside circumstances.

‘Lines Written in Dejection’ follows a similar theme. Its title says it all: dejection. Yeats is again the solitary observer (“when have I last looked on…”) who has been left out and left behind and age seems to have something to do with it. “And now that I have come to fifty years I must endure the timid sun.” The moon has left him with only the sun and taken with he a sense of wonder and magic (the witches and centaurs.) This poem suggests to me that with age, Yeats has discovered that he does not have the same optimistic views of nature as he did when he was younger – but desperately wants to return tot hat state of mind.

QUESTIONS
- Is it Yeats’s age that was cause for his changing perspective on nature or was there a significant event in his personal life that lead to these changes?
- There is a lot of imagery of things “vanishing” in this collection – how does this create a mood that differs from Seven Woods?