Examine three poems by Auden and Yeats and compare how they present the struggle of man.

Examine three poems by Auden and Yeats and compare how they present the struggle of man. Two poets who are influenced by different individuals yet both come together to produce poems which expose the same image, the struggle of man, are William Butler Yeats and Wystan Hugh Auden. W.B.Yeats, born in Dublin and the son of an Irish painter, hastily revealed, after returning from his childhood life in County Sligo, that he preferred poetry, hence resulting in the rejection of his studies on painting. Yeats became involved in a protest, which was against the cultural power of English rule on Ireland. Apart from Irish mythology and folklore, Maud Gonne was a big influence on Yeats' poetry. Gonne was just as famous as Yeats, but for her beauty and her passion for politics. It is evident that Gonne influences Yeats, as Ireland was "no country for old men", which suggests that Ireland is not a place for old people not fit to fight, which then implicitly depicts the political torment that Ireland was experiencing. On the other hand, W.H.Auden born in York and educated at Christ's Church, Oxford. Thomas Hardy, William Blake, Emily Dickinson and Gerard Manley Hopkins influenced Auden. He had remarkable intelligence in which he would employ the writing styles of other poets such as Emily Dickinson. Yeats' work can be compared with the work of Auden as both often metaphorically represented

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Commentary on 'The Wild Swans at Coole' by W.B. Yeats

Ruth Haines Commentary on 'The Wild Swans at Coole' by W.B. Yeats 'The wild Swans at Coole' is a poignant and contemplative Poem written by Yeats typical of his spiritualistic and mysterious style. It was written towards the end of his career/life, reflecting his growing realisation of human immortality in that he is growing older and nearing the end of his life. Throughout the poem Yeats constantly uses the strong image of swans, which to him appear immortal, as a contrast to his own fading life to communicate his awareness of human transience. To compliment the development of this idea of nearing death, Yeats uses a combination of natural imagery, soft language and the form of a regular lyric to create an overall serene and slightly melancholic quality to the poem. At the beginning of poem, particularly in the first stanza the use of natural imagery and language creates a calm and serene tone. The poem follows a regular lyric structure in six stanzas of six lines each, it alternates four beat and three beat lines with the rhyming structure of ABCBDD. This helps to endure a feeling of movement/flow and it reinforces the calm tone created by the other literacy techniques used. The use of words such as 'October', 'Autumn' and 'Twilight' not only create the sense of time at which this poem is set, but all three evoke images of nearing the end of a time period and could be

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  • Word count: 1098
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth

Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth is a work containing elements of satire, portrayed through Thady. It is to these satiric elements that it owes much of its subtlety. Castle Rackrent is an achievement because of what lies in the subject matter and the narrative methods through which Maria Edgeworth presents her characterisation, language, imagery, tone and satire. These methods are wrapped in the subtlety that comes from total control. The most substantial and remarkable aspect about the novel is the subtlety of its implications. In her dealings with the Edgeworthstown tenants Maria Edgeworth gained first hand knowledge of Irish peasant life and of the peculiarities of Irish peasant character, which form the basis for the success of Castle Rackrent both as a social document and as a work of fiction. At the centre of Maria Edgeworth's work is the 'Big House' itself, which is the symbolic focus of the Protestant Ascendancy's preoccupation with its own decline. 'The big house', the manor houses of the Anglo Irish ascendancy, are often used as a 'metaphor which might allow the author to explore the socially disintegrated world of the protestant ascendancy' Castle Rackrent was published in 1800, 'the first "Big House" novel set on an ascendancy estate, was the first Irish family chronicle, and the first fictional book to make Irish history and politics central to its

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Sunil Mirpuri

Sunil Mirpuri September 26, 2006 IB English HLII Commentary The Wild Swans at Coole "The Wild Swans at Coole" by W.B. Yeats, portrays the concept of time as the predominant theme through an illustrious comparison to swans. Yeats manages to depict his life sorrow for the time that has passed him by; nevertheless, he does so through a very elaborate yet depressing diction and through incisive images which mend the reader's mind into capturing Yeat's thoughts and emotions. Furthermore, the structure of "The Wild Swans at Coole", although simple and romantic, goes hand-in-hand with the images and the diction in expressing Yeat's depressing and melancholic tone towards his ageing life. Yeats' use of diction throughout "The Wild Swans at Coole" emphasizes his tone of melancholy and nostalgia towards the swans, which are a symbol of time. In the very first stanza of the poem, a description of the narrator's surroundings, the narrator instantly starts using words such as "autumn," "dry," and "still" to establish a dark atmosphere and a depressing tone. Yeats, by starting the poem with the latter, allows the reader to understand the immediate sorrow he is feeling and will feel throughout the poem. Moreover, the word "still" is a motif throughout the poem as it is repeated in various occasions. For example, when Yeats writes, "Unwearied still, lover by lover,/They paddle in the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Wild Swans at Coole (analysis essay)

The Wild Swans at Coole The Wild Swans, written by William Yeats is a poem about how the swans inhabit Coole park. However, this is just a metaphor for what the poem is actually about, the poem really touches on something much deeper - lost time and unaquired love. The poem is written in a melancholy tone which is suggestive of how he is feeling towards life and especially his love. On a more personal level, the poem reflects Yeats' unanswered love for Maud Gonne. Yeats sets a still and weathered scene in the first stanza. The word autumn in the first line symbolizes something coming to an end, and this is further emphasized by the time of day, "under the October twilight the water/ Mirrors a still sky." This lack of movement reminds the reader of death and emptiness. In the last line Yeats mentions the subjects of the poem, "nine-and-fifty swans", which is an odd number. This is significant because he later refers to the swans as couples in the third stanza, "Unwearied still, lover by lover," meaning that one swan must be alone, missing a companion. This might be Yeats' way of including himself and his rejection in the poem. In the following stanza, Yeats expresses a sense of sudden surprise in his life through, "The nineteenth autumn has come upon me.... I saw, before I had well finished." The final two lines of the second stanza may be references to the sudden violence

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Focusing on Wild Swans at Coole, discuss the theme of time and change in Yeats.

Focusing on ‘Wild Swans at Coole’, discuss the theme of time and change in Yeats. The theme of time and change bringing with it loss and regret is a constant one in Yeats' work, particularly in his later poems. 'The innocent and the beautiful / Have no enemy but time', he says in 'In memory of Eva Gore Booth and Con Markievicz'. Yet despite the onset of old age, and the failings of his strength and vitality, Yeats kept his passions to the end. 'Why should not old men be mad?' he asks in a poem of that name. At the end of his life, bitterly reviewing the works of his imagination, he describes them as 'circus animals' ('The Circus Animals Desertion'). His 'ladder' is gone, he says (his poetic imagination) and he must lie down 'Where all the ladders start / In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart'. In 'Sailing to Byzantium' he describes his heart as 'sick with desire and fastened to a dying animal'. In his old age he is like 'A tattered coat upon a stick'. Though old age has its compensations too; in 'Sailing to Byzantium' he finds comfort in the intellect, and aesthetic beauty. He wishes (after death) to be gathered 'Into the artifice of Eternity'. After his bitter description of old age, he adds 'Unless / Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing / For every tatter in its mortal dress'. His poetry is his consolation. But his attitude towards his aging self

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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In the light of 'Leda and The Swan' and 'The Second Coming' describe Yeats' cyclical views of human history.

In the light of 'Leda and The Swan' and 'The Second Coming' describe Yeats' cyclical views of human history. Yeats was an irish poet, dramatist and prose writer, who was born in Dublin in 1865 and as a young boy moved between London and Ireland, witnessing the effects of the Republican Movement in Dublin. His ability to oppose the oppression of Ireland under the influence of England, was reinforced by his ability to write some of the best poems in English literature in the 20th century. Although Yeats was profoundly interested in poetry, when he studied at the Theosophical Society, he began to appreciate mysticism, as it was a form of imagination which was largely removed from the hardships in Ireland which he had experienced. His interest in mysticism turned into a life long hobby, which saw him conjure up a paradigm of the gyres and cycles which are applicable to every person, culture, process and period of time, and thus includes historical events from thousands of years ago. His most famous ideas include The Theory of the Mask, and The Great Wheel. The Theory of the Mask represents two dominant modes of civilisation that can be used to explain phases of an individuals psychological development, as the two interpenetrating gyres represent different characteristics. The primary gyre emphasises truth, goodness peace and rationalism, while the antithetical gyre is related to

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Discuss ways in which Yeats presents freedom and escapism in The Stolen Child

Discuss ways in which Yeats presents freedom and escapism in ‘The Stolen Child’ Yeats’ ‘The Stolen Child’ presents a world where faeries encourage escapism and promote a sense of freedom in their own world, suggesting to the ‘child’ in the poem to escape to their own mystical ‘leafy island’, akin to being in a dream, far away from the child’s actual world that is ‘full of weeping’. The first stanza immediately indicates the setting as a far away, remote place, stating that it is ‘where dips a rocky highland’, and there ‘[lying] a leafy island’, a large emphasis placed on nature in order to create a feeling of freedom and escapism that the ‘child’ in the text is enticed with. Yeats describes how the ‘faeries’ attempt to make this mystical place more enticing to the child by describing the faeries as having their own ‘faery vats, full of berries, and of reddest stolen cherries’, bold red as indication to the faeries’ world being entirely different from the world that the child lives in, and how the faeries could bring escape into the child’s life and allow the child to experience the world away from normality, evidenced by the faeries in their constant drone to ‘Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild’, far away and distant. The mixed rhyming scheme employed by Yeats further enhances the mystical effect of the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The theme of the beauty and mystery of life in Yeats' "Wild Swans at Coole".

Explain how Yeats presents the beauty and mystery of life, love and human experience in “Wild Swans At Coole” “Wild Swans at Coole” was written in the later stage of Yeats’s poetic life at the age of 51; 19 years after his first visit to Coole Park. Yeats is possibly seen to be reminiscent of his times as a young man with the world ahead of him as he compares himself to the majestic swans. His envy and appreciation of the swan can be seen to reflect on his love and experiences, and the true nature of Yeats. Additionally, the uncertain future of the swans and the doubt of their existence later on could suggest how mysterious and unpredictable life is and that there is a lack constants in life. These broad themes are also present in Yeats’s earlier poems such as “The Stolen Child” where human experiences are seen to be taken away by the fairies. Also, the theme of mystery is shared in the image of the gyres in multiple poems. However, the themes in “Wild Swans at Coole” are also quite different to some poems which reflect on Yeats’s conflicted writing and his experiences in life. The theme of the beauty and mystery of life is explored throughout the poem. Yeats is seen to be in awe of the swans and their brilliance. Their sheer beauty makes Yeats appreciate life which can possibly be seen by the phrase “Delight men’s eyes”. This shows the beauty of

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Discuss the way Yeats explores the theme of destruction in "Leda and the Swan".

Discuss the ways Yeats explores the theme of destruction in Leda and The Swan “Leda and the Swan”, written in 1923 yet published in 1928 as part of “The Tower” collection by Yeats, illustrates the brutal act of rape. According to Greek mythology, Zeus – the ruler of the Olympus – descends to Earth in the form of a swan and rapes Leda – the queen of Sparta. Yeats represents Zeus to be deceptive and there is a sense of duality because he is committing a sin whilst being a god and a swan, which are both majestic beings. However, near the end of the poem Yeats considers what has been created from the destruction; the most beautiful woman ever to set foot in Greek history. Hence, Yeats ponders if this immoral act was truly destructive. The true destructive nature of the poem is presented via the detailed description of the swan’s dominance over Leda’s vulnerability and this is shown through a variety of phrases, “Above the staggering girl”, “dark webs” and “Nape caught in his bill”. As the swan is seen to be “above” Leda is suggests a sense of complete dominance over her and undermines Leda. Also, as she is “staggering” it shows that she not in control of herself anymore which emphasises her weakness. Moreover, the dominance is expressed through the fact that Leda is displayed to be trapped by the swan. The “dark webs” and “[her] nape

  • Word count: 1700
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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