Mystery Passage Monday - Essay

        Though the structure of the poem is very important, the ideas and the ways in which the narrator expresses these are just as important. The use of end rhymes throughout the poem makes the poem less rigid and smoother, allowing the reader to understand to concept of age. The presence of the end rhyme is not highlighted, further demonstrating the idea that aging happens rapidly, without knowledge. Thought end rhyme is an important aspect of the development and understanding of the poem, it is not the only literary device present.

        “The Wild Swans at Coole” by W.B. Yeats conforms to the idea of allegory. Allegory is identified as, where an aspect of a story or poem is a representation of something; it is usually of a larger abstract concept or event in the authors’ life. “The Wild Swans at Coole” by W.B. Yeats” provides an interesting allegory in life, illustrating the aging theme, as all things will grow old in time. In the first stanza, the author says “...Are nine and fifty swans.” (Yeats, 6), which illustrates the complexity of aging as easily overlooked.

        The narrator, just based on the attitude the poem emulates, seems to be reminiscent of the autumn season. His outlooks changes from happiness and nostalgia to fear, of the issues associated with aging. The narrator says that within the nineteen years “The nineteenth autumn has come upon me” (Yeats, 7) and watched them “All suddenly mount/ And scatter wheeling in great broken rings.” (Yeats 10-11). The word “nineteenth” (Yeats, 7) acts as a signifier that indicates that time has passed. In addition, the word “suddenly” (Yeats, 10) indicates how fast, and indeed, the fear of the approaching age in which the narrator has seen the swans at Coole. In addition, the narrator also seems obsessive with age and the concept of time passing. As he watches them leave, he realizes how quickly he could lose himself in age and time.

        It seems to me as though the author, Yeats, wrote this poem with great understanding and conviction of someone of old age. Yeats writes “…bell-beat of their wings above my head/ Trod with a lighter tread,” which indicates the idea of age easily slipping away, without the ability to catch up to it and grasp it. “Trod” (Yeats, 18) has the connotations of walking lightly, with haste, being careful not to disrupt something. In this line however, the word “trod” (Yeats, 18) could signify the hastened pace in which the swans flew away.

        Though the idea of growing old seems to scare Yeats a bit, I think of aging in another way. My grandmother was an excellent believer of old age and getting wiser as you get older. She never used to be in fear of getting old, however, weeks before she passed away, that was one of the things in which she told me. My grandmother’s old age led to her death in a sense, because she felt as though she was unable to depend on herself and move about the way she did when she was young. Like Yeats, the fear of old age seems to come from the fear of not being independent.

        Yeats holds up the idea of hope during and after aging, as well as demonstrating how well the swans are a testament for old age and the beauty of it. Towards the end, the narrators tone becomes more plantative, indicating the acception of old age, but still hints the subtle pain in which he feels about time changing. This is placed against the ideas of the swans and their symbol of hope, wise ness, old age and the idea of welcoming change as a mysterious beauty. In the end, Yeats idea that though aging may be unwelcome and scary, the swans and the seasons demonstrate how aging and time change can be more beautiful if accepted.