The Wild Swans at Coole.
The Wild Swans at Coole In The Wild Swans at Coole, Yeats recreates a moment of inspiration and awe that he experienced in his youth. He is adept at recalling the feel of that particular evening and the 'October twilight'. He includes details of the trees and woodland paths as if retracing his steps in his memory. The image of the stillness of the 'brimming water' and the sky mirrored in it is particularly effective. The stillness is contrasted with the sudden movement and breaking of the breathless serenity as the swans 'suddenly mount and scatter wheeling'. The swans are 'wild' and have that untamed beauty and freedom that resists the poet's attempts to capture them in his mind's eye. The 'broken rings' that the birds form contrasts with the symmetry of the mirrored sky. They embody a kind of natural power and strength. The poet recalls the sound of their wings as being 'clamorous' against the background of stillness with the unexpected metaphor of the 'bell-beat'. This suggests not foreboding but something joyful and uplifting, a celebration of beauty and freedom, perhaps. Or it emphasises the majestic quality of the birds. His 'lighter tread' displays the sense of delight and inspiration that he feels. The 'brilliant creatures' possess the kind of beauty that is almost wounding to the poet's artistic sensibilities; his 'heart is sore' with nostalgia and a kind of
Write a comparative discussion of 'Wild Swans at Coole' and 'The Second Coming' focusing on Yeats's varied themes and style
Write a comparative discussion of 'Wild Swans at Coole' and 'The Second Coming' focusing on Yeats's varied themes and style. Approximately 500 words. These two poems, written by the same author focus on different aspects of what was happening in his life. They are written at different times and are concerned with what is happening in his life at the time. One is concerned with world issues, such as the aftermath of World War 1, and the other, a contemplation of different aspects of his life. Both use different techniques and styles to emphasise these differing themes. 'The Second Coming' was written just after WW1 had finished, but the fighting still carried on in Ireland, and the communist revolution in Russia had just occurred. Yeats seemed to take all these events as signs that the Christian ear was coming to an end and the birth of a new god, the poems poses the question of what form this new god will take. At the time the 'Wild Swans at Coole' was written, Yeats had proposed to Maude for a second time and been refused for a second time and some of Yeats's friends had been executed in the Easter Rising of 1916. so, understandably he was depressed at the time. 'Wild Swans at Coole' has a rhyming pattern (ABCBDD) and a consistent number of lines in each stanza. This predictability of pattern and numbers, I think, represents the predictability of the swans, the fact
Sailing to Byzantium
Sailing to Byzantium W.B. Yeats' poem 'Sailing to Byzantium' is an allusion to the agony of old age and human mortality, and was written as a part of a collection of poems called 'Tower'. It is in very old verse form which is written as a narrative verse in first person, with four eight line stanzas. It has a rhyming scheme of ABABABCC, or two trios of alternating rhyme followed by one couplet. This rhyming scheme gives the reader the sense that the final two lines of each stanza are the most important, and that the first six are leading up to the conclusion of the stanza. Each line takes the rhythm of iambic pentameter. The tone of the poem provokes a sense of sadness in the reader as it tells of a man's desire to live forever, and how he can't accept that he has grown old and will soon die. This tone is reinforced by the sound of the letter 'o', heavily used throughout the poem. The poem talks of the mortality of the living, and how the elderly are a reminder of this. The youth are caught up in the moment and do not wish to be reminded that there will come a time when they too will grow old and die. Upon this realisation, he decides to travel to the holy city of Byzantium. Byzantium (which was renamed Constantinople, then Istanbul) was a city in the Eastern Roman Empire. The journey to Byzantium is not a literal one, but a metaphorical one which represents the acceptance
Yeats' Leda and the Swan
Kayla Mann Enc 110 Explication Paper 21 January 2006 Yeats' Leda and the Swan In Leda and the Swan, Yeats is describing a rape. The poem is written in the second person which suggests that it is being told by a bystander. The first stanza is describing foreplay. In the first line, "A sudden blow" is used to bring intensity, impact, and tension to the rape. It is saying Leda is taken by surprise. He has taken over her, caressing her thighs. By using the words " dark webs"(3) the speaker is suggesting that Leda cannot see the webs (the rapist) because it is dark and that she has been captured. Darkness suggests night time. He has her by the nape (back of neck). "He holds her helpless breast upon his breast" (4) suggests that the rapist is on top of Leda holding her so she can't move or fight back. Yeats uses alliteration to help bring the tension to the poem. In the second stanza, the speaker is describing the forceful intercourse. Lines five and six: "How can those terrified vague fingers push, The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?" suggests that he is forcefully thrusting his "finger" (5) into her and she is giving in because she knows she can't fight back. She can't wait for it to be over with but in the same aspect she can't help but feel the rapists compassion for her. The author also uses the metaphor "And how can body, laid in that white
Many issues led to Yeats love affair with Ireland souring, especially Maud Gonne and his dealings with her, the Elaine Gallery affair, the Death of Parnell and many others. This new sour affair with Ireland was easy seen.
Many issues led to Yeats love affair with Ireland souring, especially Maud Gonne and his dealings with her, the Elaine Gallery affair, the Death of Parnell and many others. This new sour affair with Ireland was easy seen. Later on in his career Yeats underwent a profound style change. The romantic wistfulness, the dreamy, decorative quality of much of his early verse now gave way to a manner of one more terse, astringent and masculine, which became apparent in a new volume; "The Green helmet and other poems", published in 1910, and even more strikingly evident in the next volume of poems "Responsibilities" (1914). "The fascination of whats difficult" and "the grey rock" are examples of this new style, which Yeats probably felt, with justification, to be better suited than his usual manner to the increasingly varied and public nature of his themes, but this remarkable new phase also drew from him some of the most magnificent love poems, such as the one that begins "she lived in storm and strife" from responsibilities. In one of the poems of this book, " September 1913", Yeats looked about him at the country, which he had served with such devotion and found nothing but dissolution. Seeing with sudden bitter clarity the littleness, the greyness, the meanness, the self-glorification, the prudish savagery and false piety gathering - as it seemed, incurably over the face of the
Discuss with reference to at least three poems, Yeats' treatment of Irish Concerns.
Discuss with reference to at least three poems, Yeats' treatment of Irish Concerns Yeats changes his treatment of Irish concerns throughout his life and these changes are reflected in his poetry. Three poems that reflect these changes are 'September 1913', 'Easter 1916' and 'Under Ben Bulben'. These poems show a transpositions in political thought. In 'September 1913' Yeats shows his aversion to democracy and capitalism, and expresses his belief in an aristocratic society preferably governed by elite Protestants, as they had supremacy over Catholics in his view (Chaudhry, 33). The events of the Rising initiated a metamorphosis in Yeats. 'Easter 1916' shows how Yeats (usually not supportive of violence as a political movement) credited it with achieving something (Macrae 77). This poem enables us to see that Yeats' strong belief in politics is beginning to diminish. The last poem 'Under Ben Bulben' was written in Yeats' later stage of life. It shows how Yeats has transposed his treatment of Irish concerns over time, as now, in this poem he places the responsibility not upon the politician or the martyr, but on academia and literature to invoke the new Ireland. 'September 1913' is anti-Catholic in nature. Yeats centers the poem around the need for the new Catholic middle class to come to their senses "What need you, being come to sense" and to stop exiling Protestants "wild
In 1936 Yeats wrote, "I too have tried to be modern". How does his poetry reflect the modernist movement?
In 1936 Yeats wrote, "I too have tried to be modern". How does his poetry reflect the modernist movement? Modernism is the persistent experimentation with language and form. It relies and is dependent upon poetic images and mythology. It gave licence to artists to break away from convention and gave liberation from tradition. The period between, if regarded as a time-bound concept, 1890 and 1930 (Childs, p.12) saw the emphasis shifting away from the representational towards the subjective and impressionistic. The artist's focus no longer remained on what was seen, rather how it was seen. The presentation of the artist's vision of the object was fundamental to the artists of the modernistic movement, not the object (as it was with their literary predecessors). The term 'Modernism' has many definitions and meanings. Due to the limited scope available in this essay it is not possible to include a comprehensive study of the modernistic movement. "It is now, however, perhaps both impossible and undesirable to speak of a single 'Modernism'." (Childs, p.12) This essay will be looking at the aspects that I feel are the most salient and how Yeats' poetry reflects them. One of Yeats' most famous and most anthologised poems is The Second Coming, which represents (in Yeats' conception) the end of modern history. The dramatic, fierce imagery that Yeats employs in the poem creates an
How effective is W.B Yeats in cautioning the modern reader on the melancholic, the frustrating and the falling elements in life, in his poems 'The Second Coming,' and 'A Prayer for My Daughter?'
Q. How effective is W.B Yeats in cautioning the modern reader on the melancholic, the frustrating and the falling elements in life, in his poems 'The Second Coming,' and 'A Prayer for My Daughter?' A. William Butler Yeats was a 20th Century poet. Poets at that time focused on the background of man and war, and how war has taken away the youth and deterioration of man and humanity. These poems also show how man has been reduced to a meaningless cause and how he has lost all the qualities of goodness and superiority. There are many other writers and poets that concentrate on war. One such writer that I have found is 'Earnest Hemmingway' who was a soldier in the Second World War and he presented his experience in the novel which he titled 'Farewell to Arms.' The novel presents the horrors of war and humans inability to lead a normal and meaningful life. Other such writers and poets which deal with the various elements which have contributed in making mankind dignified are John Osborne, D. H. Lawrence, T. S. Elliott and so on. Coming back to these poems, the author William Butler Yeats married late in life, in 1917, when he was 52 years old. His marriage marked a crucial turn in his life, not so much because he had married the woman of his dreams - that was Maud Gonne, and she had rejected him enough times by 1917 that he knew he would never achieve his dream of
In your view, how have poetic techniques been used to reveal memorable ideas in Yeats poetry?
In your view, how have poetic techniques been used to reveal memorable ideas in Yeats’ poetry? William Butler Yeats clever manipulation of language through the use of poetic techniques has allowed him to instill amongst his readers memorable and at times provocative ideas, ensuring his works endure throughout time. In his selected poems, The Second Coming and The Wild Swans at Coole Yeats illuminates our understanding of the complexity of conflicting desire, the passage of time and its alteration of perception. It is through this poetic treatment of ideas that Yeat’s effectively enlightens the reader to memorable ideas about the nature of humanity. The Second Coming, written in 1916 and published in 1919 explores the conflicting desires of the poet, William Butler Yeats, during a period of inevitable revolution and copious bloodshed. Yeats’s theory on the shifting of the metaphysical gyres states that a complete reversal of values is immanent and will ultimately bring about revolutionary change and the end of the Christian dominated era.Yeats fear of carnage and needless death is indicative of his context as the world was overwhelmed with WWI, the Bolshevik Revolution and the 1916 Easter Uprising. This convinces responders that whilst Yeats poetry is often labeled ‘transcendental’ (George Masan University), it is also derived from contextual inspiration. Yeats
Analysis of 'Down by the Salley Gardens'
‘Down by the Salley Gardens’ Questions. a. In the poem ‘Down by the Salley Gardens’, the technique of rhyming couplets is used to draw emphasis to the last word of the line. In the first verse al the rhyming couplets contain an ‘ee’ sound, which makes the stanza sound light and energetic. The first rhyming couplet ends in a ‘t’ sound, creating a staccato effect and making the verse sound crisp and fresh. This is effective as the verse is about new love, and young, perhaps immature people. In the second stanza however, the rhymes are made up of more elongated vowels. This makes them sound dragged out and gives them a more negative effect, which enhances the change in the second verse from the first. Sibilance is also used in the last couplet (‘weirs’ and ‘tears’), reflecting the grief the injured lover feels, and may represent the sound of him crying. b. In the first stanza Yeats uses the image ‘as the leaves grow on the trees.’ This suggests that the love between him and his lover is new and growing, and not yet in its prime, but will blossom. It is also a strong image of nature, meaning perhaps that their love is a natural process and is supposed to happen. Also in the first stanza, the meeting is described to take place in a ‘garden.’ A garden suggests new life and activity, with vibrancy and beauty, and is perhaps used to enhance the
