Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Wild Swans At Coole Questions & Answers.
This poem is written by William Butler Yeats. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Teachers and Don’t Throw the Seeds Away so, you can check these posts as well.
The Wild Swans At Coole Questions & Answers
Question 1: Write True or False for the following sentences:
1. It was spring when the poet saw the swans – False
2. The poet saw them in the month of October at dawn – False
3. The poet counted fifty swans – False
4. The poet had visited the lake before – True
5. The swans’ hearts have grown old with time – False
6. Opportunities for passion and conquest still wait for the swans – True
Question 2: Read the lines and answer the questions:
1. Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky…
(a) Which water is being spoken about in these lines? Identity the figure of speech and explain ¡tin your own words.
Answer: The water of a lake in the woods at Coole Park is being spoken about in these lines. The figure of speech used is metaphor. The poet compares the water of the calm lake, reflecting the clear sky, to the surface of a mirror.
(b) What did the poet see immediately after this? Where did he see them?
Answer: The poet saw fifty-nine swans on the Iake’s surface, among the stones.
(c) How had the poet described the land around the lake in the previous lines?
Answer: The woods were beautiful in the orange tones of autumn. The woodland paths were no longer lush and green but were dry.
(d) How is the land and the lake contrasted?
Answer: The land was peaceful and beautiful in the October twilight. There was absolute stillness in the woods. The lake was, in contrast, brimming with life due to the movement of the swans.
2. The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count…
(a) How old had the poet been when he had first seen the swans?
Answer: The poet was 19 years old when he had first seen the swans.
(b) What did the swans do as the poet was counting them?
Answer: Before the poet could count the swans, they suddenly flew up into the air and scattered, in a circular manner.
(c) Which word in the stanza means ‘a circular motion’? Did the swans rise into the sky together? Quote the line in the stanza which indicates it.
Answer: The words ‘wheeling’ and ‘ring’ in the stanza suggest a circular motion. Yes, the swans rose into the sky together as suggested by: ‘All suddenly mount.’
(d) Identify the sound imagery in the stanza from which the above lines are taken.
Answer: The sound imagery in the stanza is evident ¡n the use of the word ‘clamorous’ or noisy indicating that the wings made a loud din as the swans rose high in the air. The image that comes to mind is of the calm described up to this point being suddenly shattered by the loud fluttering of the wings.
The Wild Swans At Coole Questions & Answers
3. I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
(a) How was the poet feeling at this time? Why do you think he felt this way?
Answer: The poet was feeling sad at that time. He realized that much had changed since his first visit. He had grown old and this realization of lost youth made him sad.
(b) How had the poet changed since the first time he had seen the swans? What does it indicate?
Answer: The poet realized that 19 years had passed since his visit and everything had changed. That he walked with a lighter tread then indicates that he was much older and not as agile in his present visit. Symbolically, this indicates the fleeting nature of life.
(c) How does the poet go on to explain that the swans have not changed?
Answer: The swans were ‘unwearied’ and their ‘hearts have not grown old.’ They still had opportunities for passion and conquest, meaning they still had hope. This shows that the swans remained the same since the poet’s last encounter with them (or other swans like them).
Question 3: What do the swans symbolize in this poem?
Answer: The swans symbolize eternal beauty in nature and love. While everything else around the poet seems to be dying and aging, the swans remain unchanged and full of life. They are proof that nature continues to regenerate even as living beings die.
Question 4: From the second to the last stanza, the poet describes the movement of the swans as they take off from the lake, fly in the air, or swim in the water. Quote these lines and explain them.
Answer: In the second stanza, the movement of the swans taking off from the lake and their flight are described in these lines:
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.
Meaning: The swans fly up together from the lake and scatter in the air above in giant circular movements.
In the next stanza, the poet recalls their wings flapping in the air and making a loud sound like the ringing of a bell.
….hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore.
The bell-beat of their wings above my head.
Trod with a lighter tread.
In the last stanza, the poet describes the swans moving gracefully and without fatigue, in a calm manner.
Unwearied still.
They paddle in the cold
But now they drift on the still water,
Question 5: How has the poet contrasted the way his life has changed, while that of the swans hasn’t in nineteen years?
Answer: The poet recognizes that he has grown old and that it is twilight of his life. His life has changed in the 19 years. He is no longer energetic and youthful. His heart is sore and he seems tired and without hope.
On the other hand, the swans are full of life, noisy as before and live without worrying. They have each other’s company and still have passion for life. Their hearts have not grown old. This is the contrast that the poet wants to show us.
Question 6: What does the poet wonder about the swans doing in the future?
Answer: The poet wonders, when, one day, the swans fly away from him – or even when he no longer comes to see them – will they continue to do what they have always done for some other observer? He wonders, where will they build their homes, among which reeds or which lake’s edge or pool?
Question 7: Explain these lines:
1. Now they drift on the still water.
Answer: The swans glide gracefully on the calm waters of the lake.
2. The swans delight men’s eyes.
Answer: The graceful beauty of the swans is a beautiful sight that captivates human beings across time.
3. This is the thirteenth summer of my life.
Answer: He is thirteen years old.
4. They paddle in the cold companionable streams.
Answer: The swans paddled in the cold streams. The warmth of the companionship between the swans made up for the cold sensation of the water.
5. The birds climb the air.
Answer: The swans flew up into the air.
So, these were The Wild Swans At Coole Questions & Answers.