poem ‘The Wild Swans at Coole' (1919) is a self reflective poem, one of the overarching themes of which is the the transience of time. This notion is explored through the persona's witnessing of a flock swans swimming on the lake, a sight he had witnessed 19 years previously during his first visitation. This sight evokes the realisation that the persona has aged and changed dramatically following his last visit to the lake, despite the apparently ageless and eternal nature of the swans themselves
An Analysis of Blake’s "The Wild Swans at Coole" "The Wild Swans at Coole" is a poem that deals with the aging process of William Butler Yeats. It is a deeply personal poem that explores the cycle of life through nature. The poem is set in Coole Park in autumn, which is located on Lady Gregory’s estate. The poet is on or near the shore of a large pond, and is observing the swans. It has been nineteen years since the first time he came to this place, and it is on this visit that he begins to
The book Wild Swans by Jung Chang takes place in the 20th century, in China. In this novel we are introduced to three-generations, Wild Swan, her mother, and her grandmother’s journey through an ever-changing China. Women in China at this time were considered weak, but as the war goes on, the reader gets a taste of each individual woman and what they were like, making the story even more interesting because today we have no clue what it was like to live in China during this war. In Wild Swans, there
in government and their own culture in the 20th century. In the book, Wild Swans, by Jung Chang, she depicts the experiences of not only oppression and suffering, but the development of the communist revolution, under Mao. Also, to show how the Chinese people, women in particular, fought against impossible odds by interweaving historical and personal stories from the twentieth century China. Jung Chang, who wrote Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China was the first of her 3 generations to be raised
In the novel Wild Swans author Jung Chang gives the reader a glimpse of China’s history through the eyes of her family throughout the span of three generations. She guides the reader by giving insight to the history of China through her grandmother, continuing with the mother and ending with hers experiences . Although these three women lived through different generations in China, they all felt and experienced pain and it is captured in their stories. These three women sought to move ahead in
Wild Swans is an interesting narrative of three generations of Chinese women, dating from present time back to 1909. This book not only gives personal experiences by biography and autobiography, but it also uses this to give insight of the culture of china in this time. Her perspective gives light to the changes China went through during these three generations, and the impact it had on these women and their families. It is interesting because it gives a different opinion and perspective than a textbook
Jung Chang is a Chinese-born British writer that is known for her award-winning book, Wild Swans. After having several jobs at a young age, Jung Chang became an English-language student, and an assistant lecturer at Sichuan University. In 1978, Chang left China for Britain, where the University of York awarded her a scholarship. At the university, she acquired a Ph.D. in linguistics in 1982. Interestingly, Chang was the first person from the People’s Republic of China to obtain a doctorate from a
The provocative portrayal of uncertainty in changing times in Yeats’s poetry can primarily be attributed to the experiences of his life. The dichotomy of change and stasis in his poetry is epitomised in the poems Easter 1916 and The Wild Swans at Coole. These poems explore the notions of mutability, immortality and death to accentuate change as an inevitable aspect of life. The extent to which this statement applies to both texts is in regards to their textual integrity. Yeats’s ideas become prevalent
extensive historical facts with intensely personal commemorations, Jung Chang presents a vivid portrait of real life in China. She was extremely careful to verify the facts of the historical events surrounding her family’s various problems in Wild Swans. Wild Swans is the story of three generations of women in Jung Chang’s family. Starting from her grandmother name Yu-Fang, who grew up in pre-communist China, a time period when women had their feet bound as children and could be given to warlords as
creative spirit. Yeats's work, by embracing this power, embraces the human condition itself, giving dignity to hardships and suffering by transfiguring 'dread' into 'tragedy.' The inevitable suffering described in poems like "Adam's Curse," "The Wild Swans at Coole," and "The Circus Animals' Desertion," is transfigured into works of art which immortalize the human spirit, as in "The Lake Isle of Innisfree," "A Dialogue of Self and Soul," and "Lapis Lazuli." In Yeats' poems, human life is an experience
used different symbols to convey his message to his readers. Although from reading several of his works, many of Yeats’ poems revolve around death. In the texts by William Butler Yeats entitled, “When you are Old” “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” “The Wild Swans at Coole” “The Second Coming” and “Sailing to Byzantium” all have their own sort of symbolism that Yeats uses to convey his message to his readers. The first text entitled, “When you are Old” by William Yeats has the main message of his lover leaving
an Irish poet, was deemed worthy enough as he speaks to us across time, culture and political beliefs through his poem which contains timeless truths which are valued by human beings Two of Yeats’s poem ‘The Wild Swan at Coole’ and ‘Easter 1916’ which I’m going to refer as ‘Wild Swan’ and ‘Easter’ both poem reflect the aspect of time and is based on Yeats’s ex lover. These poems demonstrate that time shape meaning, and can influence different elements such as Psychoanalytic and New Historicism
There is always change in a persons life or loved one. No matter what happens something is always to be an outcome of it. In the poems, “When You Are Old”, “Lake Isle of Innisfree”, “The Wild Swans of Coole”, “The Second Coming”, and “Sailing to Byzantium”, Yeat’s shows the tension of change and ability. All of the poems show some kind of change no matter what it involves. Change can make you feel like nothing is the way that it was once before. You can sometimes not be too pleased with the way that
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was a twentieth century poet who used past events to write poems about the future. Yeats had a very interesting philosophy. He combined his interests in history, art, personality, and society and wrote poems about how these subjects created conflicts in the world. Yeats used his poems and other writings to display his passion for mysticism. Yeats liked to use gyres to show how two different forces struggle against each other. In his mind, these struggles could
poems as “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” and “The Wild Swans at Coole,” Yeats obviously looks towards nature to find his muse, thereby generating idyllic pastoral scenery that is reminiscent of the nature-based poetry of Wordsworth. However, his later works are darkened not by his own perspective, but by the fact that he is no longer certain that nature is truly the fountain that he taps for inspiration. A number of his later poems, such as “Leda and the Swan” and “The Circus Animals’ Desertion,” employ
An Analysis of Down by the Salley Gardens One of Yeats' poems, Down by the Salley Gardens is a typical story of inexperienced youth in the realm of love. The final two lines hold the key to the theme of the poem: She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs; But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears. The poem is evidently about the relationship between the narrator and the woman with the "little snow-white feet• and the narrator's failure to be able to cope with
Critic Richard Ellmann wrote that Yeat’s poetry is in fact about the opposition between “the world of change” and the world of “changelessness”. This analysis is very relevant. In Yeats’ poems: “When you are Old”, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”, “The Wild Swans at Coole”, “The Second Coming”, and “Sailing to Byzantium” all show the struggle and opposition between change and stability in the world. First of all, throughout the poem “When you are Old” by William Yeats, you can begin to analyze the change
true in the literature, myth, and legends that focus on swans in Ireland. The swan has been imbedded in the folklore of Ireland for centuries, one of the most notable legends of Ireland, “The Children of Lir,” has inspired poets throughout the centuries. One can look at the wonderful poet, Eavan Boland’s poem, “Elegy for a Youth Changed to a Swan,” and see the great effect this legend had upon Ireland and it’s people. In these stories the swan is a supernatural element, a transformation, with a sort
else, does that make them any less beautiful? The story “The Ugly Duckling” teaches children that just because you’re not someone’s ideal of beauty, it does not make you any less beautiful. The ducklings in the story are symbolic for society, and the swan represents the average woman and man. The last duckling born seems to be the odd one out. The duckling stands out from everyone else; she was teased and segregated from most other ducklings. The story gives you more of an understanding on how society
the poetry of W.B. Yeats- “The Wild Swans at Coole” Life experiences, both positive and negative, deeply influence an individual’s perceptions and understanding of life and in turn are the deciding factor in what ideologies the individual accepts. William Butler Yeats was one of the most influential modern poets and was deeply influenced by his unfortunate life experiences and subsequently unorthodox personal ideologies which are especially obvious in “The Wild Swans at Coole”. His strong but ultimately