2008-02-03T06:35:00.000-08:00

W. B. Yeats

The Wild Swans At Coole

The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty Swans.

The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.

I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
All's changed since I, hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore,
The bell-beat of their wings above my head,
Trod with a lighter tread.

Unwearied still, lover by lover,
They paddle in the cold
Companionable streams or climb the air;
Their hearts have not grown old;
Passion or conquest, wander where they will,
Attend upon them still.

But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful;
Among what rushes will they build,
By what lake's edge or pool
Delight men's eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ted Hughes

Hawk Roosting

I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed.
Inaction, no falsifying dream
Between my hooked head and hooked feet:
Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat.

The convenience of the high trees!
The air's buoyancy and the sun's ray
Are of advantage to me;
And the earth's face upward for my inspection.

My feet are locked upon the rough bark.
It took the whole of Creation
To produce my foot, my each feather:
Now I hold Creation in my foot

Or fly up, and revolve it all slowly -
I kill where I please because it is all mine.
There is no sophistry in my body:
My manners are tearing off heads -

The allotment of death.
For the one path of my flight is direct
Through the bones of the living.
No arguments assert my right:

The sun is behind me.
Nothing has changed since I began.
My eye has permitted no change.
I am going to keep things like this.

2008-02-03T05:52:00.000-08:00

Poem Comparison - "Wild Swans at Coole" by W.B. Yeats and "Hawk Roosting" by Ted Hughes.

In the poems “Wild Swans at Coole” and “Hawk Roosting”, both Yeats and Hughes reinforces on the same subject matter - the elements of nature. In “Wild Swans at Coole”, Yeats uses nature to promote a serene and tranquil setting which elicits positive feelings and grandeur. On the other hand, however, Hughes uses the ingredients of nature to portray dominance and aggressiveness, through the personification of a hawk and then uses the hawk as a metaphorical device to mock at the negative attitudes of human beings in general.

In the poem “Wild Swans at Coole”, Yeats demonstrates a tranquil, yet picturesque environment through detailed descriptions of the surroundings, for example, “…trees are in their autumn beauty”- which tells that the trees are in full maturity and promotes serenity in the setting. He also mentions that there is “…twilight in the water”, which highlights the soft diffused light from the sky, when the sun is below the horizon, being reflected upon the water. This divine image further amplifies the tranquility of the pastoral setting and promotes peacefulness of mind. Yeats also emphasizes the word “still” in both the first and last stanza-“…still sky” and “…drift on the still water…”- as if to further bring across the peacefulness and calmness of the surroundings as the word “still” suggests a lack of movement. In “Wild Swans at Coole”, the persona seems to be admiring and enjoying the nature around him- “I have looked upon those brilliant creatures/ And now my heart is sore/ All is changed since I, hearing at twilight/ The first time on this shore”. He also seems to be in a melancholic state as he reminisces the past and how things differ now, as compared to the “first time” he stepped on that shore. The persona seems to have nostalgic moments in that setting and this suggests that he might have had many treasured memories there, possibly with a loved one. His memories are further enhanced and made more vivid with the placidity and stillness of the surroundings as they bring peace to his mind and thoughts and allows him to recall more acutely. In his poem, Yeats portrays how the persona compares his ageing self with the swans which he described as “mysterious” and “beautiful”, “brilliant creatures” – “Their hearts have not grown old”. The persona also seems to notice youth-like qualities in the swans- “Unwearied still, lover by lover/ They paddle in the cold/ Companionable streams or climb the air”. To “paddle in the cold” or “climb the air” is suggestive of strength, willpower and determination. Here, the persona seems to relate these youthful qualities to the swans as he compares his ageing and therefore weakened self with these creatures.

However, in the poem “Hawk Roosting”, Hughes personifies the hawk and shows how nature has helped to bring about certain dominant characteristics of it– “The convenience of high trees!/ The air’s buoyancy and the sun’s ray/ Are of advantage to me”. Here, the hawk is expressing how the elements of nature has been of benefit to it- the “high trees”, allowing it a place to station at to eye its prey or escape its predators, “the air’s buoyancy” which is the cause of its ability to soar up high and move with amazing speed, especially when performing a predatory motive and “the sun’s ray”, which has assisted its sense of sight, so that it may observe its preys.This is unlike the poem “Wild Swans at Coole”, which uses nature to depict the serenity of the surroundings – “…trees in their autumn beauty…”, “twilight in the water”. The persona in “Hawk Roosting” also seems to acknowledge its own power and ascendancy and looks down upon the world as something which should be worshipping it, and something which exists only for its scrutiny – “And the earth’s face upward for my inspection.” Here, the phrase “for my inspection” further reinforces the hawk’s dominance because someone who inspects is always of a higher authority or position than the one who is being inspected. This is unlike the poem “Wild Swans at Coole” which portrays light-heartedness and peacefulness, without any inclination to aggressiveness and harm. The persona is completely unafraid and unfeeling towards the earth, and instead, manifests immense pride, as though the earth belongs to it – “I kill where I please because it is all mine”. The persona also appears to be self-absorbed – “It took the whole of Creation/ To produce my foot , my each feather” – suggesting that it has been the masterpiece of Creation and while doing so, does not show any gratitude and yet claims that now, the whole of creation is under its control – “Now I hold creation in my foot”. In contrast to the poem “Wild Swans at Coole”, where nature seems to control the persona’s thoughts and emotions, the poem “Hawk Roosting" portrays the persona’s confidence and assurance that it can control nature with it supposed power and dominance. In the poem “Hawk Roosting”, Hughes seems to be mocking the arrogant behaviour of human beings in general, through the personification of the hawk. The hawk is used as a metaphorical device to portray the complacency of human beings and how they always forget that everything which makes them comes from God and not themselves.

In my opinion, Hughes chooses to use the hawk as a metaphorical device because the hawk itself is an autonomous and aggressive creature and this helps him to bring across his message more convincingly. On the other hand, I think Yeats chose to include the swans in his poem “Wild Swans at Coole” because swans are pure, white, graceful and vulnerable creatures and their presence adds on to the serenity and calmness of the setting he created.

In the poem “Wild Swans at Coole”, Yeats adopted a consistent abcbdd structure and this constant rigid structure complements the stillness of the surroundings he portrayed in his poem. On the other hand, in “Hawk Roosting”, Hughes took on an inconsistent rhyming structure and this further enhances the firmness and bold appearance of the persona.

In conclusion, in the poem “Wild Swans at Coole” and “Hawk Roosting”, both Yeats and Hughes use the significance of nature to bring across their respective messages in their poems. While Yeats brings out the positive bearings and impacts of nature, Hughes demonstrates how the benefits nature brings may stimulate negative qualities like arrogance and pride in mankind, through the personification of a hawk. However, I feel that Hughes has brought his message across more successfully, with the use of strong imageries such as “My manners are tearing off heads”, which emphasizes on the fearless and aggressiveness of the persona.

2007-01-14T02:13:00.000-08:00

have a nice day:)

Hello humans:) sorry, i've moved