William Butler Yeats poetry is unique in comparison with the
other poets work in that he goes back and forth between what is real in his
life and the image he would want to be himself. The other poets seemed to use
dualism to show differences between major symbolic ideals like light and dark,
joy and sorrow, etc., but, they did not change their personal view of self in
the process. Yeats actually does this and his work shows his chameleon- like
personality. Yeats writes a lot about things in his past and is represented in
his poems “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” and “The Wild Swans at Coole.”
Particularly in “The Wild Swans at Coole” Yeats description of the swan’s lifestyle
and personality is so intense that it is as if he is yearning for their youth
and freedom that has passed away in his life. He writes, “Their hearts have not
grown old; passion or conquest, wander where they will,” and shows his
admiration for a bird that has not changed since he first visited them nineteen
years ago (107). He of course finds sorrow in that fact. “I have looked upon
those brilliant creatures, and now my heart is sore” (107).
No comments:
Post a Comment