The Wild Swans at Coole (1917, enlarged 1919) is a collection of poems by W. B. Yeats. Its title poem, written at Lady Gregory's estate in County Galway, contrasts the poet's aging with the unchanging beauty of the swans on the lake.
Coole Park
Coole Park, the home of Lady Augusta Gregory, Yeats's friend and collaborator, was a second home for him from 1897. He spent many summers there and counted the swans on the lake.
In the title poem, written in 1916, he notes that nineteen years have passed since he first counted them, and that he has changed while they have not.
Other poems
The enlarged edition of 1919 includes An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, written for Lady Gregory's son Robert, killed in 1918, and In Memory of Major Robert Gregory.
It also contains The Fisherman and poems that announce the mystical system of A Vision.
A turning point
The collection marks Yeats's mature style, plainer and more direct than his early work.
It was first printed in 1917 by the Cuala Press, run by his sisters, and then enlarged by Macmillan in 1919.
Anecdotes
Fifty-nine swans
In the poem, the poet counts fifty-nine swans; an odd number, critics have noted, means that one swan is without a mate, like the poet.
Names on a tree
At Coole Park, a copper beech known as the autograph tree bears the initials carved by Yeats, Shaw, Synge and other guests of Lady Gregory.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Coole Park?
In County Galway, Ireland; it was the home of Lady Gregory.
Who is the Irish airman?
Robert Gregory, Lady Gregory's son, killed in 1918.
How many swans does the poet count?
Fifty-nine.