NCERT Solutions Class 12, English, Kaliedoscope, Poerty, Chapter- 6, The Wild Swans at Coole
Understanding the Poem
1. How do the ‘trees in their autumn beauty’, ‘dry woodland paths’, ‘October twilight’, ‘still sky’ connect to the poet’s own life?
Solution:
The ‘trees in their autumn beauty, ‘dry woodland paths’, ‘October twilight’, ‘still sky’ all represent some sort of senility similar to that of the poets’. Autumn is the season in which the trees prepare to shed their leaves. The woodland remains dry and there is no new evolving life until the rains set in. Though the twilight is the most beautiful part of the day, it lasts for a very short period of time and leads into the darkness of night. The stillness of the sky is counted similar to the coldness of death. Everything associates with the poet’s old age and the setting in of sadness and lonely atmosphere.
2. What do ‘the light tread’ and ‘the sore heart’ refer to?
Solution:
The ‘light tread’ refers to how the poet would walk some nineteen autumns back. He was a free man and could go wherever he wanted to – just like the Swans. But now he has a ‘sore heart’ while looking at the Swans since senility has grasped him. He can no longer tread around like a free soul. Neither do his mental and physical conditions allow him to do so.
3. What is the contrast between the liveliness of the swans and human life?
Solution:
The contrast between the liveliness of the Swans and human life is that the poet feels he has grown so old that he is no longer young and active like the Swans. He feels Swans can move around with full of energy as they were some nineteen autumns back. The Swans still could go around carefree with no worries, but he feels it’s no more the same with him. Thus, the poet relates himself to the Swans and discerns how time has gradually decayed his youthful and robust body while the Swans are still the same, full of life.
4. What contributes to the beauty and mystery of the swans’ lives?
Solution:
The beauty and mystery of the Swans’ lives are that as years pass by, their youthfulness remains the same. The poet has grown old, but the Swans have not aged. They carry the same energy and are full of life, even after years have passed; this makes the poet sad. There seems no change in how the Swans carefreely move around or share love with each other and are connected in brotherhood. The poet gets disturbed as his body refuses to feel energetic again as it once used to be. The mystery is that humans cannot understand the depth of love and family relationships, but the poet believes these Swans know the real meaning of life. Hence, the poet feels life is mysterious.
