Examine Yeats's representation of life and nature in one of his poems.

Yeats, in his deeply elegiac The Wild Swans at Coole reflects upon the cyclical process of life through nature, presenting human life as fragile and momentary in juxtaposition with the constancy of nature. The contrast between the freedom of humans and that of animals is also explored within this poem; the swans are allowed to be 'wild' while human beings are tamed. This poem can be read as a content reflection upon his life, and an acceptance that old age is inevitable. Depicting the trees in their “autumn beauty” suggests that there is something beautiful about the cycle of life and the ever-changing habits of humanity. Furthermore, the swans may be seen to represent the youth in society, who are filled with passion and an excitement for the future. He personifies the swans when referring to “their hearts”. Yeats looks upon the future generation from a distance as “brilliant creatures”, and wonders at what actions they will take when he is gone: “among what rushes will they build, by what lake’s edge or pool”. The swans are wild and free, while Yeats (being representative of mankind) is tamed. The onomatopoeic “clamorous” constructs them as noisy and disruptive in comparison with the still scene created previously. Furthermore, within the same line, words starting with combined consonants – the “SC” in “scatter”, “BR” in “broken” and “CL” in “clamorous” – are listed together here, mirroring the multitude of chaotic birds that fly before him. The rhyme between “rings” and “wings” counters this chaos with a sense of balance and serenity that the swans emanate when still.