Class 12 English (Elective) Poem 6 – The Wild Swans at Coole Important Question Answers from Kaleidoscope Book Poetry

Class 12 English (Elective) The Wild Swans at Coole Question Answers – Looking for questions and answers for CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Poem 6 – The Wild Swans at Coole? Look no further! Our comprehensive compilation of important questions will help you brush up on your subject knowledge. Practising  Class 12 English question answers can significantly improve your performance in the exam. Improve your chances of scoring high marks by exploring Poem 6 – The Wild Swans at Coole now. The questions listed below are based on the latest CBSE exam pattern, wherein we have given NCERT solutions to the chapter’s extract-based questions, multiple choice questions and Extra Question Answers 

Also, practising with different kinds of questions can help students learn new ways to solve problems that they may not have seen before. This can ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of the subject matter and better performance on exams. 

 

• The Wild Swans at Coole NCERT Solutions
• The Wild Swans at Coole Grammar Exercise
• The Wild Swans at Coole Extra Question Answers
• The Wild Swans at Coole Multiple Choice Questions
• The Wild Swans at Coole Extract Based Questions

 

Related: 

• The Wild Swans at Coole Summary, Explanation

 

The Wild Swans at Coole Textbook Questions (NCERT Solutions)

 

Understanding the Poem

1. How do the ‘trees in their autumn beauty’, ‘dry woodland paths’, ‘October twilight’, and ‘still sky’ connect to the poet’s own life?
Ans. The phrases ‘trees in their autumn beauty,’ ‘dry woodland paths,’ ‘October twilight,’ and ‘still sky’ all suggest a sense of aging similar to that of the poet. Autumn is when trees prepare to lose their leaves. The woodland stays dry, and there is no new growth until the rains come. While twilight is the most beautiful part of the day, it only lasts a short time before darkness falls. The stillness of the sky also mirrors the coldness of death. Everything reflects the poet’s old age and brings a feeling of sadness and loneliness.

2. What do ‘the light tread’ and ‘the sore heart’ refer to?
Ans. The phrase “the light tread” refers to how the poet used to walk about nineteen autumns ago. At that time, he was a free man and could go anywhere, just like the swans. Now, as he watches the swans, he feels sorrow (‘sore’) because old age has taken over. He can no longer walk freely. His mind and body do not allow him to do so anymore.

3. What is the contrast between the liveliness of the swans and human life?
Ans. The swans are still lively, just like they were nineteen autumns ago. They can fly freely and go wherever they want. The poet feels pain when he sees this. He compares himself to the swans and realizes he has aged, and his physical ability has declined. Time has weakened the love between humans, but the love between swans remains strong.

4. What contributes to the beauty and mystery of the swans’ lives?
Ans. The beauty and mystery of swans are that their behaviour has not changed over the years. The poet believes that the swans’ beauty comes from how they behave. They still move gracefully, show love, and stay close to each other. The mystery lies in the fact that humans often struggle to understand the strength of love and friendship, while these swans do understand it. This is what makes it seem mysterious to the poet.

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The Wild Swans at Coole: Grammar Exercises 

Language Study 

Notice the rhyme scheme in the poem. Do you notice a consistent pattern? We use a new letter for every new sound at the end of the lines. The rhyme scheme for the first stanza is given alongside the lines. Do it for the rest of the poem.
Ans. Yes, the rhyming scheme is consistent in the poem ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’. The rhyming scheme for the rest of the stanzas is given below:
Stanza 2: FGHGII
Stanza 3: JKLKMM
Stanza 4: NOPOOC
Stanza 5: RSTSUU

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CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Poem 6- The Wild Swans at Coole Extra Question and Answers

 

Answer the following questions.

Q1. Explain the references used in W.B. Yeats’s poem ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’.
Ans. The Wild Swans at Coole includes hidden themes and represents Yeats’ quest for understanding the mystical. Occultism involves studying the secrets of the universe and the connections among all things. Mastering these ideas is thought to give people special, magical abilities. Yeats uses reflections and symbols, like the sky mirroring the lake and the swans flying in broken circles, to show mystical theories. These theories suggest that life consists of interlinked circles and cycles, from birth to death.

Q2. Why does the poet refer to the flapping of the swans as ‘clamorous’?
Ans. Clamorous describes a loud, echoing sound like the flapping of wings that creates a noticeable noise. It’s often used to convey a sense of commotion or intensity, particularly when referring to birds taking flight. It represents the bird’s vivacity.

Q3. How has Yeats deployed Swans to portray his longing for the lost past?
Ans. W.B. Yeats reflects on his youth by observing the swans swimming in the lake. These swans represent the eternal beauty of nature in contrast to the poet’s aging and sense of loss. The swans’ symbolism of timelessness, emphasizes the poet’s sorrow as he watches their unchanging grace while he undergoes personal transformation. The swan also represents Yeats’ love for Maud Gonne, but she rejects him. As he got older, Yeats was able to move on from this love, but he still cherished her memory. Similarly, the speaker values the sight of swans on the water, even though it brings him sadness. The fifty-ninth swan is Yeats, who is lonely without love.

Q4. What does the fifty-ninth swan represent?
Ans. The poet counts 59 swans, but one is missing a partner, which represents himself. The 59th swan represents the poet’s loneliness, heartbreak, and incompleteness.

Q5. What does the ‘cold Companionable’ represent?
Ans. The cold represents the harshness of time and the speaker’s feelings of aging and loss, while the companionable reflects the swans’ enduring love and connection, which the speaker contrasts with his own experiences. 

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Class 12 The Wild Swans at Coole Multiple Choice Questions

 

Q1. Which season is the speaker talking about?
A. Spring
B. Summer
C. Winter
D. Autumn
Ans. D. Autumn

Q2. Which month is the speaker referring to?
A. October
B. September
C. November
D. December
Ans. A. October

Q3. How many swans were swimming in the lake?
Ninety-five
B. Nine
C. Fifty nine
D. Fifty
Ans. C. Fifty nine

Q4. Which lake is the speaker talking about?
A. Coole lake
B. Styx lake
C. Tymphi lake
D. Dal lake
Ans. A. Coole Lake

Q5. What is the poetic device used in the phrase ‘still sky’?
A. Simile
B. Metaphor
C. Alliteration
D. Personification
Ans. C. Alliteration

Q6. How many years have passed since the speaker last visited Coole Lake?
A. Nineteen
B. Seventeen
C. Eighteen
D. Twenty
Ans. A. Nineteen

Q7. What is the poetic device used in the lines ‘All suddenly mount/And scatter wheeling in great broken rings/Upon their clamorous wings’?
A. Simile
B. Personification
C. Alliteration
D. Imagery
Ans. D. Imagery

Q8. Who are the ‘brilliant creatures’ referred to?
A. Speaker
B. Swans
C. Other people
D. Lake
Ans. B. Swans

Q9. What is the poetic device used in the lines ‘cold Companionable streams’?
A. Imagery
B. Oxymoron
C. Personification
D. Simile
Ans. B. Oxymoron

Q10. Who is the poet of ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’?
A. Emily Dickinson
B. John Donne
C. John Milton
D. W.B Yeats
Ans. D. W.B Yeats

Q11. In which shape did the swan fly?
A. Circle
B. Oval
C. Triangle
D. Rectangle
Ans. A. Circle

Q12. What does Autumn symbolize?
A. Waning part of the speaker’s life
B. Successful life
C. Powerful period
D. Changes in people’s behavior
Ans. A. Waning part of the speaker’s life

Q13. What does a mirror represent?
A. Anger
B. Poet’s imagination
C. Vanity
D. Poet’s psychological reflection
Ans. D. Poet’s psychological reflection

Q14. What is the poetic device used in the line ‘bell-beat’?
A. Imagery
B. Simile
C. Alliteration
D. Personification
Ans. C. Alliteration

Q15. What is the poetic tone of the poem ‘The Wild Swan at the Coole’?
A. Motivational
B. Inspiration
C. Happiness
D. Melancholy
Ans. D. Melancholy

Q16. What is the rhyming scheme of the poem?
A. ABAADD
B. ABCBDD
C. AACBDD
D. AAAADD
Ans. B. ABCBDD

Q17. What does ‘lighter tread’ represent?
A. Poet’s youth
B. The poet is aging
C. Poet’s walking style
D. Poet’s heavyweight
Ans. A. Poet’s youth

Q18. How are swans paddling in the lake after nineteen years?
A. They are moving in different directions
B. They are in a pair
C. They are in groups
D. They aren’t in Coole Lake
Ans. B. They are in a pair

Q19. What is the poetic device used in the lines ‘cold Companionable’?
A. Alliteration
B. Simile
C. Personification
D. Imagery
Ans. A. Alliteration

Q20. Who is referred to as ‘Mysterious, beautiful’ in the poem?
A. Coole lake
B. Speaker
C. Swans
D. Other people
Ans. C. Swans

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CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Poem 6 The Wild Swans at Coole Extract-Based Questions

A. 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.

Q1. How many swans were swimming in Coole Lake?
Ans. Fifty-nine swans were swimming in Coole Lake.

Q2. In which month did the poet visit Coole Lake?
Ans. In October, the poet visited Coole Lake.

Q3. What is the line ‘The trees are in their autumn beauty’?
Ans. The speaker describes that it was the autumn season, and trees changed the colour of leaves from green to gold, crimson, amber, and even jewel-toned purple.

Q4. What does the water of Coole Lake mirror?
Ans. The water of the Coole Lake mirrors the still sky of twilight.

Q5. What is the poetic device used in ‘Still Sky’?
Ans. Alliteration is used in the lines ‘still sky’.

B. 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.

Q1. How many years have passed since the speaker last visited Coole Lake?
Ans. Nineteen years have passed since the speaker last visited Coole Lake.

Q2. What was the speaker counting?
Ans. The speaker was counting swans swimming in the lake.

Q3. Was he able to count the swans?
Ans. No, before the speaker could count them, the swan flew away.

Q4. What is the poetic device used in ‘clamorous wings’?
Ans. Onomatopoeia is the poetic device used in ‘clamorous wings’.

Q5. Describe ‘clamorous wings’?
Ans. Clamorous describes a loud, echoing sound like the flapping of wings that creates a noticeable noise. It’s often used to convey a sense of commotion or intensity, particularly when referring to birds taking flight. It represents the bird’s vivacity.

C. 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.

Q1. Who are ‘brilliant creatures’ referred to?
Ans. The brilliant creatures are the fifty-nine swans swimming in Coole Lake.

Q2. What is the poetic device used in the lines ‘my heart is sore’?
Ans. Personification is used in the lines ‘my heart is sore’.

Q3. Why does the poet feel heartache?
Ans. The poet feels heartache to see everything change after nineteen years when he visited Coole Lake.

Q4. Who is walking with a lighter tread?
Ans. The speaker is walking with a lighter tread.

Q5. What does the phrase ‘lighter tread’ mean?
Ans. The phrase ‘lighter tread’ means that the speaker was in his youth when he visited Coole Lake.

D. 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.

Q1. What does the speaker mean in the phrase ‘lover by lover’?
Ans. The swans swim in pairs in Coole Lake.

Q2. Why is the stream referred to as ‘cold Companionable’?
Ans. The stream water is cold, yet the swans swim in pairs, unwavering in their love.

Q3. What is the poetic device used in the phrase ‘cold Companionable’?
Ans. Alliteration is used in the phrase ‘cold Companionable’.

Q4. What does the speaker mean when he says that their heart hasn’t grown old?
Ans. The speaker describes the swan’s love, which hasn’t grown old with time.

Q5. How has the speaker described the swan’s love in the poem?
Ans. Their life is still filled with passionate desires as their love has won against time. Anywhere they go, their love is unwavering or devoted.

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