21 February 2012 Poetic Swans: Five Days of the Cygnus Today
will be a single representation of swans in literature, a poem
by the Irish poet W.B. Yeats. As I mentioned in yesterday's
post, swans had a place in Irish folklore, so it's interesting
to see how Yeats (1865-1939) played with a traditional motif in
a modern era. A couple of features to consider in here: Yeats
mentions "nine-and-fifty swans." It's entirely conceivable that
Yeats actually witnessed this -- and that he counted out these
swans -- and it's also possible that the group of swans reflects
back on the traditional folk tales that see symbolism in a large
group of swans hovering over a lake as evening arrives. In the
story of Swan Lake, the swans descend in a flock on a lake at
twilight. (Depending on the size of the ballet company, this may
be 24, 32, or even more dancers.) Here I've added two different
versions of this scene: (I actually hate the costuming of the
Royal Ballet's production, but I like the way the dancers
actually appear to b