Read the poem.

The Wild Swans at Coole
by William Butler Yeats

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.



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



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. 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.


But now they drift on the still water

Mysterious, beautiful;

Among what rushes will they build,

By what lake's edge or pool

Delight men's eyes, when I awake some day

To find they have flown away?

Read these lines from Stanza 2 in the poem.

All suddenly mount

And scatter wheeling in great broken rings

How do the words "scatter wheeling" affect the poem?


A. They suggest a chaotic mood.

B. They convey a disappointed tone.

C. They create a sense of graceful movement.

D. They reveal a sense of difficulty.