Nature (Motif)
Among the elements of nature highlighted here are apples and apple blossoms, hazel, and fish. Each of these, in turn, holds a wide range of symbolic significance across Irish, classical, and Christian traditions. Apples, for instance, feature heavily in Greek myth, often representing a reward or the object of a quest—at the same time, they are often associated with the biblical Garden of Eden and with the seeking of forbidden knowledge. Hazel, meanwhile, is often associated with fortune-telling in Irish tradition. By choosing such symbolically and culturally loaded natural elements, Yeats does not encourage one specific interpretation, but instead broadly evokes a natural world infused with human history and myth.
Fire (Symbol)
At the start of the poem, Aengus enters the wood because he feels "a fire in his head." Shortly after, as he is working on making a fire, he sees the fish transform into a woman. In both of these instances, fire represents emotion and passion. Aengus's passionate, impulsive mood drives him to enter the hazel wood. Meanwhile, the woman towards whom he will feel such an intense attachment emerges in the midst of his creating a fire. At the same time, she emerges from water rather than from fire, and in fact, her arrival disrupts the creation of the fire. This suggests that Aengus's attachment to her is patient and fluid rather than entirely impulsive, as shown by his long and patient search. It also suggests that she dampens his youthful passions with her disappearance.
