The Swan
As the title suggests, the swan is the star of the show in this poem. It is worth mentioning that Oliver also wrote a poem titled “Wild Geese” which could lead one to suspect those titular fowl are the stars of that poem, but they actually turn out to be only briefly referenced. Almost every single line of this poem is directed specifically to describing the swan, albeit mostly as imagery or symbolism.
The sea bird has been drifting along with the current of a river all through the night. The speaker spots it early one morning just as it begins to take flight into the air. Its feathers are perfectly white, the color of linen, and the texture of the silk. It is, in fact, all white with two exceptions, one of which is a black beak. The speaker also describes the sound it makes, comparing it to a high pitch whistle of a flute, but also so shrill as to sound like music that is dark and perhaps even a little sinister.
As the swan flies out of view high enough in the sky to situate itself just below the clouds, its outstretched wings are juxtaposed against its longer to create the impression of a cross flying through the air. The contrast from this range against the clouds brings the only aspect of the bird that is not entirely white into sharp relief: its two black feet floating like leaves being blown by the wind.
The Speaker
The speaker offers little personal information about herself—presumably, it is a woman since the poet is female—but that is because the speaker’s role in this poem is limited to the observer. It is through the speaker’s eyes that the swan is physically described, but more importantly, it is through the speaker’s personality that the swan is endowed with meaning.
Like many works of verse in this writer’s body of work, this poem is heavily dependent upon questions posed directly to the reader. The very first line is a query asking whether the reader saw the swan as well. The second sentence in the poem is also a question, but one that takes up five lines before the question mark finally arrives. Indeed, it will turn out that the entire poem is constructed as a series of questions and this framework offers some insight into the speaker. This person observing the take flight sees something much more than a big white bird soaring into the air from its position of rest floating on the water. This is a person who sees in nature the big philosophical questions about life, meaning, and existence.
The last three lines are all questions as well, all beginning with “And” and all italicized to enhance their significance. This decision to signal the importance of the final three questions also offers insight into the speaker. She is someone who actively seeks discourse with others. She is not some lone solitary hermit escaping into nature to avoid society, but rather someone who sees what the natural world has to offer as a great mystery to be shared with a sedentary public that rarely sees such sights as a wild swan taking to flight. The final questions hint at an intense desire to change that aspect of modern society.
