“To the Rose upon the Rood of Time”
With this poem, Yeats presents a strongly sentimental ode to Ireland. Throughout the poem are mythical references. The two stanzas mirror each other in the sense that the first begins with a hail to the rose (highly revered by the Irish) and the second line speaks of singing and of the “ancient ways;” the second stanza ends with a repetition of these themes in reverse as follows:
First two lines:
“Red Rose, proud Rose, sad Rose of all my days!
Come near me, while I sing the ancient ways:”
Last two lines:
“Sing of old Eri and the ancient ways:
Red Rose, proud Rose, sad Rose of all my days!”
The feeling that one gets from this poem is a sense of melancholic nostalgia and a deep passion for one’s own ethnic heritage.
“The Lake Isle of Innisfree”
In this poem, Yeats depicts Innisfree and an envisioned life there which is peaceful and ideally solitary. He is reminded of the waters of his homeland and explains:
“I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.”
Yeat’s poetry is almost nationalistic in how it conveys the poet’s passionate familiarity and fondness for his birthplace.
“The Sorrow of Love”
This poem begins and ends with a nighttime scene of active sparrows, moonlight, and the sounds of the trees. As in “To the Rose upon the Rood of Time,” the first and last stanzas mirror each other with regard to content and form. The second stanza is addressed to someone. Yeats does not disclose to whom it is he speaks. He describes the person as having “red mournful lips” and says that he/she “came with the whole world’s tears.”
The pangs of love lost seem to be a common theme for poets throughout history.
“When You are Old”
“When You are Old” Is tender and touching. It seems to be addressed to a widow for Yeats says:
“Murmur, a little sad, From us fled Love;
He paced upon the mountains far above,
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.”
The last lines of the second stanza end thusly:
“But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face.”
This line is deeply sentimental, as is the poem as a whole.
“[Who Goes with Fergus?]”
The meaning of the poem is somewhat ambiguous. Yeats speaks of the much-loved Fergus, ancient king of Ireland and he addresses a young man and a young woman. He implores them not to “brood Upon Love’s bitter mystery.” Yeats goes on to explain that King Fergus rules the woods and sea. The poem is deeply ethnic in the sense that it speaks of a cultural hero specific to the Irish. I feel that there is an Irish way of understanding this type of poem that cannot be reached by outsiders.
“The Hosting of the Sidhe”
Once again, the theme is Irish myth and legend. In this poem, ethereal heroes with “burning hair” and fairy maidens beckon the reader to abandon his/her “mortal dreams” and to enter a mythical place. Perhaps this is the Land of the Ever-Living. The meter and structure of the poem give it a sing-song quality when read aloud.
“The Song of Wandering Aengus”
This poem recounts a supernatural encounter with a shape-shifting, silver trout. The trout, after having been captured from the stream with a makeshift fishing pole, transforms into a “glimmering girl” who calls the speaker by his name and then runs away. In the last stanza, Yeats promises to find the girl and to live out his days with her. One of the prominent symbols repeated in this poem is the apple. The girl wears apple blossoms in her hair and the last two lines are:
“The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.”
The symbol of the apple as understood by Yeats would take some further research. Clues are gained from the title “The Song of Wandering Aengus,” for Aengus is the old Irish god of youth, beauty and poetry. Perhaps apples too, symbolize youth and beauty in the Irish mind.
“He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven”
“Cloths of Heaven” seems to represent the sky in its various states and shades,
“Of night and light and the half light,”
The speaker claims that if he had the “Cloths of Heaven” he would “spread them under your feet.” He explains that because he is poor, all he has are his dreams and so he’ll spread those out instead to be tread upon. One might presume that the speaker addresses someone very dear to him and for whom he is willing to sacrifice all in favor of that person’s comfort.
“Adam’s Curse”
This poem is addressed to a woman and presumed lover of Yeats. He recounts the experience of sitting with her and her "close friend" and talking of poetry. Yeats describes "Adam's Curse" as being evident in the toiling labor of those who work. Yeats says that making poetry and siting with his love is laborious despite the claims of the establishment;
"Of bankers, schoolmasters, and clergymen
The martyrs call the world."
The last stanza is a bit ironic and contrasts the seeming happiness of true love with the weariness it brings and compares this to the rising and setting of the moon, which Yeats describes as being like a worn down shell.
"The Fascination of What's Difficult"
In "The Fascination of What's Difficult," Yeats laments at the difficulties of everyday life. He implies that one, like a horse, is broken in order to fulfill his duties in life. With the last line, Yeats proclaims:
"I swear before the dawn comes around again
I'll find the stable and pull out the bolt."
This line speaks of a longing for freedom and the audacity of one who is willing to pursue it and to set the horse free per-say.
"A Coat"
This is a short poem and is heavy with metaphor. The speaker has
"made his(my) song a coat
Covered with embroideries
Out of old mythologies."
However, "fools" have taken the coat and have defiled it's beauty "in the world's eye."
Therefore, the speaker thinks it fitter to go about naked if he is to keep his dignity intact. My interpretation is that Yeats is down-trodden that worldly people have been unable to appreciate the beauty of the old myths and romantic themes so dear to Yeats. Nevertheless, they have used them for their personal gain and have devalued them by making them cheap and superficial.
"The Wild Swans at Coole"
This poem is an ode to the mysterious beauty of the swans at Coole upon the nineteenth visit of the speaker. Yeats speaks of the natural features and especially of the swans with great sentimental fondness. Coming to this old place makes the speaker nostalgic when he notices how things have changed. He fears that someday the swans will not be there at all. One wonders if the swans still visit Coole today.
"Easter, 1916"
To be properly understood, this poem requires that the reader take on some extraneous information about the characters mentioned therein and about the events of and leading up to Easter, 1916. On that day, Irish nationalists staged a revolt against the British government and were captured and mostly executed in firing squads. Many of the individuals involved were intimately known by Yeats. The poem is a lament in honor of those who died to proclaim Ireland a republic, but in vain.
"The Second Coming"
The poem was written at the onset of World War I and during the throes of tremendous upheaval and violence in Europe. Yeats interprets these events as heralding in the apocalypse of the Bible and the coming of a new world age. The tone of the poem is heavy and dark. Yeats explains that;
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."
This was the zeitgeist or spirit of the time and seems to continue on into today. Yeats describes a sphinx stalking through the desert towards Bethlehem to be born; the great iconic god of the next world age. Are we to assume that nearly a hundred years later, the beast still makes his way towards his coronation and to usher in the end of an age and the dawn of the next?
Section I of "Nineteen Hundred and Nineteen"
As with many of Yeat's poems, one must have some background information to fully appreciate this one. The year 1919 marks the beginning of the Anglo-Irish war between the IRA and British government forces. The main theme of this section of the six-part poem is sadness at the lost of great and beautiful things and the atrocities of war. What is suggested is that war and violence only serve to destroy beauty and to facilitate atrocities such as the "mother, murdered at her door."
"Leda and the Swan"
Once again, Yeats alludes to myth and legend. Leda was a mortal woman raped by Zeus who appeared to her in the form of a large swan. This myth has inspired generations of painters and poets. Leda birthed four children from her unwanted assault, two of which were the fabled Castor and Pollux. The myth was said to represent the dawning of a new age and this is another theme of which Yeats seems to have favored for writing. The poem is viscerally descriptive and all at once sensual and violent. The poem ends thusly;
"Did she put on his knowledge with his power
Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?"
This ending suggests that perhaps Leda is the powerful victor in the end despite Zeus's violent violation. For Leda, being a woman, gave birth and through the birthing and fostering of human lives, great nations rise and fall.
"Sailing to Byzantium"
Yeats speaks of Byzantium as an ideal paradise; a place similar to the heaven described by the Bible, with golden streets and trees, a place of eternal youth. Yeats speaks of age as a vice to be overcome and implies that youth is a state of mind with the following lines from the second stanza;
"An aged man is a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing..."
Byzantium is a happy mental escape for the speaker who imagines himself there in any form other than his present one;
"Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling..."
To equate being in Byzantium with being "out of nature" is to call Byzantium a supernatural place.
In stark contrast to "Saling to Byzantium," this poem speaks a great deal of death and the esoteric symbols thereof. Reading the poem, one can almost hear the ceremonial drag of a Roman dirge. The poem speaks of Hades, of a mummy, of the spool of life unwound, and of dolphins which carry souls to the other side. However, Yeats does not speak exclusively of death; for in his own words:
"I call it death-in-life and life-in-death."
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