Out of Mind Versus Out of World: An Analysis of William Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium" and "Wild Swans at Coole"

Through the use of vigorous, ritualistic imagery and war-like diction, Yeats accentuates the inauspicious course of events the world has faced. Yeats, in the first stanza, uses violent and warlike imagery and diction to illustrates that the world is on the threshold of an apocalyptic revelation. Yeats describes that the world is going to “fall apart,” and that “mere anarchy is [loosened] upon the world,” and ‘everywhere...innocence is drowned.” The use of violent diction in the first stanza contributes to the concept that world is going to end, and that humanity cannot recover from the destruction the world has caused, but Yeats uses ritualistic imagery to describe “a rough beast” with “a shape [of a] lion body and head of a man” to show that this “New Age” will bring some hope. William Yeats uses this violent and ritualistic imagery and diction to illustrate that in order to bring a new era, the old epoch must die violently, which is his concept of “the second coming.” Yeats believes that a violent revolution will bring hope to a new era. Similarly, how the Russian Revolution was destructive and brought an end to an era and started a new age which bought Russia to new heights, Yeats believes that a violent end of the world can bring the new world to new

yeats seems forlorn in the ending because the leaving of the swans symbolize another year lost for him. he describes the swans as always coming back but he knows that one day he own't ciontinue to exsist. Their diction remains the same, yet their tones differ in the course of their last

"The Wild Swans at Coole" is a poem that deals with the aging process of William Butler Yeats. It is a deeply personal poem that explores the cycle of life through nature. The poem is set in Coole Park in autumn, which is located on Lady Gregory’s estate. The poet is on or near the shore of a large pond, and is observing the swans. It has been nineteen years since the first time he came to this place, and it is on this visit that he begins to realize that he is getting older. The poet parallels nature in the poem, as it represents his present state while, in the poem, there is a contrast between the poet and the swan because the swan is used as a metaphor for the poet’s youth.

    In Greek mythology, Leda, a Spartan queen, was so beautiful that Zeus, ruler of the gods, decided he must have her. Since immortals usually did not present themselves to humankind in their divine forms, Zeus changed himself into a great swan and in that shape ravished the helpless girl (Carey 58-59). Both William Butler Yeats and Mona Van Duyn base their poems "Leda and the Swan" and "Leda," respectively, on this story of a "mystic marriage." Yeats' focus on the sexual act itself, along with his allusions to Leda's progeny, manifest a grave and terrifying tone. While he raises Leda to a status similar to that of Mary, mother of Jesus, Van Duyn portrays Leda as a universal mother.

I have really been fascinated when I read William B. Yeats’ poem named “The Old Men Admiring Themselves In The water” which seems too short but includes more than what it looks in terms of meaning. Here, I tried to analyze his great but seeming little poem in terms of the physical characteristics of the poem,literary devices used in poem , emotions I have been felt by these literary devices,meaning of the poem and finally Why I chose this poem to analyze .

William Butler Yeats’s ballad “The Cap and Bells” depicts the behavior of love through an allegorical account of actions between a jester and a queen. Through the use of many symbolic references, the dramatic characters accurately reflect a lover’s conduct. Referring to jester-like men throughout many of his works (“A Coat”, “The Fool by the Roadside”, “Two Songs of a Fool”, “The Hour Glass”, etc.), Yeats continually portrays the actions of humans as foolish many a times. Coming to him in a dream, “The Cap and Bells” likely acquired its origin from the obsessive infatuation Yeats had with Maud Gonne. Being an acclaimed actress, Yeats most likely perceived Gonne exceeding him in status; her

In William Butler Yeats poem “Leda and the Swan”, he uses the fourteen lines of the traditional sonnet form in a radical, modernist style. He calls up a series of unforgettable, bizarre images of an immediate physical event using abstract descriptions in brief language. Through structure and language Yeats is able to paint a powerful sexual image to his readers without directly giving the meaning of the poem.

As years pass further away from childish thoughts, adults are allowed to reflect on their youth, while the youth dutifully study the already matured. This is exemplified in the writings of E. B. White and W. B. Yeats, and the insight gained upon reading them. In Yeats’s essay, “Reveries over Childhood and Youth”, he recounts of how his grandfather was a feared man deserving of admiration. “Once More to the Lake” is a recollection of White’s experience and emotions pertaining to his childhood summers spent at the lake. In both these essays, Yeats and White show that with age comes wisdom and respect, but it does not inherently entail contentment or satisfaction.

The techniques and systolic structure provides textual integrity by allowing relevance for a large contextual audience, with the themes transcending time and context. The contrast of the swans’ magnificence in their immortal portrayal to Yeats’ anguish in his “twilight years” of mental state establishes two aspects of human nature, developing a sense of ambiguity.

Analysis of William Butler Yeats' Poems; When You Are Old, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, The Wild Swans at Coole, The Second Coming and Sailing to Byzantium

In the context of John Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale,” “The Wild Swans at Coole” by William Butler Yeats raises compelling dialogue with Keats’ piece, which suggests that Yeats, to some degree, draws inspiration from John Keats, in that his pose concerning the nightingale becomes a basis and “touchstone” for “The Wild Swans at Coole.” Aside from commonalities concerning avians, both poems share elements of Romanticism, melancholy, feelings of weariness, and other key ideas, images, and plots as “Ode to a Nightingale” and thus, “The Wild Swans at Coole” strengthens Keats’ initial ideas in a harmonic and resonant fashion using its own unique methods. As a response to Keatsian Romanticism, Yeats revises the ideas surrounding transcendence of

The importance of this book is that it contains some of the works of poetry which were carried out by William Yeats. Arguably, the most salient feature in the book is the attempt at portraying the shift that characterized Yeats in his work, so that his works are arranged almost chronologically to underscore this standpoint. Works that depict him as a bard of the Celtic Twilight, reviving Rosicrucian symbols and legends are the most frontal. These are followed up by works which show the shift away from plush romanticism. The same are exhibited by the heavy presence of incantatory rhythms such as “I will arise and go… and go to Innisfree”. The same is seen

The work of William Butler Yeats is full of descriptive, evocative imagery, deep personal feelings and strong political opinions. Yeats sets up dynamic contrasts in every one of his poems which for me makes his poetry interesting and thought-provoking. I found these traits particularly evident in “The Circus Animals’ Desertion” as Yeats discusses a variety of poems, prose and plays written by himself throughout his life. These works of art represent the full breadth of Yeats’ work - The themes of life, death immortality and of conflicting dualities. Bloom (1970) proposes the theory that Yeats shares with the Romantic poets “a conviction that the most poetic images are necessarily those of ‘unfulfilled and unfillable desire” and according to Bloom Yeats shares with Shelley his deepest fear of growing old and losing his ability to write beautiful meaningful poetry and to be immortalised through his work. This genuine self-doubt in his ability is particularly evident in this poem. The resignation and fear is implicit in the concluding rhyming couplet in each stanza.,

Somewhat paradoxically, Yeats viewed nature as immortal in comparison with humans. Nature, represented here by the Swans, endures while men age and die.

James Najarian praises the youth and weakness of poet in his “Keats's Boyish Imagination.” Keats was a very young poet who died only at the age of twenty-six. In order to create a fully "mature" Keats one has to drop his early verse as well as most of the four-thousand-line Endymion and the comic verse that both began and ended his writing career. From more recent work it had been accepted that Keats sometimes wrote and acted like the young man who was, as he put it, “five feet and not a lord” (Najarian, 2009, p. 545). A young man, Keats progressively achieved poetic and political maturity, due to this so many biographers like Milnes, Aileen Ward, Amy Lowell, and Walter Jackson Bate had tried to create his story. Keats looked gladly and intentionally immature and from his organized immaturity, he challenged the mature force of established