Byzantium william butler yeats analysis. Comparative Analysis Of William Butler Yeats’ Poems: Free Essay Example, 1412 words 2022-12-26
Byzantium william butler yeats analysis Rating:
7,7/10
490
reviews
"Byzantium" is a poem written by William Butler Yeats, one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. The poem was first published in 1933, and it is part of Yeats's collection "The Winding Stair and Other Poems".
In "Byzantium", Yeats reflects on the city of Byzantium, which was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and is now known as Istanbul. He describes the city as a place where art and beauty are eternal, a place where the "golden journey to the stars" begins.
The poem is structured in three stanzas, and each stanza has a different focus. In the first stanza, Yeats describes the physical features of Byzantium, such as its walls and gates. He also mentions the "sages standing in God's holy fire", which refers to the city's philosophers and scholars who sought wisdom and enlightenment.
In the second stanza, Yeats shifts his focus to the art and beauty of Byzantium. He speaks of "dove-like" angels and "silent" mosaics, which symbolize the peaceful and harmonious nature of the city. He also speaks of the "sages" who are "beheaded" by the "angry" and "cruel" Byzantines, which suggests that even in this city of beauty and art, there is still violence and suffering.
In the third stanza, Yeats reflects on the eternal nature of Byzantium and its connection to the spiritual world. He speaks of the "masterpieces" of the city, which are "set in the goldsmith's shop", suggesting that they are precious and valuable. He also speaks of the "golden journey to the stars", which symbolizes the journey of the soul after death.
Overall, "Byzantium" is a poem that reflects on the city of Byzantium as a place of eternal beauty and art, but also as a place where violence and suffering exist. Yeats's use of imagery and symbolism helps to convey the complexities of the city and its connection to the spiritual world.
Byzantium by William Butler Yeats: Summary and Poem
An aged man acquires some merit or value only if old age is accompanied by a spiritual recognition by admiring the great works of art. In this section, he says that the best music for the soul of an old man is the study and appreciation of the grand monuments of immortal intellect. . Instead of concentrating on the things that will last forever, they instead only enjoy what is right in front of them at any given moment. The reader has either crossed into the world of the dream or the world of the spiritual i.
In classical mythology, dolphins often carry the dead to their final resting-place. The swans in the poem continue to live and love as they always have, and swans do not pay attention to the passage of time like humans do. The bird is made up gold which is the purest substance and it demonstrates that the bird is a purified soul. Finally, spirit after spirit arrives at the seashore to be carried across the sea on the backs of dolphins. The marbles of the dancing floor break little furies of complexity, and those images that beget fresh images and also the dolphin torn, that gong tormented sea.
We also learn that our speaker is an old man who feels like he does not belong there anymore and feels alone. This dreaming back, in which the soul reviews all its memories, sins and experiences, is represented by a dance which, at times, is marked by 'an agony of trance', where the soul burns in the eternal fire of remorse. The drunken soldiers of the emperor are now asleep. He wanted a life with no distractions or problems, just a happy and peaceful life. The cloud itself cannot have definite dimensions, as it exists to only hide the moon, casting the speaker of the poem, his love and the cloud itself in a continuous darkness. Similarly, as one grows up, he faces various happenings and obstacles which eventually leads to their death, old age being one contributing factor.
Analysis of Byzantium Poem by William Butler Yeats Essay
It symbolizes the state of man between life and after life. Before me floats an image, man or shade, Shade more than man, more image than a shade; For Hades' bobbin bound in mummy-cloth May unwind the winding path; A mouth that has no moisture and no breath Breathless mouths may summon; I hail the superhuman; I call it death-in-life and life-in-death. Marbles of the dancing floor Break bitter furies of complexity, Those images that yet Fresh images beget, That dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea. Um Kommentare zu schreiben, stelle bitte sicher, dass JavaScript und Cookies aktiviert sind, und lade Sie die Seite neu. It symbolizes the peace William feels that only nature can give. Campion concludes the film in this matter to further that love has no end, even in the matter of death.
In stanza two, Yeats narrates how being old often makes someone useless as he cannot contribute to development stuff. The traveler appears to seek a connection with the afterworld and a release from temporal existence. Or, by the moon embittered, scorn aloud In glory metal Common bird or petal And all complexities of mire or blood He says that this bird can crock like the crow which has come from the region of death and scorn other birds of petals and all the changes which flesh means mortal beings are destined to pass through. Nor storm disturbs, flames begotten of flame, He adds that no storm can interfere of disturb this fire and the flames which have been lit though self-generating. . The fact that it is artistic shows that only through poems — considered works of art in literature- the poet can achieve that immortality.
The last half of the third stanza continues this thought. Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unageing intellect. Here, the writer uses symbolism. . What is more, the speaker sees deep spiritual truth rather than simply aesthetic escape in his assumption of artificiality; he wishes his soul to learn to sing, and transforming into a golden bird is the way to make it capable of doing so.
William Butler Yeats’s “The Second Coming” and “Sailing to Byzantium” Analysis
Miracle, bird or golden handiwork, More miracle than bird or handiwork, Planted on the starlit golden bough, Can like the cocks of Hades crow, Or, by the moon embittered, scorn aloud In glory of changeless metal Common bird or petal And all complexities of mire or blood. While interestingly blasphemous, this brief exposition is not awfully complicated. He sees a golden bird or bird sculpture placed on the starlit golden bow. The author used alliteration to create rhythm in the poem and also to create lots of emotion like sorrow when it says "But O heart! Assonance has also been used in the poem with most lines having words that sound similar, for instance, gold mosaic. The first stanza is somber because the woman is old and seemingly alone. It is like two worlds were created, the world with the beautiful lake symbolizing life and then the world William Yeats lived in where dryness and autumn has taken over. He cannot be certain if the image he sees is a man or a shade—that is, a ghost—although it is an image apparently so awesome in its reality that it overwhelms him to such an extent that he does not know if he is alive or dead—or what life or death is.
Byzantium by William Butler Yeats Summary and Analysis
And yet, on another level, these lines from the poem also show how we 're all connected. Therefore, when one gets old and loses the meaning of his life, dying and joining the spiritual world will allow him to gain this meaning and also lead an immortal life afterwards. In the last stanza, the poet talks about the song of the golden bird. This hope gives him a lot of satisfaction. Eliot has accredited that he was profoundly influenced by these anthropology and the ancient mythologies and legends which form the mythical background of the poem. .
Byzantium itself symbolized eternity to Yeats; it was an ancient city that represented a place of artistic and intellectual permanence. The themes of his poems are often easily identified with and his simple style of writing makes his poetry easy to interpret and understand. The outstanding novelist with in this tradition is D. As night emerges, the unpurged images or the human activity recedes. The poem seems to express a desire to escape from the decay and tedium of cyclical nature. He wants to transform his own consciousness and find mystical union with the golden mosaics of a medieval empire.
