Analysis of a Poem When You are Old‚ by William Butler Yeats‚ represents and elderly woman reminiscing of her younger days. A past lover whispers to her as she looks through a photo album. Basically‚ Yeats is showing that as the woman gets older‚ she is alone‚ but she does not have to be lonely. She will always have her memories for companionship. "When you are old and grey and full of sleep‚ and nodding by the fire" (l.1-2) depicts the woman in her age‚ needing to nap more frequently
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Easter 1916 : William Butler Yeats - Summary and Critical Analysis Easter 1916 by William Butler Yeats is a poem about an Irish immature revolutionary plan which became unsuccessful to overthrow the British reign in Ireland. About fifteen hundred people participated in this revolution to seize the government office building of Dublin on Easter morning‚ but three hundred of them were killed on the spot‚ and more than two hundred people were taken as prisoner and tortured. The Irish
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. c o m Page 1 Background Yeats wrote this poem in 1916‚ when he was fifty one years of age. Coole Park‚ in Co. Galway was the home of Lady Augusta Gregory‚ Yeats’ friend and patron. In the poem‚ he reflects on how his life has changed since he was a younger man and walked ‘with a lighter tread’. In reality‚ Yeats had not been carefree in his youth‚ but for the purposes of this poem‚ we must suspend disbelief and take him at his word. In 1916‚ Yeats’ love‚ Maud Gonne was widowed. Her
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Easter 1916 Analysis by William Butler Yeats In this stanza Yeats describes the people‚ or "vivid faces"(2)‚ he sees in everyday life. They are insignificant to Yeats as individuals‚ however each of them shares a certain bond with him. They are all united in a fight for their homeland of Ireland. In lines 6 and 8‚ Yeats states that all he says to the people on the street are "polite meaningless words"(6). The fact that what he says to these people is always meaningless‚ shows how insignificant
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rhetorical question is a question in which the answer is implied and therefore doesn’t demand an answer. It is used here by Yeats as a means of coming to terms with the reality of his relationship with Maud Gonne. The opening statement of the poem "Why should I blame her that she filled my days with misery" can interpreted as a disclaimer or as absolution for Maud Gonne. Yeats recognises that Maud Gonne’s character made her act the manner in which she did‚ though this resulted in misery for him‚ there
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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. "Leda and the Swan" is a violent‚ sexually explicit poem with its plain diction‚ rhythmic
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"The Second Coming " By William Yeats The poem "The Second Coming" by William Yeats was written in 1913‚ after the great horror World War I brought upon the world. Yeats uses very stunning and violent imagery throughout. The attitude and tone of the poem is set from the start. The poem mentions the way things in the "old world" are falling apart only to make room for change. The speaker has a very anxious attitude towards this "second coming" he believes is on the way. The second coming is described
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The Never Ending Cycle In the poem “The Second Coming” Yeats used Christian imagery from the Bible in regards to the Book of Revelations to describe what he feels as the Apocalypse and the second coming. “The Second Coming” is a poem written about how good and evil is in an eternal cycle; as one expands‚ the other contracts. This poem is a result of Yeats’ reaction to the future of his people after World War I. He uses strong symbolisms in this poem that not only make you feel what he is feeling
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Purgatory - William Butler Yeats The old man was born in the ruined house. His mother was an aristocratic woman who fell in love with a groom and married him despite the opposition from her family. The old man’s mother died while giving birth to him. She didn’t know that her husband wasted all her money on alcohol‚ women and playing cards. The old man’s father destroyed the spirit of the house by doing wrong things. The old man wasn’t sent to school but was taught by a priest and by the wife
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all over the world. Poetry is an outlet or artistic and creative way of telling a story or expressing your emotions. It is something that does not require a lot of skill‚ but imagination and feeling. “Sailing to Byzantium” written by William Butler Yeats is a poem that speaks of the craving for something one cannot have and the immortality of people‚ art and intellect‚ and greatness. “Sailing to Byzantium” is a poem based on the theme longing for something one cannot have. In this case the old man
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