Literary Analysis first draft

Student Example

Deep Desires that Transcend Time

William Butler Yeats wrote two poems which are together known as the Byzantium series. The

first is "Sailing to Byzantium," and its sequel is simply named "Byzantium." The former is

considered the easier of the two to understand. It contains multiple meanings and emotions, and

the poet uses various literary devices to communicate them. Two of the most dominant themes of

this poem are the desire for escape from the hardships of this world and the quest for

immortality. These are circumstances of the poet's life that influenced the composition of the

poem. Those personal experiences and Yeats's skillful use of words come together to emphasize

the need, or at least desire, that many people have for escape and immortality.

The first stanza of "Sailing to Byzantium" describes a society of people who live for the moment

but ignore the wisdom and intellect that the poet finds important. In his frustration, the poet says

in lines 21-22 that his heart is "sick with desire / And fastened to a dying animal." He is ready to

leave this world of apathy and arrive in his holy land of Byzantium, which is a sort of paradise in

his mind (Kennedy and Gioia 866-67). This is evidence of his desire for escape. In the second

stanza, Yeats describes an aged man as "a paltry thing, / A tattered coat upon a stick" (9-10). It is

believed that the poet is describing his own condition in these lines. The physical weariness he is

experiencing causes him to want to be able to sing through poetry to keep his spirit alive. He

believes that his poetry can help him to transcend time and old age, and that it will take him to

his ideal city of Byzantium (Thorndike 1852). He prays that the sages of God will "be the

singing-masters of my soul" (20). In other words, he wants to be taught how to write the poetry

that will sustain his spirit. This is the poet's attempt at achieving immortality. As long as his

poetry still exists and is read, a part of his soul continues to live.

These two major themes in the poem are enhanced by the writer's use of symbolism. Byzantium,

as mentioned before, is a sort of ideal land, comparable to the scriptural heaven. This is

obviously one of the most predominant symbols in the poem. Another symbol that carries

throughout the work is that of a bird. There is a reference to a bird in each stanza, but perhaps the

best indicator of its meaning is found in stanza 4. Yeats uses the image of a bird "set upon a

golden bough to sing" (30) to refer to the timelessness and spirit he craves. The bird that is set in

gold is there forever, singing for all time, and the poet longs to be able to sing similarly through

his poetry and therefore achieve immortality. Finally, the metaphor of singing is present in each

stanza and reinforces the poet's desire to be able to create timeless music in poetry. He says that

reading poems is a kind of "singing school" (13) where he can learn to step into that world of

immortality (Thorndike 1853).

Similar to the way Yeats uses symbols to enhance this poem, he uses personal experience to

inspire it. Twenty years prior to writing "Sailing to Byzantium," he was first exposed to

Byzantine art. He saw mosaics that are regarded as the basis for most of the imagery in stanza 3.

Also, when Yeats was nearly sixty years old, he suffered high blood pressure and had difficulty

breathing. His wife took him on a Mediterranean tour to help him relax, and on that tour he saw

mosaics that contrasted art with nature. This would explain his statement in the poem that "Once

out of nature I shall never take / My bodily form from any natural thing, / But such a form as

Grecian goldsmiths make" (25-27). In addition, Yeats did not regret leaving his home on this

excursion because he was depressed about his health and dissatisfied with the political situations

at home. Therefore, it is probably that the imaginative voyage the man takes in the poem from

one place to a more appealing one is directly influenced by the poet's feelings at that time (Allen

3728).

"Sailing to Byzantium" is a poem packed with emotion and meaning. It depicts a man striving to

reach a better place while leaving a piece of his soul behind for all time. It expresses the

weariness and frustration that everyone experiences at some point, but especially with the aging

process. It is a poem that encompasses human desires and emotions and presents them almost as

though they were in a dream. However, it is almost as though the imaginative wording of the

poem makes it easier to see the reality behind its message. The poem refreshes the craving

people have for a better world with no hardships, and the need they have to leave a part of

themselves here to sing eternally "Of what is past, or passing, or to come" (32).

Works Cited

Allen, James Lovic. "William Butler Yeats." Critical Survey of Poetry: English Language

Series. Revised ed. Vol. 8. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Englewood Cliffs: 1992. 3709-3729.

Kennedy, S. J., and Dana Gioia, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.

6th ed. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. 866-868.

Thorndike, Jonathan L. "Sailing to Byzantium." Masterplots II: Poetry Series. Vol. 5. Ed. Frank

N. Magil. Englewood Cliffs: 1992. 1852-1854.

*by A. Ensminger, Roane State