Introduction of the Poem:
The poem “Sailing to Byzantium” has been extracted from the volume entitled “The Tower”. This volume of the poems was composed in 1928. By the time of his death, Yeats had collected a lot of information about Byzantium which was the capital of the Roman Empire and was famous for its magnificence, advancement of civilization and culture, and above all for arts. In the poem, the poet shows his extreme craving to live amidst artificers after leaving the world of the sensual pleasures.
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| Yeats’ Poem Sailing to Byzantium, Summary and Critical Analysis |
The poem is a meditation on timeless existence or eternity. In it the poet presents the nature and tendency of all the living beings of this materialistic world. Through this poem the poet tells us that in this world every creature is mad after the pleasures of senses. He presents a fact that in this world the old men lose their importance. The poet also advises the old men to turn to the spirituality, art, literature and philosophy so that they may be able to get salvation. He presents Byzantium as a symbol for the world of intellect and spirituality. Byzantium is his conception of paradise where the soul is purified and the golden birds sing sitting on the golden boughs representing intellectual joy.
Summary of the Poem:
Stanza 1:
That is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
Those dying, generations—at their song.
The salmon - falls , the mackerel - crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies,
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.
Explanatory Word - Meanings:
1. That is ... old men = this materialistic world appears to belong completely to the young and there is no place for the old. 2. The young ... arms = the young men and women indulge themselves in amorous plays and pleasures. 3. Birds in the trees= as the young men are lost in one another's arms, in the same way the birds are sitting on the trees singing melodious songs. 4. Those dying generations = a mortal bird of nature amid natural trees sings a brief song of sensual joy in praise of mortal things. ‘Generation’ conveys the idea of reproductive process and sexual gratification among men and birds. 5. The salmon - falls = waterfalls replete with shoal of salmon. 6. Salmon= a fresh water fish of silvery skin and orange flesh much prized for food. 7. Mackerel = a kind of sea fish. 8. Fish= fish symbolises all aquatic creature. 9. Flesh= this word indicates to human beings. 10. Fowl= it indicates to all feathery creation. 11. Fish ... dies= all kinds of creatures are born, they procreate and then they die. 12. Caught ... intellect = all these mortal creatures understand the language of sensuality, but they are entirely unmindful to the intellectual activity. 13. Monuments ... intellect= intellectual achievements are immortal and ageless and they have permanent value. 14. Monuments = great work of art. 15. Unageing = remain alive for ages.
Paraphrase:
The poet expresses his disgust for his country which he considers unsuitable to the old men. Faced with the problems of the old age, the poet gives his reason to go to Byzantium, his ideal city. Old age deprives man of all the sensual pleasures of the youth. The old lose all the capacity of indulging in sensual pleasures, so they do not deserve the category of the young. In this materialistic and modern age the old are completely ignored by the young. The young show an indifferent attitude for them. This world appears to belong completely to the young. The young remain busy in amorous activities. They are seen satisfying their sensual desires. The young men and women are seen in each other’s arms performing sensual activities. Birds, fish and all other creatures lead an animal, physical life, spent in procreation. All the creatures have only occupation of procreation. They are born, procreate and die. The busy young people, who are engrossed in joys of the senses, ignore the world of art and philosophy. They do not show any interest in intellectual activities. They do not know the permanent and ageless value of intellectual achievements.
Stanza 2:
An aged man is but a paltry thing.
A tattered coal upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence,
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.
Explanatory Word - Meanings:
1. An aged man= an old man. 2. But a paltry thing= just a petty, worthless and insignificant thing. 3. A tattered ... stick = looks like a scare - crow in tattered clothes. 4. Tattered = worn out. 5. Unless ... sing= the old man is like a worthless thing and is the subject of contempt if he, during the sunset of his life, does not purify his soul by dedicating himself in the feet of God. He should feel overwhelmed while singing in praise of God. 6. And louder ... dress= As the old man feels approaching very close to death, he should show more enthusiasm in adoration of God. In other words the older a man, the greater his spiritual exaltation should be. 7. Nor is ... magnificence = besides touching the summit of spirituality, an old man should study the immortal work of art. He should also develop his intellect. 8. Monument of its own magnificence = great or immortal work of art. 9. And therefore ... Byzantium= that is the reason why the poet has crossed the oceans and arrived in the holy city of Byzantium which represents spiritual power and greatness. It is a country, famous for its artistic wealth.
Paraphrase:
The poet observes that in this materialistic age, the old are badly neglected by the young who are ever engrossed in sensual pleasures. The old men, due to losing their physical capacity, cannot participate in sexual joys and pleasures, so they are thrown away from the society of the young people knowing them a meaningless object. In this way, they lose their place in this materialistic society. When the old man grows weak physically and becomes an inferior thing in this world of sensualism, he should turn his mind to spirituality. He should make uplift of his soul by seeking the way of spirituality. There should be a spiritual enlightenment of soul in old age. If an old man does not incline to purify his soul by singing in glory and appreciation of God, he is no better than a scarecrow hanging on a dead stick in tattered clothes. The more worn-out the clothes or an aged man, the happier should his soul feel. Old age and its weakness should not be an obstacle in seeking shelter of spirituality and divinity. Man's soul, due to being a part of divine, is more powerful and stronger. An old man should, next, turn to the study of art and literature. Art and literature is the greatest feast of the soul. Spiritually and intellectually enlightened soul makes the way of salvation. An old man can only find delight in spirituality and in the study of immortal works of art. That is the reason why the poet has discarded the world of sensual pleasures and has come to the holy city of Byzantium. Byzantium is the proper place for the old people. It is reached by sailing the seas, by breaking utterly with the country of the young. Byzantium becomes a symbol of spiritualism.
Stanza 3:
O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing - masters of my soul,
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is: and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.
Explanatory Word - Meanings:
1. Sages = great learned holy persons who have fully control over their senses and renounce this world of desires for seeking the way of salvation. 2. Standing ... fire= the poet visualises the sages standing in God's holy fire. These sages have got complete freedom from the slavery of sensuality and in this way they have purified their soul. 3. As ... wall= these sages are similar to the figures represented in the gold mosaic of a wall. 4. Mosaic = design made of inlaid work. 5. Perne = swoop down; descend. 6. In a gyre= in a rapid, whirling movement like that of a hawk descending upon its prey. 7. Be ... soul = the poet begs to the sages to rise from their holy fire like immortal phoenixes and become a source of inspiration to him. 8. Consume ... away = the poet's heart is still sick with sensual desires, so he prays them to purify his heart. 9. Dying animal = although the poet is old and is unable to enjoy sensual pleasures, yet he feels the temptation to sensual desires. 10. It= the poet's heart. 11. Gather ... eternity = purged of all passions, the poet wishes to become a part of the immortal products of art.
Paraphrase:
The poet visualises the great learned sages who are standing in God's holy fire to purify their souls from all the sins and sensual desires. In fact these sages have renounced this materialistic world in order to turn their minds to spirituality and intellect. They have overcome their sensual desires. Now, by purifying themselves in holy fire, they have become an embodiment of divinity. These sages look like the figures represented in the gold mosaic of a wall. The poet, too, wants to get rid of all the worldly and sensual desires, so he wants them to come out of the holy fire and to descend upon him with a hawk - like movement. He wants his heart to be filled with heavenly music. The saints should teach him how to sing. i.e., they should enter the poet's heart and fill it with pleasure. Heart is the seat of passion. The poet prays to the saints that they should purify his heart of all sensuality. He wants them to teach him the lesson of spirituality and divinity. He wants to listen spiritual music as distinguished from the sensual music. The poet's heart is still sick with sensual desires. He has made utmost efforts to rid all the sensual desires, yet his heart is an abode of sensual desires. Although the poet has grown very old and he is incapable to enjoy sensual desires, yet he has not got rid of sensuality. In fact, he, an aged man stood on the verge of death is unable to understand his own reality. Being tied to the mortal body, his soul does not know its real nature. Due to living in the age of materialism, the poet has forgotten the divinity and supernatural power of his soul. The curtain of ignorance has covered his soul. His soul is lying in utter darkness and it needs some great instigation so that it may be introduced of its real existence. The poet thinks that the sages who are the holy souls can purge his heart of all impurities and give him the permanence which great objects of art possess. He (the poet), after getting rid of all sensual desires, would like to be transformed into some object of art having an external value.
Stanza 4:
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 Keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
Explanatory Word - Meanings:
1. Once ... thing= the poet believes that once he is dead, he would never again enter the body of any other living creature. 2. Never take my bodily form = would never accept the mortal body. 3. Any natural being= any other living creature. 4. But such ... awake = the poet would rather choose to be transformed into such form of art as that of the artificial birds made by the goldsmiths of ancient Greece for the pleasure of an emperor. 5. Or set ... to come= as a golden bird, he would be placed on a golden bough and he would appear to be singing songs of all times (the past, the present, the future) to an audience of the lords and ladies of Byzantium. 6. Passing = present. 7. To come= future.
Paraphrase:
The poet is so much tired of this world of materialism and sensual desires that he does not want to accept the mortal body of any other creature in his next birth. He wants to get salvation. He would reject all physical incarnation, because all living beings are subject to mortality and death. He would like to become something eternal and imperishable. He would take the shape of a golden bird, the kind of bird which Grecian goldsmiths are believed to have designed for the pleasure of an emperor. As a golden bird, a work of art, he would be beyond decay or death and would therefore be unlike the dying generations of real birds. As a golden bird sitting upon a golden bough, he would sing to lords and ladies of Byzantium of what is past, present and future.
Critical Analysis of the Poem:
Introduction:
The poem entitled “Sailing to Byzantium” is a meditation on timeless existence or eternity. In it an old man faces the problems of old age, of death and of regeneration and gives his decision. It is the first poem of the volume entitled The Tower, composed in 1928 after the poet's illness from Malta fever. Yeats had thorough familiarity with the Byzantine art and mosaics through his study of works and through his visit to Italy. Byzantium, the capital of Roman Empire was famous for its magnificence, advancement of civilization and culture, and above all for arts. The poet wants to leave the world of the sensual pleasures and craves for a living amidst artificers. In the poem the poet suggests the old men to turn their minds to spirituality, art, literature and philosophy. He also suggests them to purify their souls of all sins and vices so that they may get deliverance. In it , the poet shows his scorn for the physical or mortal birth . He wants to get rid of this cycle of birth and death. Instead of it, he wants to become something eternal and imperishable. Poet's search for spiritual life has been represented by journey to the city of Byzantium which becomes a symbol of spiritualism.
Thought - Content:
The poet tells us that the old age excludes a man from the sensual joys of youth. The world appears to belong completely to the young. It is no place for the old. The young people engrossed in joys of the senses neglect the world of art and philosophy. Hence, the old people should leave this world for another world of art and beauty. An old man, if his soul does not seek refuge in spirituality, art, literature and philosophy, deserves to be treated with contempt. Old age acquires some value only it is accompanied by a spiritual recognition of the great works of art. The poet rejects all physical incarnation, because all living beings are subject to mortality and death. Purged of all passions, he wishes to become a part of the immortal products of art.
Liberation of the Soul from the Sensual World:
If an old man frees himself from sensual passion, he may rejoice in the liberation of the soul. He is admitted into the realm of spirit, and his rejoicing would increase according as he realises the magnificence of the soul. But the soul can best earn its own greatness from the great works of art. Hence, he turns to those great works, but in turning to them he finds that these are by no means mere effigies or monuments but things which have souls also. These live in the noblest element of God's fire, free from all corruption. Hence, he prays for death, for release from his mortal body, and since the insouled monuments exhibit the possibility of the soul's existence in some other matter than flesh; he wishes reincarnation, not now in mortal body but in the immortal and changeless embodiment of art.
The Use of Symbols and Images:
The whole poem is evocative and has become a symbol for “monuments of unageing intellect”, Yeats has used the elemental symbols of earth, air, fire and water. The Byzantium image is associated with the image of the golden bough on which the mechanical bird would be set. ‘Hammered’ implies effort. ‘Gold’ implies purgation. ‘Gold mosaic’ implies hardness. ‘Holy fire’ suggests a mode of purification through suffering, and the ‘gyre’ suggests the revolution of historical cycles. The search for spiritual life has been represented by journey to the city. Byzantium also represents a world of art and culture. The realm of art is immortal. God in the poem stands less in the position of a Christian God than in that of supreme artist, artificer of eternity and the holy fire. Byzantium has also been treated as a symbol of purgatory where the souls are purified. The golden bird, as a symbol of immortality and art has been used. The Golden Tree with its Golden Bird also reminds us of Yeats’ association with the Golden Dawn, its magical practices and the Tree of Life. The Golden Bird is the soul which has become pure. The Golden Tree is the tree of life.
Personal Element:
It is a personal poem in so far as it deals with the problem of old age which always haunted Yeats. An aged man feels miserable in this world of reality, being unfit for its sensual life. He therefore finds comfort by escaping to the city of Byzantium which represents a world of art which is timeless and eternal. His solution to the problem of old age is, however, different in A Dialogue of Self and Soul where he self-rejects the soul's plea for a life of abstract thought and spiritual meditation and asserts the right to live in the world of the senses, no matter what the embarrassments, humiliations, and disappointments of that life may be.
Style and Language:
The poem consists thirty two lines. They have been divided into four stanzas of eight lines each. The metre used is iambic pentameter. Each line consists of five iambic feet, ten syllables. Some lines have extra syllables at the end for the sake of rhyme. Each stanza has a rhymed couplet. There are alliterations, rhymes, half rhymes and cadences. The diction is simple dignified, literary and symbolic. The polysyllabic words are few. Monosyllabic and disyllabic words are used profusely. Yeats was always a great trickster with words, but now there is something more solid beneath the guilding. This poem shows the poet's mastery of technique. No modern poet has so mastered traditional stanza forms of the kind that Chaucer handed down through Spenser to the Romantics. Perhaps none of any time has written stanzas at once so rich in music and so compact in thought and phrase. His language grows trenchant and adaptable to a wide range of ideas. When he chooses, he can put the starkest facts into the starkest words:
“An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick.”
