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Sailing to Byzantium
Ireland's greatest and most influential poet.
Yeats's early poems reveal his interest in myth and fairy tale, his hopeless passion for beautiful revolutionary Maud Gonne, and his concern with the violent, tragic politics of Ireland. Later he turned to a vision of perfect, idealized beauty and wrote with wit and lyricism of the tension between the ageing body and the force of the mind.
Yeats described himself as one of the last romantics. His poems are filled with exhilirating energy and teasing, wondrous images.
Yeats's early poems reveal his interest in myth and fairy tale, his hopeless passion for beautiful revolutionary Maud Gonne, and his concern with the violent, tragic politics of Ireland. Later he turned to a vision of perfect, idealized beauty and wrote with wit and lyricism of the tension between the ageing body and the force of the mind.
Yeats described himself as one of the last romantics. His poems are filled with exhilirating energy and teasing, wondrous images.
64 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 1995
About the author
W.B. Yeats
2,165 books2,645 followersWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years Yeats served as an Irish Senator for two terms. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and along with Lady Gregory and Edward Martyn founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Nobel Committee described as "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." He was the first Irishman so honored. Yeats is generally considered one of the few writers who completed their greatest works after being awarded the Nobel Prize; such works include The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1929).
Yeats was born and educated in Dublin but spent his childhood in County Sligo. He studied poetry in his youth, and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. Those topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889, and those slow paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser and Percy Bysshe Shelley, as well as to the Pre-Raphaelite poets. From 1900, Yeats' poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, as well as with cyclical theories of life.
--from Wikipedia
Yeats was born and educated in Dublin but spent his childhood in County Sligo. He studied poetry in his youth, and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. Those topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889, and those slow paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser and Percy Bysshe Shelley, as well as to the Pre-Raphaelite poets. From 1900, Yeats' poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, as well as with cyclical theories of life.
--from Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 4, 2024
Earth, receive an honoured guest:
William Yeats is laid to rest.
W.H. Auden.
An aged man is but a paltry thing
Unless he clap his hands, and louder sing
For every tatter in his mortal dress!
Yeats, Sailing to Byzantium.
It's by no means a perfect poem, Sailing to Byzantium. It irks us, for its images get 'stuck in our craw ' - we can't digest it, if we’re aged, for we refuse to see ourselves as absurdly human and broken.
Yet, at 75, this poem is ME. In fact, it has always been me because I refused to acknowledge and thus digest its truth.
Inching towards 80, I know now I am "aged... A paltry thing."
It all hurt me tremendously after I studied Jungian psychotherapy. I did that through a close reading of Jung's late masterpiece, Aion. For Jung told me - and showed me - that I am my shadow self. A self I always loved to hate in others!
Wasn't this Jesus' message - to see life steadily - and see it WHOLE?
So it hurt me, being old.
And healed me.
For now, nearing 80 I see I am my shadow. But NOT the shadow's father -
Its Darth Vader, so to speak -
The DEVIL!
And happy, nondescript and unseen, I am now merely chaff in the pneuma of my faith.
William Yeats is laid to rest.
W.H. Auden.
An aged man is but a paltry thing
Unless he clap his hands, and louder sing
For every tatter in his mortal dress!
Yeats, Sailing to Byzantium.
It's by no means a perfect poem, Sailing to Byzantium. It irks us, for its images get 'stuck in our craw ' - we can't digest it, if we’re aged, for we refuse to see ourselves as absurdly human and broken.
Yet, at 75, this poem is ME. In fact, it has always been me because I refused to acknowledge and thus digest its truth.
Inching towards 80, I know now I am "aged... A paltry thing."
It all hurt me tremendously after I studied Jungian psychotherapy. I did that through a close reading of Jung's late masterpiece, Aion. For Jung told me - and showed me - that I am my shadow self. A self I always loved to hate in others!
Wasn't this Jesus' message - to see life steadily - and see it WHOLE?
So it hurt me, being old.
And healed me.
For now, nearing 80 I see I am my shadow. But NOT the shadow's father -
Its Darth Vader, so to speak -
The DEVIL!
And happy, nondescript and unseen, I am now merely chaff in the pneuma of my faith.
January 23, 2013
"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."
One of the great poems of the 20th century. This poem in 4 stanzas is a very beautiful work of Yeats in his later years. It put the longing he had for the modern world (and more specifically the new Irish republic) into a metaphorical Byzantium.
"An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat 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."
Yeats wrote this as an old man and it is important to know the historical context in which it is written. This was after the creation of the Irish Free States and W.B. Yeats was elected a representative of its government. This was an extremely hectic period in history and Yeats, like many of his compatriots, longed for a place he could live in peace and stability and dignity.
"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."
This poem was written when Yeats was at the full realization of his combination of his Christian and traditional Irish Gaelic mystical beliefs. When he wrote The Second Coming he was at the beginning of his spiritual conversion and his arrival at "Byzantium" would have him at the end of it. Now, if you are curious, he did talk about what happened upon reaching Byzantium.
"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."
[This poem was read as a part of [book:The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, Volume 2|1394618]
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."
One of the great poems of the 20th century. This poem in 4 stanzas is a very beautiful work of Yeats in his later years. It put the longing he had for the modern world (and more specifically the new Irish republic) into a metaphorical Byzantium.
"An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat 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."
Yeats wrote this as an old man and it is important to know the historical context in which it is written. This was after the creation of the Irish Free States and W.B. Yeats was elected a representative of its government. This was an extremely hectic period in history and Yeats, like many of his compatriots, longed for a place he could live in peace and stability and dignity.
"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."
This poem was written when Yeats was at the full realization of his combination of his Christian and traditional Irish Gaelic mystical beliefs. When he wrote The Second Coming he was at the beginning of his spiritual conversion and his arrival at "Byzantium" would have him at the end of it. Now, if you are curious, he did talk about what happened upon reaching Byzantium.
"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."
[This poem was read as a part of [book:The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, Volume 2|1394618]
April 17, 2022
I haven’t seen(yet) any poet or writer to love the present situation or the present age. Yes, present is always boring.
As we are getting worse and worse, I am sure that, our age will be the golden age in the future. ')
As we are getting worse and worse, I am sure that, our age will be the golden age in the future. ')
September 4, 2025
Yeats has such a way with his spellbinding words to conjure up fairytale and history and ancient countryside; these might be some of my favourite poems. Might add some quotes later, he puts into shining verse so many wonderful feelings. I can see why Lewis loved him (;
“But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face”
“‘Yet somewhere under starlight or the sun,
My father stands.’ ‘Aged, worn out with wars
On foot, on horseback or in battle-cars.”
“Now that we’re almost settled in our house
I’ll name the friends that cannot sup with us
Beside the fire of turf in th’ ancient tower,
And having talked to some late hour
Climb up the narrow winding stair to bed:
Discoverers of forgotten truth
Or mere companions of my youth,
All, all are in my thoughts to-night being dead.”
“A man in his own secret meditation
Is lost amid the labyrinth that he has made
In art or politics”
(and these aren’t even my most favourites, just the short ones 😂)
“But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face”
“‘Yet somewhere under starlight or the sun,
My father stands.’ ‘Aged, worn out with wars
On foot, on horseback or in battle-cars.”
“Now that we’re almost settled in our house
I’ll name the friends that cannot sup with us
Beside the fire of turf in th’ ancient tower,
And having talked to some late hour
Climb up the narrow winding stair to bed:
Discoverers of forgotten truth
Or mere companions of my youth,
All, all are in my thoughts to-night being dead.”
“A man in his own secret meditation
Is lost amid the labyrinth that he has made
In art or politics”
(and these aren’t even my most favourites, just the short ones 😂)
August 26, 2024
Wonderful and terrible at the same time.
Meravigliosa e terribile allo stesso tempo.
Meravigliosa e terribile allo stesso tempo.
November 23, 2020
Read for my paper "British Literature: Early 20th Century" in Oct-Nov 2020
October 5, 2025
Yeats laments growing old in an apathetic world that favors the vigors of youth and shuns decay of aging, so he dreams of immortality through art.
November 7, 2025
Beautiful. The first sentence reads "That is no country for old men." Is that where they got the name of the movie from? I've never seen the movie so I'm not sure. A poem about an aging man, living life, what he's capable of, and celebrating the past, present, and what is yet to come.
February 14, 2020
Sailing to Nowhere: A review based on Deconstruction theory.
"Sailing to Byzantium" has a number of contradictions that can be observed by readers. The usage of language in the poem makes it difficult to come up with a definite or clear understanding of it. It opposes itself in some of the lines. It also modifies the meanings of some concepts and words, which creates a sort of confusion to readers. Discussing some examples of this confusion will make my point clearer.
In the first three lines of the poem, the tone of the speaker is going against itself. At the beginning, he's talking about a country full of young, nice and pretty lovers. He's also mentioning the birds on trees which present readers to a peaceful and beautiful sense of romance. This tone is full of life. At the third line, things turn upside down. The speaker is referring to death. Not just one death, but a lot of death. A whole generation of young lovers is dying. This shift in tone puts readers in a problematic situation in their attempt to understand what's going on.
An example of modifying concepts is mentioned in lines 11 and 12. Usually, people sing about, for or because of love. Music is a symbol of fun, happiness and love. But in these lines, the speaker is interested in songs that come out of aging and suffering. They are songs that embody pain. They don't have any sense of sympathy with listeners. This modification of songs is odd and misleading in a way.
At the end of the poem, the speaker makes a reversed binary opposition. He prefers art over life. He's saying that art is more important and significant because it's the only way to liberate souls from bodies, mortality that's to say. He is undermining the value of the real world since it's going to end and die. His ambition to be immortalized in art made him opposes the familiar notion of the importance of life.
What readers can grasp from these examples is that language cannot be controlled. The text will always have some hiatuses that lead to misunderstanding or even no understanding of it at all. It's inevitable.
"Sailing to Byzantium" has a number of contradictions that can be observed by readers. The usage of language in the poem makes it difficult to come up with a definite or clear understanding of it. It opposes itself in some of the lines. It also modifies the meanings of some concepts and words, which creates a sort of confusion to readers. Discussing some examples of this confusion will make my point clearer.
In the first three lines of the poem, the tone of the speaker is going against itself. At the beginning, he's talking about a country full of young, nice and pretty lovers. He's also mentioning the birds on trees which present readers to a peaceful and beautiful sense of romance. This tone is full of life. At the third line, things turn upside down. The speaker is referring to death. Not just one death, but a lot of death. A whole generation of young lovers is dying. This shift in tone puts readers in a problematic situation in their attempt to understand what's going on.
An example of modifying concepts is mentioned in lines 11 and 12. Usually, people sing about, for or because of love. Music is a symbol of fun, happiness and love. But in these lines, the speaker is interested in songs that come out of aging and suffering. They are songs that embody pain. They don't have any sense of sympathy with listeners. This modification of songs is odd and misleading in a way.
At the end of the poem, the speaker makes a reversed binary opposition. He prefers art over life. He's saying that art is more important and significant because it's the only way to liberate souls from bodies, mortality that's to say. He is undermining the value of the real world since it's going to end and die. His ambition to be immortalized in art made him opposes the familiar notion of the importance of life.
What readers can grasp from these examples is that language cannot be controlled. The text will always have some hiatuses that lead to misunderstanding or even no understanding of it at all. It's inevitable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2018
It was really just a rambling poem of despair which did not suite my tastes in the least, and so I do not recommend it.
September 29, 2022
read for class —
i’m a yeats hater. have always been and always will be. i can like what the poem means, but i’m not a fan of the actual poem.
i’m a yeats hater. have always been and always will be. i can like what the poem means, but i’m not a fan of the actual poem.
June 16, 2025
I forget why but I came across William Butler Yeats’ poem The Second Coming recently and was quite taken with it. I’d never read it before but recognised several lines and was surprised they all came from this short poem. Here’s some you too might know:
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre… Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; … The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity… And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”
The whole poem is incredible and I read it several times. I’m not a poem guy so I took this to be an encouraging sign - maybe finally I’d be able to read an entire book of poetry that I’d like! Maybe Yeats was my dude??
I plumped for the “Penguin Archive” edition of Sailing to Byzantium, which is a new range of cute, affordable and stylish Penguin paperbacks of short works by famous names in the Penguin archives - 90 titles celebrating 90 years. Encouraging still: the bookshop I bought it at had a few shelves of these editions, each title several books deep - except Yeats. I literally bought the last copy in the store. Other people must know, I bethought. He’s a good ‘un.
Well, yes and no. He probably is a great poet - I’m no good judge of poetry, having read so little of it - but I’m just not a poem kinda beast, I’m afraid. The Second Coming is a remarkable poem but nothing else in this book had the same impact on me. I tried. There’s a lot of fantastical allusions in here. Some nice turns of phrase. But nothing that moved - moves, still - me like that poem that drew me to Yeats to start with.
So if you read The Second Coming like me and expected a book of bangers like that… nah. Sailing to Byzantium does not have that much more to offer beyond that one standout work. One day I might read a book of poetry I’ll enjoy. And so off I slouch, to my usual non-poetical readings…
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre… Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; … The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity… And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”
The whole poem is incredible and I read it several times. I’m not a poem guy so I took this to be an encouraging sign - maybe finally I’d be able to read an entire book of poetry that I’d like! Maybe Yeats was my dude??
I plumped for the “Penguin Archive” edition of Sailing to Byzantium, which is a new range of cute, affordable and stylish Penguin paperbacks of short works by famous names in the Penguin archives - 90 titles celebrating 90 years. Encouraging still: the bookshop I bought it at had a few shelves of these editions, each title several books deep - except Yeats. I literally bought the last copy in the store. Other people must know, I bethought. He’s a good ‘un.
Well, yes and no. He probably is a great poet - I’m no good judge of poetry, having read so little of it - but I’m just not a poem kinda beast, I’m afraid. The Second Coming is a remarkable poem but nothing else in this book had the same impact on me. I tried. There’s a lot of fantastical allusions in here. Some nice turns of phrase. But nothing that moved - moves, still - me like that poem that drew me to Yeats to start with.
So if you read The Second Coming like me and expected a book of bangers like that… nah. Sailing to Byzantium does not have that much more to offer beyond that one standout work. One day I might read a book of poetry I’ll enjoy. And so off I slouch, to my usual non-poetical readings…
August 4, 2025
It was quite an incredible read.
I already knew about Yeats' participation in the occult and secret societies, so I expected lots of occult nuances and symbols. I was definitely not let down. His words and rhetoric convey a sense of importance. Every word is meticulously chosen to tap into a specific archetypal atmosphere. I find that very compelling in his writing.
Furthermore, I am not an avid enjoyer of poetry. I enjoy epic poetry, but not poems in the typical sense of the word. Therefore, his narrative poem stood out to me. In the past I have read some of Nabokov's and Plath's poetry, and that of metaphysical writers. His poem, however, captivated and enthralled me with its beauty and language.
To me, it conveys the transition from life to death and what the spirit feels. It is a magic spell of mortality and immortality, and the space in between that is home to man.
I will write a passage that I thoroughly enjoyed:
THE FOUR AGES OF MAN
He with body waged a fight,
But body won; it walks upright.
Then he struggled with the heart;
Innocence and peace depart.
Then he struggled with the mind;
His proud heart he left behind.
Now his wars on God begin;
At stroke of midnight God shall win.
I already knew about Yeats' participation in the occult and secret societies, so I expected lots of occult nuances and symbols. I was definitely not let down. His words and rhetoric convey a sense of importance. Every word is meticulously chosen to tap into a specific archetypal atmosphere. I find that very compelling in his writing.
Furthermore, I am not an avid enjoyer of poetry. I enjoy epic poetry, but not poems in the typical sense of the word. Therefore, his narrative poem stood out to me. In the past I have read some of Nabokov's and Plath's poetry, and that of metaphysical writers. His poem, however, captivated and enthralled me with its beauty and language.
To me, it conveys the transition from life to death and what the spirit feels. It is a magic spell of mortality and immortality, and the space in between that is home to man.
I will write a passage that I thoroughly enjoyed:
THE FOUR AGES OF MAN
He with body waged a fight,
But body won; it walks upright.
Then he struggled with the heart;
Innocence and peace depart.
Then he struggled with the mind;
His proud heart he left behind.
Now his wars on God begin;
At stroke of midnight God shall win.
September 28, 2026
«Less I more hear common things that crave;
The weak worm hiding dawn in its small cave,
The field-mouse running by me in the grass,
And heavy mortal hopes that toil and pass;
But seek alone to hear the strange things said
By God to the bright hearts of those long dead,
And learn to chaunt a tongue men do not know.»
Tradução livre:
«Cada vez menos ouço as coisas comuns que clamam;
O frágil verme que ao romper da aurora se esconde na sua pequena toca,
O rato-do-campo que corre junto a mim por entre a erva,
E as pesadas esperanças mortais que labutam e passam;
Procuro apenas ouvir as estranhas coisas ditas
Por Deus aos corações luminosos daqueles que há muito morreram,
E aprender a entoar uma língua que os homens desconhecem.»
The weak worm hiding dawn in its small cave,
The field-mouse running by me in the grass,
And heavy mortal hopes that toil and pass;
But seek alone to hear the strange things said
By God to the bright hearts of those long dead,
And learn to chaunt a tongue men do not know.»
Tradução livre:
«Cada vez menos ouço as coisas comuns que clamam;
O frágil verme que ao romper da aurora se esconde na sua pequena toca,
O rato-do-campo que corre junto a mim por entre a erva,
E as pesadas esperanças mortais que labutam e passam;
Procuro apenas ouvir as estranhas coisas ditas
Por Deus aos corações luminosos daqueles que há muito morreram,
E aprender a entoar uma língua que os homens desconhecem.»
April 10, 2020
Byzantium is a good place for old prople like us,Yeats is of the view.He is leaving is country and is sailing to Byzantium because his people know nothing except eating and sleeping and have forgotten their values.
But!!!
In Byzantium he is not feeling much peace because mind also travels with the body.
But!!!
In Byzantium he is not feeling much peace because mind also travels with the body.
September 14, 2025
truly a toss up between the finest verse ever penned and the dullest shit of all time. the title track is a banger, others do not convince me that even Yeats knew what he was saying.
I do appreciate, however, the tendency for certain poems to seem to write themselves, a manifestation of live poetic thought/inspiration.
I do appreciate, however, the tendency for certain poems to seem to write themselves, a manifestation of live poetic thought/inspiration.
June 1, 2026
W. B. Yeats এই কবিতায় বার্ধক্য, শিল্প, আত্মার অমরত্ব এবং ভৌত জীবনের সীমাবদ্ধতাকে অত্যন্ত দার্শনিক ও প্রতীকীভাবে উপস্থাপন করা হয়েছে। কবিতাটি মূলত একজন বৃদ্ধ মানুষের মানসিক যাত্রা, যিনি তরুণ, জৈবিক জীবনের পরিবর্তে চিরন্তন শিল্প ও আত্মিক জগতের দিকে যেতে চান
May 18, 2017
This is one of my least favorite of Yeats's poems. I found this poem rather dull as it simply describes what Yeats would do if he were able to visit the city of Byzantium.
July 10, 2018
That is no country for old men.
November 14, 2018
I think I need to brush up on my Irish history in order to fully enjoy this collection of poems. I enjoyed some of them, but a few went right over my head.
May 31, 2019
Read for the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge: Wheel of Format, Short and Sweet
August 13, 2024
That is no country for old men
December 29, 2024
"Sailing to Byzantium" - Begins with 'That is no country for old men..' An odyssey of longing.
January 27, 2025
Very complex, but is neither Istanbul nor Constantinople.
March 6, 2025
"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."
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity."
April 4, 2025
Хорошее самое базовое введение в поэзию Йейтса! Можно тут начать свой путь.
June 17, 2025
Needs less cultural nationalism and more maud gonne yearning poems. LOVE the word gyre.
September 11, 2025
w.b. yeats, you have won yourself a new fan
October 27, 2025
2.5 ⭐ rounded up
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews