Old Age and Resilience in Yeats’ “An Acre

of Grass”
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William Butler Yeats’ poem “An Acre of Grass” is from his collection called “Last Poems”
published posthumously in 1939. In this poem, we find Yeats as a withering
septuagenarian bedeviled by the inevitable decay of his body and the desolation that
old age brings on its way. This preoccupation with old age is found in his other poems
like “The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner”, “When You Are Old” and above all “Sailing
to Byzantium” where he writes, “An aged man is but a paltry thing”. On one hand, “An
Acre of Grass” graphically depicts the despondency that the poet feels at the loss of his
zest and potency with the onset of old age; but on the other, it reflects the poet’s
yearning for rejuvenation and reinvigorated passion; in fact, Yeats reportedly underwent
an operation called the Steinach operation for “fresh lease of life” prior to writing this
poem.
The opening line of the poem, “Picture and book remain” evokes a blissful image of
repose and serenity with ‘picture and book’ as conventional companions of an old man.
The poet owns ‘’an acre of green grass’’, that he has delimited for “air and exercise”.
The word ‘acre’ becomes significant as it implies the inexorable restriction the poet
faces due physical debility. ‘Green grass’ (suggestive of freshness and robustness), has
been juxtaposed with the idea of Yeats’ waning health- a decline further emphasized in
references to “midnight” and an “old house”. The stirring of the mouse in the old house
creates the impression of a solitary ambience and thus, the loneliness that the poet
grapples with.
your uniqueontent!
Get me a WriterThe second stanza has a more sombre undertone as the poet paints a
bleaker image of old age where his mind has become infirm and has lost the verve of
youthful days. His uncoordinated or “loose imagination” now contains dregs and
fragments of past memories that he refers to as “rag and bonc” – an image that he uses
in another poem called “The Circus Animals’ Desertion”, a poem whose theme
resonates with this poem. “Mill of the mind”, an allusion to Blake’s symbol of the mill
which stands for the repetitive routine of the machine; shows how much Yeats detested
a complacent and uncreative mind. It also shows the poet’s underlying fear of losing his
creative imagination. And if so happens, the poet would lose his capability to translate
truth into creative verse. Here “truth” perhaps means the real spirit of mind and body,
the truth of being.
The last two stanzas reveal a dramatic change in mood where Yeats, who has so far
acquiesced in ineptitude, fumes with enthusiasm and explicitly expresses his desire for
an unrestrained “old man’s frenzy”. The poet asserts that he must “remake” himself and
re-claim his creative cognizance by rising above the limitations that old age has
imposed on him. He wants to be infused with hysteria as powerful as the impassioned
rage of King Lear and Timon, two famous characters from Shakespeare’s plays.
Though Timon and Lear’s rage against the world was ultimately fruitless, Yeats points
out that this “rage” becomes useful at some point of time, as in the case of Blake who
“Beat upon the wall/Till Truth obeyed his call”. This reference reveals Yeats’ desire to do
away with the boundaries of social conventions and prejudices that he has internalized,
along with his inner inhibitions. He believes that this madness will grant him visionary
power which will help him perceive the truth he seeks .The poet is also greatly inspired
by Michelangelo, who continued to create masterpieces even in old age, unvanquished
by Time. The poet wants to set his imagination aflame and imbibe the artistic ecstasy
that will endow him with the power to “pierce the clouds” and achieve any height it
wishes to. He envisions that such mystical insight will instill in him the strength to cast
life into the dead and thus “shake the dead in their shrouds”. In the last line, the poet
evokes the image of an eagle as he aspires for an “eagle mind”- a mind that can soar
high above “an acre of grass”, emblematic of restrictions of old age and transcend
corporeal senility. Not only that, it can also devour the “mouse” mentioned in the first
stanza, thereby prevailing over all depredations caused by Time. Thus, Yeats desires,
not the wings of dove like a Wordsworth or Shelley, but the eyes of an eagle, like
Nietzsche.
There is a remarkable change in the tenor of the poem from a sense of impassivity in
the beginning to a feverish vigor in the end. The self-disapproving and despairing poet
gradually metamorphoses into someone with a more positive outlook towards life;
ardently hoping for rejuvenation and affirming his wish to become immortal though his
creative works. The dramatic change in the second half of the poem is created by words
like “pierce”, “beat”, “frenzy” etc. that induce a sense of profound perseverance or
urgency. Thus, in the end we find a new, resilient Yeats with renewed fortitude to live
his life, undefeated in spirit.

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, born in Dublin in 1865. By 1893, he had
established himself as a poet with a strong sense of nationalism and in 1923, Yeats was
awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He is often described as a modern Romantic as
his works are characterised by lyrical appeal and romantic imagination, albeit he had a
satirical approach to life and society as illustrated in some of his other poems. His
attitude towards life was one of pessimism, agony and defeated sentiments. His poetry
is rich in symbolic significance as he developed a rich system of symbols through which
he poetically and philosophically interpreted life and nature.

The ‘An Acre of Grass’ was written in 1936, three years before his death, and was
published in 1938. It is one of Yeats’ most representative poems and talks about the
universality of old age despair. The primary concern of the poem are the problems
associated with aging and the ramifications they have on poetic inspiration and creative
activity.

Old age is that stage of an individual’s life, where he/she becomes senile, and in many
cases, a victim of loneliness. Although one has lived a long life, and carries with
himself/herself his acquired wisdom through many years of experience, it is during this
time, when it is said that he/she becomes a child again. Even Shakespeare, in his
celebrated poem, ‘The Seven Stages of Man’, uses the term “second childishness” to
describe old age, highlighting this very aspect. And this is also when one becomes
detached and wary, awaiting his/her imminent death. W.B. Yeats has highlighted this
journey in a very poignant manner, while at the same time, talking about breaking the
myths of weakness and lethargy associated with this phase of life and replacing it with
youthful vigour, which is where this poem appears as striking and inspiring.

The first part of the poem concerns itself with the pain and dejection associated with old
age. The poem begins on a tranquil note, but the serenity of these lines is dramatically
and abruptly cut off. Some of the images used at the outset represent the remnants of a
spirit, now crushed and broken by the power of advancing age; having once been
guided by dreams, which have been supplanted by acerbic cynicism. There is a feeling
or urge for the enjoyment and exploration of the mysteries and beauties of life that
resonates in the lines of the poem. But the free and wild imagination of youthful days is
no more available to the old man who is suspended in a state of inert passivity.

The poet, however, wishes to revise the general notions pertaining to old age. Instead
of homogenising old people as gentle, feeble and passive, Yeats wants to discover
some latent inner force within himself to channelize the untamed capacity of the soul.
This effort forms the foundation of the second half of the poem where passion
overcomes reason and the creative spirit drowns the threat of reality. There is an
aspiration for mystical insight accompanied by the strength of genius. The final facet of
the poem’s imagery is the interpretation and final crystallization of the identity of this
genius.

Yeats refers to important literary characters; Shakespearean tragic protagonists such as

Timon and Lear, who despite their genius, were marginalized old men. Yeats chooses
two tragic protagonists to highlight the pains of misery and suffering in old age. Their
feelings of depression and melancholy, are however, experiences necessary to travel
the road towards truth. In Lear, madness becomes a crucial step in purgation and
purification of the spirit. Louis MacNeice comments, “Timon and Lear are chosen in the
poem because in both of them, passion was stronger than disillusionment.”
During old age, one does not have the frenzy of youth. But the poet wishes to bring
back that zeal and passion in order to reinvent himself. Yeats refers to William Blake, as
he represented the outstanding qualities of Romantic imagination realized through his
philosophical journey and subjective perceptions. He wishes to derive Blake’s
inspirational frenzy to revive his latent imagination.

The concluding stanza begins with a reference to Michelangelo, the great painter and
creative artist, who has been described by Yeats as a figure of towering inspiration, one
who could transcend the limiting tendencies of petty, material existence. The poet
desires to possess a mind like Michelangelo’s, a mind unbowed by time. He wishes to
grasp an indomitable will to fill his days with activity and avoid barrenness. It is also
noteworthy that Yeats describes old age as that stage of life when a man’s potential is
lost and forgotten. The last line is climactic in effect. The image of an eagle is brought
in, which can be associated with the idea of sharpness, critical focus and foresight. As
an old man, Yeats aspires to acquire the critical intelligence of the ‘eagle mind’.

The tone of restlessness and dissatisfaction that characterizes the poem comes from a
sense of disappointment with life’s experiences. However, the poet’s quiet temptation
breaks into a desire to remake himself. Thus, the poem drives towards a renewed figure
in the quest for truth

. “We Pieced Our Thoughts into Philosophy And planned to bring the world under a rule” [Ll-30-31,
NINETEEN HUNDRED AND NINE] History is an expansive section of Humanities .It is hard to define
precisely, because the attempt to reveal past events involves a great deal of knowledge. It is to collect a
record data about human past to illumine new facts, new vista. True history aims at realizing human life
and reflecting them in a systematic structure. Yeats’s perspective on history was different from all other
poets. He viewed history as a cycle, an unending process. According to him, it is a spiral movement
which includes the dead culture and dimmed civilization as basis and a binary to the present
degradation of the society. His book “The Tower” contains reminiscent of past. History of both real life
and fantasy plays upon his mind and poems. Mythological and folk legends occupy an important part in
Yeatsian verses. Sometimes reality is reflected through pagan fancy and again ,old legends portray the
then social moral and ethical condition of man. Myths and legends had always been a vital enticement
for the poets of different ages including Yeats. The rubicund tales of the legends, the verdurous world of
myths is visible in many of his poems. In the poem “Leda and the Swan”, the Greek myth of Zeus and
Leda is promontory. The story being a legend is not merely based on fantasy, it is but a symbolic
overtone. Leda is the lady who was exceedingly beautiful, was seduced by Zeus. Zeus disguised as a
swan cruelly raped Leda. The eons old myth was used by Yeats as a historical message. Yeats painted the
picture of the atrocious seduction in a way that it became a pathetic presentation of sexual violence.
The story is more than fancy a realistic one with serious symbolic overtone. The Swan is Zeus. He is the
symbol of authority, creativity and sexuality. It shows the deep insight of history in the poet. Many of his
homosexual and heterosexual affairs are famous in Greek and Roman The Goddesses, such as Thetis,
Aphrodite, Leto; Royal Ladies – Danae , Io and Europa including Leda are present in the old myths. Leda
is the daughter of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta. Her fascinating beauty attracted Zeus so much that he
disguised himself as a swan and molested Leda. Thus the creative power has also to take a form to fulfill
desire; or, even spirits need a physical entity for their desire because sexuality is totally dependant on
physical existence. “The broken wall, the burning roof and tower And Agamemnon dead.” (ll-10-11, Leda
and The Swan) Agamemnon was the king of Mycenae and the husband of Clytemnestra.[1] He was killed
after the Trojan War by his wife who was also Leda’s daughter. The cause of anger was the sacrifice that
Agamemnon made for the war. He devoted nine years in the war away staying indifferent to his wife
and state. Yeats ’s insight of history and legends become clear by the way of presentation. Leda’s
pregnancy owing to rape opens up another vista - the creative force goes side with the destructive one.
Zeus was called the ‘All-Father’ who populated the heaven and earth. The seduction of Leda is
undoubtedly pathetic, as per Yeats’s description. It is destructive no doubt but the aftermath is creative -
that is the ‘birth’ of Helen ,which again in the long run, proves to be destructive wholly for Troy and
partially for Greece. Yeats blends together Christianity and Paganism with unique dexterity. He portrays
the then socio political tumult in “The Second Coming”(1919).The title suggests the reincarnation of
Christ. Messiah ,in every religion come after a big crisis. The longing of the second coming is the hope for
advent out of the social situation. The second arrival that the poet expects is not of any divine image but
a monster - a beast having lion’s body and human head. The image of the beast recalls the Sphinx of the
past in Thebes. Deliberately Yeats surges back in the pages of Sopphocles and recalls the Sphinx[2] in
Oedipus’ time. The sphinx there and the monster in the poet’s imagination are the same. Both signify
the destructive force. The phrase “twenty centuries of stony sleep” is an innuendo towards the
transformation of the Sphinx into stone. The monster wakes up from its centuries’ - old sleep to take
another birth, to become the Messiah. The “twenty centuries of stony sleep” also suggests a long
duration which have been passed aeons ago. As Seiden says that Yeats conveys: “A warning that the
Second Coming of Western tradition is to be not the expected return of Christ, but the Second Coming
of the Anti Christ. When the new age at last emerges out of our Twentieth—century violence, a beast—
probably the Sphinx, although it is not named—will appear” (235) W.B Yeats wanted to convey the
dominant and desperate antithetical phase of history through “The Second Coming”. “No Second Troy”
is written on Maud Gonne, whom Yeats complemented as an exceedingly beautiful feminine creation by
verse. This poem is multidimensional - personal and historical, mythical and nostalgic. ‘She’ is compared
to Helen only for her beauty but also for the socio-political change she brought as Helen brought in both
Greece and Troy. The poem is a kind of continuation or a kind of second part of “Leda and the Swan”.
The power of Zeus created the seed of love and war in Leda’s womb. Helen and Clytemnestra, both are
inversely proportionate with love and war. Yeats skillfully

Yeats’s Treatment of History& Myths introduces the Trojan war and the character Agamemnon in “Leda
and the Swan” and names this poem “No Second Troy”. “With beauty like a tightened bow” (ll-8, No
Second Troy) Carries in it a sexual symbol. It denotes physical beauty and is related to an attractive
feature in a woman. But Yeats used all the phrases very carefully and the word ‘ bow’ has another
meaning despite of the sexual symbol.’ Bow’ is closely associated with war. Thus the same word
becomes the symbol of violence and warfare. The expression somewhere deep in the heart recalls the
“femme-fatale” and prepare us for the final and concrete image - the downfall of Troy. “Was there
another Troy for her to burn?” (ll-12,I bid.) The last line is not a mere question but the poet’s expression
of proud exclamation that brings forth the comparative approach between Maud Gonne and Helen. The
personal past is mingled with the historical past. The poem “An Acre of Grass” starts with a somber
mood. The poem falls under Yeats’s last poems, so it bears the pain , solitude and ideologies of old age.
When Yeats, in this poem, ask for “ old man’s frenzy” he became nostalgic. The yellow pages of history
opens before our eyes with Timon, Lear, Blake, and Michelangelo. “Grant me an old man’s frenzy Myself
must I remake” (ll-13-14,An Acre of grass) ‘Remake’ suggest a ‘ reconstruction’ ; that which is not
organized at the present but was organized in the past. The perfection of past is recollected when the
present proves to be imperfect. Yeats, in this poem wants to remake himself as the four men named
before. The first two characters are Shakespearean. Timon became a misanthrope for his friend’s
deception and King Lear who apparently betrayed by his daughters - Goneril and Regan and actually by
his own ‘ self’ Timon and Lear took long but bold step in their prime time so Yeats refer to them. The
boldness, the capacity for taking decision is glorified by the examples. William Blake is different from the
two characters discussed. He is the great mystic poet who falls in Romantic genre. The similarity
between the three characters are that all the three characters denote maturity and individual quality.
Timon, Lear and Blake, all of them owes much to the nostalgia of the poet. It can be determined that
history is inseparable with personal memories. This is also because ‘memories’ spring from past, and
past is nothing but history---may it be global or individual. The phrase “old man’s frenzy” takes a bold
plunge in history and recalls Michelangelo, the great sculptor and artist. The very name intensifies,
Yeats’s longing for the mature creativity in his prime years. He is only suppressed by the freight of years.
He creative vigor, deep-delved in his mind asks for a vent . He longs to have a creativity that can enliven
even a corpse. Timon and Lear stands for their outrageous emotions; on the contrary, Blake and
Michelangelo denote creativity . All the four men are different from each other in various dimensions,
but put together, they intensify the strong presence of history and nostalgia. Eric Salmon says, “It was
Aristotle who first posited the proposition that there was something interesting and challenging to be
said about the difference between what the poet write and what a historian writes.” (473) And after
discussing what the difference is, he states the actual difference in a nutshell – “poetry, therefore, is
more philosophical and a higher thing than history; for poetry tends to express the universal. In case of
Yeats, it can be safely said that he is both .The romanticism, the imagination, the range of thought and
the perfection of involving them in a verse makes him a poet. Simultaneously, the knowledge , the
minute detail, the sense of architecture makes him a historian. When Yeats mingles his personal feelings
and loss with the history of man and nature , the poems become as if tangible to all the sense organs.
There is a constant transition of personal past to history and vice versa. In his poem “Among School
children” the same thing happens. Yeats shows the general importance of body than soul in human
mind. Here, Yeats introduces himself as a “sixty – year – old smiling public man” who came for a visit to
a school. He recalls Maud Gonne in her teenage. He presumes that Maud Gonne, in the early age had
been as beautiful as legendary beauty, Leda. ‘Leda’ become an important symbol of beauty and
devastation in Yeats’s poem. Several times, he compared Maud with Leda. Maud becomes the symbol of
quasi-divine beauty and war too. Maud was one of the important figures in the Irish Revolution and
Abbey theatres. She, exemplified with Leda, also brings out the image that she has a quasi – divine
power too. The reference of egg reminds us of the rape of Leda by the Swan or the molestation of
human by the God or even the best. The “daughters of the Swan” refers to that of the offspring of Leda
and Zeus - Helen and Clytemnestra. There is a minute difference between “Ledaen body” and “Ledaen
kind”. The former is already explained and the later is a comparison with Helen. Maud is often compared
with the two. In “No Second Troy” also there is a comparison between Helen and Maud. Both Helen and
Leda symbolizes beauty of a strange kind. One allured the king of the Gods by her beauty and the other
infuriated the two great cities to fight till The “Quattro cento finger” conjures up the specified symbol of
classical beauty; it is another history conscious imagery of Yeats. The word is related to fifteenth
century, Italian genre of and art. Yeats also involves great philosophers of past - Plato, Aristotle and
Pythagoras. Plato was the great thinker who explained the world as a silhouette of ideas in more or less
all the branches of studies, was also the tutor of Alexander and thrashed him to teach. These characters
open up the golden leaves of history, the great kings and their greater tutors. He also refers to
Pythagoras, the great musician, and philosopher and mathematician. It is admitted that Yeats accepts
the predominance of death upon these great men. But it can be also stated, that the victory of soul on
body is deftly established by the poet through their identities have already been wiped away but their
contributions are still now so lively that readers, long after, can identify and repute these philosophers
till date. Quest for past is a kind of search for relief -sometimes in the sylvan way of personal past,
sometimes in the golden array of history and legends. This quest is actually escapism in the part of a
poet. The very sylvan environment , the lush of woods, intensifies the peace of Innisfree which is a little
island on the lake Lough Gill near Yeats’s home in Sligo. The name “Innisfree” mostly calls forth the
personal past of the poet but the streaks of intervening myth cannot be denied. The description of the
place recalls the picture of the ‘Garden of Eden’. The “ small cabin build there, of clay and wattles”
reminds the bower of Adam and Eve. So the classical past through the biblical imagery is dimly present
in addition to the personal recollection and desire to glide away from the city life. In the poem titled
“Men Improve with the Years,” Yeats says many things. This short poem reveal the depth of Yeatsian
mind. His personal incapability and unfruitful love conjures up a stunning mythical figure. “But I grow old
among dreams”. ( ll- 16, Men Improve With Years)

Dreams and thinking suggests a kind of inactivity. Yeats compares himself with ‘a weather-worn marble
triton’. The word ‘Triton’ suddenly opens before us the verdurous world of Pagan mythology where
mature was all-pervading, most potential. ‘Triton’ is a Greek deity holding a trumpet made of conch
shell.[3] He is known as the son of Poseidon, The sea God and Amphitrite. But, despite of the image, the
whole expression rouses a range of overtones. If ‘weather’ is considered as the vicissitudes of life, or
more specifically time and age—then the ‘triton’ here, is old, weary and inert. ‘Marble’ again, suggests
inactivity, coldness and lifelessness. ‘Triton’ in Greek myths are drawn as a merman whose upper
portion of the body is like a man and the lower part like fish. The figure and the whole expression
suggests a trenchant imagery of sexual incapability. The azure realm of Greek mythology plays a vital
symphony through this poem. Myth becomes both a device and historical legend in this verse. Yeats
makes rigorous use of ‘History’-of both kind of fact and fiction in his poems. The history of reality, the
social changes , the real life characters are perfectly juxtaposed with the history of fiction. To be more
specific, the world of legend , lore, mythologies epics and bibles also can be categorized as the historical
sections. This is because, all of these serve a great part in human history. The very little of the poem
“The Municipal Gallery “Revisited” brings the faded sound of history. W .B Yeats gives an account of his
personal feeling when he surges thirty years back. He visits the Art gallery in Ireland and sees the
portraits of the museum. His personal grief mingles with the history- consciousness as the people for
whom Yeats feels sad are of historical importance. He introduces , to the readers the great men and
women who owed much to Irish history. “ Griffith staring in hysterical pride Kevin O’Higgins’
countenance” (ll-4-5,Municipal Gallery Revisited) Arthur Griffith the patriot, Kevin O’Higgins the great
intellect and unpopular soldier to whom he pays his respect .He addresses the unidentified soldier as
“revolutionary soldier.” The picture of Higgins was painted by Lavery. Yeats refers to a woman’s portrait
of who is too a lady of historical importance. She is , according to Arland Ussher , lady Charles Beresford
wife of William de la Poer. Yeats says that he met her ‘fifty years ago’. Robert Gregory and Hugh Lane is
also introduced. Major Robert Gregory was the son of Augusta Gregory who died in an air crash. Hugh
Lane is another young man who is lady Gregory’s nephew. Yeats also refers to lady Gregory who had
played an important role in his life. Her portrait was painted by Mancini. He refers to her even in the
fifth stanza as “….that woman in that household…” . Yeats refers to the estate of lady Gregory at Coole
Park where he had stayed and visited often. From the factual history he shifts to the fictional past; Yeats
refers to Antaeus to symbolizes power and strength Antaeus is the son of Poseidon and Earth. According
to the legend when he was attacked by Hercules, drew new strength from his mother whenever he
touched the ground. This is also Yeats’s patriotism and the word ‘contact’ specially with earth, is a
concept of patriotism and love for Ireland. In the last poems of Yeats we find his deep insight to history.
In “Lapis Lazuli”, Yeats records the glimpses of war-prone world. His poem starts with reference to First
world war. He addressees the hysteric womenfolk who are mad with the fear of the dangers of war. To
explain the philosophy , that life is tragic, Yeats involves the Shakespearean characters Hamlet , Lear,
Ophelia and Cordelia is also the blaze of past literature. Ophelia and Cordelia stand as a contrast 48
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to the hysteric women who are pale with fear. The two ladies represent the calmness and patience. By
introducing these characters , Yeats sails back in the azure world of Elizabethan literature. “Easter 1916”
projects the great historical revolution in Ireland. Yeats wrote the poem five months after tragic disaster
in which a group of revolutionaries died. It was his reaction to the Easter Rising in Dublin. The Irish
Republic was proclaimed on Easter Monday , 24th of April. The center of Dublin was occupied by the
Republicans. They were the Irish volunteers of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and probably about 700
in all. They held out until April ,29. From 3rd to 12th of May , fifteen of the leaders were executed after a
series of court martial. This poem is a tribute to the revolutionaries and it was considered as a landmark
in his poetic career. After “ Easter 1916” , Yeats wrote another poem on the same topic. “Death” was
different from “Easter 1916” in the basic thought and presentation . In “ Easter 1916” , Yeats paid his
respect for all the revolutionaries of the Easter Rising. By “this man” , “this other”, “that woman” he
apparently attempts to generalize the patriots. But in “ Death” , Yeats paid tribute to Kevin O’ Higgins.
This poem was written in memory of him as a great patriot and brave soldier. The poet is not only
confident but also highly emotional when he says – “Man has created death”. (ll – 12, Death) Yeats
became nostalgic and poured all his reverence for Higgins who was a great human being. The poet also
tried to establish the potential of life on death. Vikramaditya Rai says, “The mortality of man, after all , Is
the stigma of his fallen condition, Which man can wash away by Scorning the earth.” (134) The depth of
Yeats’s history consciousness can be speculated by the close reading of the Byzantium poems. Yeats
selected the place for his poem because he wanted to unfold multiple layers of meaning. Byzantium is
the old name of Istanbul or Constantinople, the capital of Roman Empire . Byzantium was enriched with
unique school of art and culture popularly known as Byzantine Art. This famous historical city for its past
and old heritage became an icon to Yeats , for art and its importance. It also symbolizes the spiritual
sojourn for those who had retired from the world of sensuous glee. Yeats contrasts Ireland with
Byzantium and Ireland becomes the representative of the common world. This is the place where old
men are neglected and “fish , flesh and fowl” are more important. Old men stands for the spiritual
traveler in the world of art. Whereas , “fish, flesh and fowl” represent the human senses related to the
organs. The lustative , tactile and visual imageries are given. These three words also constitute the avis ,
terrestrial and aquatic animals which carry a Biblical echo deep hidden in it. “Whatever is begotten ,
born and dies”. (ll –6 , Sailing To Byzantium ) ‘Sailed the seas’ denotes a voyage by sea and perhaps a
long route. ‘Water’ imagery is very important in mysticism and philosophy . It is the symbol of bodily
passion and sex. But it also carries with it dominantly the symbol of chaos. The Hindu mythology,
Babylonian mythology , Bible and many other great culture says that ‘water’ is the symbol of chaos and
human torment. From the vast realm of water the world is created to make it habitable or but with the
same water God has punished humankind creating ‘ flood’ for there sin. Simultaneously , ‘fire’ signifies
‘divinity’ and ‘Divine grace’ . Thus Yeats refers to the journey from chaos to cosmos. In this context . He ,
constantly, throughout the poem , intertwines the historical fragments. The ‘Grecian goldsmiths’
‘Emperor’ and ‘lords and ladies’ of Byzantium’. Yeats refers to a concrete past when he refers to
‘Grecian goldsmiths’ ; invariably Yeats was much fascinated with Greece and Rome. ‘Emperor’ opens
before us the image of legendary king. ‘Byzantium’ too focuses on history. This can be called a ‘second
part’ to “sailing to Byzantium”. The reference to the St. Sophia church makes the historical perspective
of W.B. Yeats prominent to the readers . Seiden rightly comments : “Historical moments like classical
Greece , ancient or medieval Byzantium, And renaissance Italy provide him With symbols of what men, if
they Are regenerated , can always achieve.” (254) A poet owes much to art. The poetic genius reaches
its zenith when it mingles with art. As Yeats , was more fascinated with old culture and legends , bygone
myths and creations, his poems involve art mainly archaic in nature. In these context, Seiden can be
rightly quoted, “His subject matter became more richly varied than it had been , more subtle , and more
profound : and his metrics , symbols and architectonics were brought closer to perfection”. (147) The
integration of body and soul, the vexing of the physical and psychological entity continually remained an
important concern of Yeats till his last years, This fundamental issue became the source of the
involvement of art in his poetry. Yeats induced classical and archaic art in his poems which gave them a
newer and a more refined dimension. Though art , it was became easier for Yeats to convey his thought
and progress of mind. Even the Yeatsian symbols — gyre , rose , tower , all belonged to the tradition of
art. Art, in Yeats’s poems , brings out multidimensional impressions of his creative mind – Creativity,
sense of art. Old age and desolation. Psychological manifestation. Sexual orgy of youth and old age.
Salutation to the artists. Contradictory to the modern world of declining goodness. Yeats was deeply
fascinated by past legends and art. Thus he made appropriate use of Greek art and aesthetics. The
archetypal beauty in Yeats’s view became real in Maud Gonne. As an aesthete with subtle point of view
he was fascinated by Maud’s well-chiseled beauty which is according to Yeats ‘beauty like a tightened
bow’ and ‘Quattro cento finger’. This is another technical term used in “Among School Children’. This
term denotes a style in Italian painting that was popularized in the early Renaissance period. This was
the then modern style of painting that liberated Italian art from the two – dimensional Byzantine art.
The themes of this school of painting was biblical or mythological and allegorical. This genre of painting
bestowed vivid reality to the figures linked with the incredible and the supernal. The pioneer of the
school was Gritto. The minute details of archaic art and its perfect usage shows the Yeatsian sense and
love for classical art. Despite of this, Yeats’s poem comprises the figures of classical and mythical
creatures and their description shows the vigilance of the poet in archaic art. The Triton in the poem
‘Men Improve with Years’ is a figure of art. The Triton is a trumpeter and son of Poseidon. He is a sea
monster, a merman with a human Torso and the tail of a fish. According to Greek myth, he had the
ability to raise and quieten the waves with his sea shell. He saved the Argonauts when a storm drove
their ship to the Lybian shore. The pen-picture that can be seen in the poem is “A weather - worn,
marble triton Among the streams; (ll-2-3 , Men Improve With Years ) The figure of the ‘Triton’ suggests
the potency of nature and power. Thus it symbolizes the physical power , to be more specific the sexual
vigor. On the other hand the two phrase “weather – worn” and “marble” symbolizes the interest cause
by time and life and the sexual incapability. The figure is pictorial representation of the wiped away
sexual vigor and physical power the figure of the Triton is undoubtedly a piece of archaic art. Another
monster, that is introduced by W.B. Yeats is the sphinx in “The second coming”. Yeats hope for a second
reincarnation for the decadent civilization. The image of “Spiritual Mundi”[3] stands contrary to the holy
image of the son of God or the Divine power. The beast is described as a figure with lion’s body and the
head of a man. It symbolizes the approaching antithetical influx of regress. The messiah incarnating in
the degenerated socio political system can be only as a slouching beast. This can be the perfect
aftermath of the blood-dimmed anarchy. The most evident aspect of this image is that, the image is
mostly like the ‘Sphinx’ in Oedipus Tyrannus. If it is closely analyzed, the image falls in the Pagan genre
which according to Yeats would recur after Christ. The ‘iou’ sound appears four times in the last two
lines: “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” (ll-
21-22, The Second Coming ) The reiterative ‘ou’ sound points at the slow movement of the creature and
the readers get a clear picture of the creature and the readers get a clear picture of the Egyptian Sphinx
in the desert. The archaic and bygone mode of art is proportionately involved in Yeats’s poem. The love
for historic and archaic art and artifacts in Yeats is noteworthy in “Lapis Lazuli”. Lapis lazuli is an azure
The word here refers to the medallion of a Chinaware. Before describing the chinaware, the poet refers
to Callimachus , the Athenian sculptor who created beautiful designs on marble so prominent as if it
were made of bronze. But neither the sculptor nor the art exists. In this context , Vikramaditya Rai says :
“Historians of art have pointed out that the formal convention of art originated in Egypt and was carried
by Ionian traders Of Greece and flowered in the sculpture of Callimachus , of 5th century B.C , who
Imparted motion to sculpture and made Draperies seem to rise and swell as if Under the force of the sea
winds. But his Marvelous handiwork , the golden lamp Surmounted by the palm – tree of brass, could
stand only for a short line. And was then swept away into oblivion. (171) Yeats describe the chinaware
with such a perfection that as if the picture comes to life. There existed human figures of three
distinctive status two Chinamen, an ascetic with his disciple and their servant carrying a musical
instrument. Above them are present three long- legged birds that indicates their long life. The
watercourse is prominently made on it and the Chinamen are seen climbing plum and cherry branches.
The brightness of their eyes and the wrinkles of their face is poignantly focused. The poet’s deep insight
to philosophy carefully depicts the three aspects of matter respectively ‘Tamah’ , ‘Rajas’ and ‘Satva’ by
the systematic sequel of references, significant is that all the complex cyclic order is portrayed through
art, that too the archaic , the bygone. Nevertheless, it is obvious that Yeats has immortalized art , but it
is also true that he has immortalized and enlivened archaic art. CONCLUSIONS In a nutshell, it may be
said the W . B. Yeats was not only a poet who knew history but he was a poet – historian. History and art
came into life through his poems. Vikramaditya Rai says, “If we contemplate the history of mankind, we
can easily visualize a cavalcade of old and grand civilizations , Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman,
marching with All their glory and wisdom and after.us Their days are over, falling into the jaws of
destruction, their wisdom and glory fading into nothingness.” (171) Thus history is no less significant.
W .B .Yeats with his poetic quality and creativity assimilates the faded world of human art and
civilization.

Modern Poetry: Elements of Modernism in Yeats' poetry.

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) stands at the turning point between the Victorian period and
Modernism, the conflicting currents of which affected his poetry. Yeats started his literary career as a
romantic poet and gradually evolved into a modernist poet. He shifted his focus from Irish folklore to
contemporary politics. His connection with the changes in literary culture in the early twentieth century led
him to pick up some of the styles and conventions of the modernist poets. The modernists experimented
with verse forms, wrote about politics, shifted away from conventions and traditions, and rejected the
notion that poetry should simply be lyrical and beautiful. These influences caused his poetry to become
darker, edgier, and more concise.

Yeats abandoned the conventional poetic diction of his early work in favour of unadorned language,
verbal economy and more direct approach to his themes and subjects. His critical attitude made him one
of the moderns. His later poetry and plays are written in a more personal element, and the works written
in the last twenty years of his life include his musings on growing old.

Yeat's 'A Coat' is a self-dramatization of a stylistic change, he is casting off the old, rhetorical, ornate
style of 'embroideries' for a new, simple, realistic style of 'walking naked'. The coat is romanticism that he
is abandoning, and the naked state is the state of modernism he is adopting. It was a liberating poem for
Yeats, since it showed him moving resolutely in a single stride from one poetic age to the next. He
became more direct, truthful, terse and realistic. This poem showed that he had become increasingly self-
critical and disillusioned with others.

Yeats eliminated poetic language, easy rhymes and rhythm and what he put in their place were the
qualities evident in 'A Coat' --- conversational speech, irregular rhythms and imperfect rhymes, startlingly
frank imagery, and above all honesty and a humility of tone. The poem is a juxtaposition of the poet being
adorned with a coat and being naked.

The metaphor of the coat is complicated in that it involves an ambiguity which the reader is bound to
struggle with. His 'coat' is a complex, multi-layered metaphor for the kind of poetic style he had previously,
'covered with embroideries/out of old mythologies/from heel to throat;'. The poem is a good example of
free verse, a style popularly known to be modern. There is a personal element to the poem as well. Yeats
wrote the poem as a response to an argument with George Moore, who accused Yeats of pretending to
support Irish culture. The 'fools' in the poem are those who copied Yeats' style and 'wore it' as it was their
own creation.

“An Acre of Grass”, written in 1939 when Yeats was 71, is increasingly personal as it describes how
Yeats felt about growing old. The authors personal experiences form the center of this poem. Yeats is
markedly preoccupied with the flesh and the decay,desolation and dullness that accompanies old age.
The poem consists of several modern features such as unconventional metaphors, references such as
Michelangelo and William Blake, and simple diction. There is a juxtaposition of ideas, such as 'old man's
frenzy', and 'old man's eagle mind'. The tone of the poem is confessional.
Some of the examples of unconventional metaphors are the use of the word 'midnight' to refer to the end
of days, end of life and darkness in life. Similarly, by 'an old house', Yeats means his own body which has
suffered senility, it can also mean Yeats' life which has now come nearer to its end as the poet has grown
old. The 'wall' that is mentioned in third stanza can mean the wall of classicism and tradition which limits
the minds of men to following of rules and regulations. In the last line of the poem, the use of the word
eagle is metaphorical since it represents clarity, sharpness of vision and goals of life, it is synonymous to
the frenzy that the poet refers to. It can also mean that an old man's mind is as sharp as an eagle in the
sense that he remembers every moment of his past, memories and regrets. 'The words 'picture' and
'book' refer to the peace, rest, poise, calm and serenity that was a part of his happy conjugal life with
George Hyde-Lees in the Norman Towers. The word 'acre' has several meanings, it can refer to to the
small plot of green land for fresh breath and exercise, it can also suggest confinement to a small space,
metaphorically speaking, the confinement of the mind and body. It can also be taken as a reference to a
grave, the final destination for someone who has reached old age like Yeats. The old house may recall
the mind which has now become old due to the rest and calm. Timon, Lear and William Blake are the
men who 'can pierce the clouds'. 'Pierce' is the antithesis of the diffuse, ineffectual thought of the 'loose
imagination' of old men who do not possess frenzy. 'Mill' is reference to Blake's symbol of the mill which
stands for the mechanical, repetitive routine of the industrial machine, but Yeats extends it to 'mill of the
mind', that mode of habitual and uncreative thinking which he despised. The allusion of the word 'truth' is
the understanding of the true spirit of the mind, it is the ability to do something new and inspiring, gain
recognition or critical acclaim. Truth can also mean a position with the great frenzied minds of the past
'forgotten else by mankind'.

Most notably in his poems of 1920's, such as “Sailing to Byzantium”, Yeats displays many of the
characteristics of modernist disenchantment: skepticism towards the notion of 'truth', a sense of the
individual's disorientation within modernity and a pessimism over contemporary life combined with an
understanding that the modern world has become spiritually bankrupt and culturally fragmented. Sailing to
Byzantium proves to be the poet's long entertained concept of art by which he seeks to cure the malady
of the 20th century life. The poem is an evidence of Yeat's excellence of art and symbolic interpretation of
modern life . It contains subtle symbolism and a complexity of thought and style. The juxtaposition of
concepts like nature vs. artifice, art vs. nature is apparent in the poem. The tension between art and life is
a dichotomy in Yeats' poetry. The poem has many symbols, for example, the symbol of the 'gyre' in Yeat's
poem shows his philosophical belief that all things could be described in terms of cycles and patterns.
Similarly, the mackerels, salmons, fish and fowl symbolize morality and transience of life. The metaphors
used for an aging body numerous, such as, 'a tattered coat upon a stick', 'tatter in its mortal dress',
'fastened to a dying animal'.

There is a political and personal reference of Ireland, the poet wishes to go back to a time when Ireland
was a peaceful and economical country. “That” in the beginning of the poem is a reference to the Ireland
of the contemporary time, or the modern era. The poem traces the speaker’s movement from youth to
age, and the corresponding geographical move from Ireland, a country just being born as Yeats wrote, to
Byzantium. Yeats felt that he no longer belonged in Ireland, as the young or the young in brutality, were
caught up in what he calls “sensual music.” This is the allure of murder in the name of republicanism,
which disgusted Yeats. 'The young/In one another's arms' and 'dying generations' possibly refers to the
Irish Rebellion, when people suffered deaths and losses and had to part with their loved ones, thus saying
goodbye through a last embrace.

Byzantium was the center of a successful civilization in the 6th century, it is a reference to the ancient city
(previously named Constantinople) built by the Roman Emperor Constantine, it was the headquarters of
Eastern Christianity. The city was believed to be a place where God existed. It was a place culturally rich
and artistically Utopian in nature. Byzantium is far away, remote, exotic and has an added connotation of
a spiritual and artistic center, it is also a metaphor for creativity or a platonic heaven of ideal forms of art.

The main theme of the poem is 'aging', a theme quite personal and common for Yeats' later poems. "An
aged man is but a paltry thing,/ A tattered coat upon a stick." He renounces his almost-dead state and
imaginatively "sailed the seas and come to the holy city of Byzantium."The speaker thinks that by
escaping to Byzantium, he can escape the conflict between burning desire and a wasted body. The
modern feature of realism is apparent here when Yeats likens an old man's body to a 'dying animal'.

Through his unceasing desire of escaping to the perfect land of Byzantium, Yeats is indirectly pointing at
the imperfect land that he wishes to leave. One of the most common and important themes of Modern
poetry, the degeneration and chaos of modern life is evident in this poem. Yeats is saying that
the “Monuments of unageing intellect” cannot be produced in modern chaotic times. Line 6 of the poem,
'Whatever is begotten, born and dies' conveying the feelings of loss familiar to the modern poetry. Waste,
death, decadence and crumbling of mortal beings is prevalent throughout the poem especially in
association with old age.

Yeats invokes the holy "sages" to transform him, to "Consume my heart away; sick with desire/ And
fastened to a dying animal" and "gather" him into the "artifice of eternity." Art (artifice) is the only thing that
is immortal or eternal; human life is not eternal. It is thus the poet’s wish to be granted a body immune to
death and to sing forever. Yeats' own note said: "I have read somewhere that in the Emperor's palace at
Byzantium was a tree made of gold and silver, and artificial birds that sang" which would keep the
Emperor awake. (2040) A fascination with the artificial as superior to the natural is one of Yeats' most
prevalent themes. Yeats says that once he is out of his body he will never appear in the form of a natural
thing again. The artificial is seen as perfect and permanent, while the natural objects or human body can
decay and become ugly. At the same time Yeats is praising the 'Grecian goldsmiths' and the artisans of
that time for creating such perfect and immortal golden birds that inspired him.
CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the modernism in Yeats' poetry is clear mainly through his use of simple language,
metaphors having several interpretations, smybols, political references, allusions and juxtaposition of
ideas. His themes, subjectivity and realism reveal his modernist style. Though Yeats straddles the line
between Romanticism and Modernism, some of his later poems are considered the best representations
of modern poetry.

REFERENCES

1. Pratt, William (1996); “Singing the Chaos: Madness and Wisdom in Modern Poetry”; University of
Missouri Press; Columbia, USA. p.65
2. Childs, Peter (2008); “Modernism” ; Second Edition, Routledge, NY
3. http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/yeats/themes.html
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Yeats
5. Koch, Vivienne (1969) “W.B. Yeats: The Tragic Phase ; a Study of the Last Poems”; The John
Hopkins University Press, U.S.A pg. 43
6. Yeats, William Butler; (2006) "Sailing to Byzantium." The Norton Anthology of English Literature:
The Twentieth Century and After. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: Norton. 2040.
7. http://www.gradesaver.com/poems-of-wb-yeats-the-tower/study-guide/section1/