SONNET 116 PARAPHRASE Let me not to the marriage of true minds Let me not declare any reasons why

two Admit impediments. Love is not love True-minded people should not be married. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Which changes when it finds a change in circumstances, Or bends with the remover to remove: Or bends from its firm stand even when a lover is unfaithful: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark Oh no! it is a lighthouse That looks on tempests and is never That sees storms but it never shaken; shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Love is the guiding north star to every lost ship, Whose worth's unknown, although his Whose value cannot be calculated, height be taken. although its altitude can be measured. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips Love is not at the mercy of Time, though and cheeks physical beauty Within his bending sickle's compass Comes within the compass of his sickle. come: Love alters not with his brief hours and Love does not alter with hours and weeks, weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. But, rather, it endures until the last day of life. If this be error and upon me proved, If I am proved wrong about these thoughts on love I never writ, nor no man ever loved. Then I recant all that I have written, and no man has ever [truly] loved. ANALYSIS marriage...impediments (1-2): T.G. Tucker explains that the first two lines are a "manifest allusion to the words of the Marriage Service: 'If any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons should not be joined together in holy matrimony'; cf. Much Ado 4.1.12. 'If either of you know any inward impediment why you should not be conjoined.' Where minds are true - in possessing love in the real sense dwelt upon in the following lines - there can be no 'impediments' through change of circumstances, outward appearance, or temporary lapses in conduct." (Tucker, 192). bends with the remover to remove (4): i.e., deviates ("bends") to alter its course

("remove") with the departure of the lover. ever-fixed mark (5): i.e., a lighthouse (mark = sea-mark). Compare Othello (5.2.305-7): Be not afraid, though you do see me weapon'd; Here is my journey's end, here is my butt, And very sea-mark of my utmost sail. the star to every wandering bark (7): i.e., the star that guides every lost ship (guiding star = Polaris). Shakespeare again mentions Polaris (also known as "the north star") in Much Ado About Nothing (2.1.222) and Julius Caesar (3.1.65). Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken (8): The subject here is still the north star. The star's true value can never truly be calculated, although its height can be measured. Love's not Time's fool (9): i.e., love is not at the mercy of Time. Within his bending sickle's compass come (10): i.e., physical beauty falls within the range ("compass") of Time's curved blade. Note the comparison of Time to the Grim Reaper, the scythe-wielding personification of death. edge of doom (12): i.e., Doomsday. Compare 1 Henry IV (4.1.141): Come, let us take a muster speedily: Doomsday is near; die all, die merrily.

John Milton : On Shakespeare What needs my Shakespeare for his honored bones To labor of an age in piled stones, Or that his hallowed relics should be hid Under a star-ypointing1 pyramid? Dear son of memory, great heir of fame, What need'st thou such weak witness of thy name? Thou in our wonder and astonishment Hast built thyself a livelong monument. For, whilst, to the shame of slow-endeavouring art, Thy easy numbers2 flow, and that each heart Hath from the leaves of thy unvalued3 book

Those Delphic4 lines with deep impression took, Then thou our fancy of itself bereaving, Dost make us marble with too much conceiving, And so seplchred in such pomp dost lie That kings for such a tomb would wish to die. John Milton (1608-1674) 1630 FOOTNOTES the y is an archaic way of forming the past particilple of a verb; 2 i.e. your poems; 3 invaluable; 4 of Delphi, where Apollo had an oracle and, by association, pertaining to poetry

FLy envious Time, till thou run out thy race, Call on the lazy leaden-stepping hours, Whose speed is but the heavy Plummets pace; And glut thy self with what thy womb devours, Which is no more then what is false and vain, [ 5 ] And meerly mortal dross; So little is our loss, So little is thy gain. For when as each thing bad thou hast entomb'd, And last of all, thy greedy self consum'd, [ 10 ] Then long Eternity shall greet our bliss With an individual kiss; And Joy shall overtake us as a flood, When every thing that is sincerely good And perfectly divine, [ 15 ] With Truth, and Peace, and Love shall ever shine About the supreme Throne Of him, t' whose happy-making sight alone, When once our heav'nly-guided soul shall clime, Then all this Earthy grosnes quit, [ 20 ] Attir'd with Stars, we shall for ever sit, Triumphing over Death, and Chance, and thee O Time.

On Time by John Milton creates another idea of not beating time in a sense to live forever, but to survive, such as in wars, and acts of human cruelty. It is a triumph over

the time until you die, by surviving these events. In the end the same results are reached. But, the idea of beating time just by living seems to add something. It shows us the power of the human spirit and the nature of the human condition to fight the passing of time. It is grim to consider time passing, and to see it as a finite irreversible sequence of events. This poem encapsulates our feelings of time, but is also meant to give us hope. It is a poem of a powerful sadness, and an eternal joy.

On Shakespeare by John Milton, on the other hand, makes use of the motif of the poem as a memorial.

A Poison Tree I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I watered it in fears, Night and morning with my tears; And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles. And it grew both day and night. Till it bore an apple tight. And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine, And into my garden stole, When the night had veild the pole; In the morning glad I see My foe outstretchd beneath the tree. [edit]Analysis

In A Poison Tree, by John Succar the tree is used as an extended metaphor, which helps explain a truth of human nature. This poem teaches how anger can be dispelled by goodwill or nurtured to become a deadly poison.The opening stanza sets up everything for the entire poem, from the ending of anger with the friend, to the continuing anger with the foe. In the opening stanza the speaker states, My wrath did grow. The speaker later describes the living nature of the wrath as one which, grew both day and night, and, bore an apple bright. This comparison by metaphor of wrath to a tree illustrates the speaker's idea that, like the slow and steady growth of a tree, anger and wrath gradually accumulate and form something just as mighty and deadly as a poisoned tree. To understand the metaphorical sense of the poem, one must first examine the title, A Poison Tree, which alerts the reader that some type of metaphor will dominate the poem. In the second stanza, Blake develops the metaphor, by describing the growing and nurturing of a tree; a tree that represents the feeding of hate and vanity explored by the speaker. The speaker goes further to say, And I sunned it with smiles describing not only false intentions, but the processing of sunning, giving nutrients to a plant so that it may not only grow and live, but flourish. The religious context of the poem is also evident in two metaphorical allusions made by the speaker towards the end of the poem. The deadly fruit borne of the tree is an apple, while the scene of death and treachery occurs in the speaker's garden. The apple is a product of hate, the ironic fruits of one's labor, and a biblical metaphor for sin. The garden, which could be viewed as a place of life and prosperity, is simply the stage for the sinful act, as it was in the Bible. Like the story of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis, man gives in to the weakness of sin and falls. Blake's poetry, while easy to understand and simplistic, usually implies a moral motif on an almost basic level. The powerful figurative language in A Poison Tree is so apparent that it brings forth an apparent message as well. The poem is not a celebration of wrath; rather it is Blake's cry against it. Through this, Blake warns the reader of the dangers of repression and of rejoicing in the sorrow of our foes. William Blake wrote this poem to convey a simple message. A Poison Tree may be one of Blakes simpler poems, but is just as effective of getting its message across. In this simple but powerful poem, William Blake describes how a feeling of anger soon disappears if there is good will and friendship. [edit]Interpretations William Blake was an English Dissenter and Dissenter members broke away from the Anglican Church. Dissenters believed that the policies of the Anglican Church were wrong and so opposed it. Blake began writing a collection of poems called Songs of Experience to protest the Anglican Church's policy of stifling "sinful" emotions in people, such as anger. A Poison Tree is a good example of this because it shows how Blake believed that stifling anger would only cause the anger to grow. In fact, Blake even decided to call the original draft of a Poison Tree, "Christian Forebearance." However,

the English government did not tolerate the radical actions of the English Dissenters and they persecuted them. The poem has been set to music several times including by Greg Brown and Blur. In the B-Side to Blur's single "Girls and Boys", "Magpie", the lyrics are the poem. Finnish group Rajaton has arranged it for acappella and released it on their album Boundless.

A Divine Image Cruelty has a human heart, And Jealousy a human face; Terror the human form divine, And secrecy the human dress. The human dress is forged iron, The human form a fiery forge, The human face a furnace seal'd, The human heart its hungry gorge. The main theme of this poem is that humans hide and mask their true nature and attributes in the vision of the divine one "god"

The Divine Image (poem) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "The Divine Image" is a poem by English poet William Blake from his book Songs of Innocence (1789), later included in his joint collectionSongs of Innocence and of Experience (1794). In this poem (see Wikisource below) Blake pictures his view of an ideal world in which the four traditionally Christian virtues Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love- are found in the human's heart and stand for God's support and comfort. Joy and gratitude are sentiments expressed through prayer for the caring and blessing of an infallible almighty God and are shared by all men on Earth encompassing a sense of equality and mutual respect. The title of the poem refers to

the Book of Genesis Chapter 1 verse 26: 'And God said: Let us make man in our image'.(KJV) [edit]Summary In The Divine Image, the figures of Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love are presented by Blake as the four virtues which are object of prayer in moments of distress, being God praised for his lovely caring and blessing to comfort man. The four virtues are depicted by the author as essential not only in God, but also in man; as Mercy is found in the human heart and Pity in the human face. Similarly, abstract qualities like Peace and Love exist in the human form, becoming the divine form and body of man and resembling God's substantial virtues. Consequently, Blake not only introduces a similarity between the divine image of a benevolent God and the human form, but also the concept of the creationof man after God's divine constituency. Regarded as inborn characteristics of humans by Blake, these essentially Christian virtues can be found in every man's soul on Earth, notwithstanding his origin or religious belief. When Blake refers to the prayer of a heathen, Jew or Turk, he exemplifies all humankind sharing God's virtues in an ideal world regardless the concept of Divinity men may have. However his Song of Experience balances the ideals of pluralism[disambiguation needed ] with the image of God in humans marred by sin: [edit]Song of Experience

A Divine Image Cruelty has a human heart, And Jealousy a human face; Terror the human form divine, And Secresy the human dress. The human dress is forged iron, The human form a fiery forge, The human face a furnace sealed, The human heart its hungry gorge.

Blake [edit]External links

A Divine Image is from Blake's Songs of Experience. 12. The Divine Image

To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love All pray in their distress; And to these virtues of delight Return their thankfulness.

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love Is God our Father dear, And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love Is man, His child and care.

For Mercy has a human heart, Pity, a human face, And Love, the human form divine, And Peace, the human dress.

Then every man, of every clime, That prays in his distress, Prays to the human form divine, Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.

And all must love the human form, In heathen, Turk, or Jew; Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell There God is dwelling too.

Schoolboy , The Analysis

Author: Poetry of William Blake Type: Poetry Views: 2106

I love to rise in a summer morn When the birds sing on every tree; The distant huntsman winds his horn, And the skylark sings with me. O! what sweet company!

But to go to school on a summer morn, O! it drives all joy away; Under a cruel eye outworn, The little ones spend the day In sighing and dismay.

Ah! then at times I drooping sit, And spend many an anxious hour, Nor in my book can I take delight,

Nor sit in learning's bower, Worn thro' with the dreary shower.

How can the bird that is born for joy Sit in a cage and sing? How can a child, when fears annoy, But droop his tender wing, And forget his youthful spring?

O! father and mother, if buds are nipped And blossoms blown away, And if the tender plants are stripped Of their joy in the springing day, By sorrow and care's dismay,

How shall the summer arise in joy, Or the summer's fruits appear? Or how shall we gather what griefs destroy, Or bless the mellowing year, When the blasts of winter appear?

At the time William Blake wrote 'The Schoolboy' there was an intense social change affecting society as the Industrial Revolution began with the mechanisation of the textile industries, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Blake hated this change in society and the exploitation of children's labour in the Industrial Revolution. Blake believed in the innocence of childhood pleasures and published 'songs' of innocence and experience in which he made reference to the Aristotle theory of celestial existance. The poem is all about the confinements of the classroom in which children are restricted in when they could be out exploring the wondors of nature instead of under the eye of the cruel head master. The first stanza is full of excitment and happiness as the child wakes up to hear the sound of the birds, making auditory appeals to the senses 'birds sing, winds his horn, skylark sings'. The upbeat tone of the iambic pentameter rhyme scheme reflects the child's joy and the idyllic rural setting connotes a carefree attitude. But as the poem progresses we see that the boy has to go to school on this Summer Morn and an extended metaphor is applied 'How can the bird that is born for joy, sit in a cage and sing?' which is using imagery of the boy as a bird trapped in a cage, the setting isn't natural and the boy wants to learn but not in the restrictive education that is expected of him. Continuous verbs such as 'drooping, sighing' and the verb 'dismay' and adjective 'anxious' emphasise the boys emotions. The word 'drooping' connotes an image of a flower, wilting in uncongenial conditions and this anticipates the imagery of stanza five. The boy wants to learn, but he feels he could learn so much more if he was outside under the 'bower'. Helen W. Wordsworth CLXXIX. The Education of Nature

THREE years she grew in sun and shower; Then Nature said, "A lovelier flower On earth was never sown: This child I to myself will take; She shall be mine, and I will make A lady of my own. "Myself will to my darling be Both law and impulse; and with me The girl, in rock and plain, In earth and heaven, in glade and bower, Shall feel an overseeing power To kindle or restrain. "She shall be sportive as the fawn That wild with glee across the lawn Or up the mountain springs; And hers shall be the breathing balm, And hers the silence and the calm Of mute insensate things. "The floating clouds their state shall lend To her; for her the willow bend; Nor shall she fail to see Ev'n in the motions of the storm Grace that shall mould the maiden's form By silent sympathy. "The stars of midnight shall be dear To her; and she shall lean her ear In many a secret place, Where rivulets dance their wayward round, And beauty born of murmuring sound Shall pass into her face. "And vital feelings of delight Shall rear her form to stately height, Her virgin bosom swell; Such thoughts to Lucy I will give, While she and I together live Here in this happy dell." Thus Nature spakethe work was done How soon my Lucy's race was run! She died, and left to me

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This heath, this calm and quiet scene; The memory of what has been, And never more will be.

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"A slumber did my spirit seal" In the first of the poem's two stanzas, the speaker declares that a "slumber" has kept him from realizing reality. In essence, he has been in a dream-like state, devoid of any common fears ("human fears"). To the speaker, "she" (his unnamed female love) seemed like she would never age: A slumber did my spirit seal; I had no human fears: She seemed a thing that could not feel The touch of earthly years. In the second and final stanza, however, we learn that she has died. She lies still and can no longer see or hear. She has become a part of the day-to-day course of the earth: No motion has she now, no force: She neither hears nor sees, Rolled round in earth's diurnal course With rocks and stones and trees. Analysis: "A slumber did my spirit seal" is one of Wordsworth's "Lucy Poems," which focus primarily on the death of a young woman named Lucy (though she remains unnamed in this poem). Many scholars and literary historians have offered theories as to who Lucy was, but her true identity remains a mystery. The poem is comprised of only two four-line stanzas, and yet a great deal happens in this narrow space. We see the speaker's realization not only that this young woman has died, but also that bad things can happen in a beautiful world. In the first stanza the speaker is innocently unaware that age can touch the woman, but he is quickly taught a harsh lesson when she dies between stanzas one and two. The choice to hide the death between the stanzas is interesting, as it seems to imply that the speaker is unable to verbalize the pain that goes along with the sudden loss. On the other hand, the poem may be less about the speaker's innocence than about his belief in the young woman's power. Indeed, he seems to have built her up in his mind into a goddess, untouched by age and mortality. This desire to keep her perpetually young is a testament to the speaker's feelings for the young woman.

In the second stanza Wordsworth offers an eerie description of the woman's current situation. She is blind and deaf--wholly incapable of taking in the world around her. This is a particularly painful idea in a Wordsworth poem, because he is generally so focused on experiencing the senses. The speaker also mentions that she is now without motion or force. This, of course, is true of all dead people, but by stating the obvious the speaker helps the reader to imagine the way the young woman once was: full of life and vigor. In the last two lines the speaker describes the young woman trapped beneath the surface of the earth. In fact, she has become a part of the earth, rolling with it as it turns day to day. The very last line of the poem is especially interesting, because the speaker lists both rocks and stones, which are essentially the same. It may be that he intends to reference both gravestones and common rocks. Alternatively, the speaker may intend to emphasize the "dead" things of the earth over living things like trees (which are mentioned only once). "A slumber did my spirit seal" is a ballad, though a very short one. The stanzas follow an abab rhyme scheme, and the first and third lines are in iambic tetrameter, while the second and forth lines are in iambic trimeter.

"The World Is Too Much with Us" is a sonnet by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. In it, Wordsworth criticizes the world of the First Industrial Revolution for being absorbed in materialism and distancing itself from nature. Composed circa 1802, the poem was first published in Poems, In Two Volumes (1807). Like most Italian sonnets, its 14 lines are written in iambic pentameter.

[edit]Theme In the early 19th century, Wordsworth wrote several sonnets blasting what he perceived as "the decadent material cynicism of the time." [1]"The World Is Too Much with Us" is one of those works. It reflects his philosophy that humanity must get in touch with nature in order to progress spiritually.[1] The rhyme scheme of this poem is abbaabbacdcdcd. This Italian sonnet uses the last six lines (sestet) to answer the first eight lines (octave). The first eight lines (octave) are the problem and the next six (sestet) is the solution. [edit]Poem The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon, The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers, For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not. --Great God! I'd rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathd horn. [edit]Summary Wordsworth gives a fatalistic view of the world, past and future. The words "late and soon" in the opening verse describe how the past and future are included in his characterization of mankind. The author knows the potential of humanity's "powers," but fears it is clouded by the mentality of "getting and spending." The "sordid boon" we have "given our hearts" is the materialistic progress of mankind. The detriment society has on the environment will proceed unchecked and relentless like the "winds that will be howling at all hours". Unlike society, Wordsworth does not see nature as a commodity. The verse "Little we see in Nature that is ours", shows that coexisting is the relationship envisioned. This relationship appears to be at the mercy of mankind because of the vulnerable way nature is described. The verse "This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon", gives the vision of a feminine creature opening herself to the heavens above. The phrase "sleeping flowers" might also describe how nature is being overrun unknowingly and is helpless. The verse "I, standing on this pleasant lea, have glimpses that would make me less forlorn", reveals Wordsworth's perception of himself in society: a visionary romantic more in touch with nature than his contemporaries. [edit]Conventions Metaphor we have given our hearts away, a sordid boon Sordid- demonstrating the worst aspects of human nature such as immorality, selfishness and greed. Boonsomething that functions as a blessing or benefit. Contradiction between words suggests materialism is a destructive and corrupt blessing that the industrial revolution has produced. It emphasised the tension between the good exterior and the sordid truth behind materialism. On the exterior, material goods bring

pleasure and in many ways are a symbol of mans progress; however, in truth, they feed the worst aspects of humanity (greed). Sonnet form Ironic-Wordsworth employs a strictly structured form which conforms to a set of strict conventions. Creates a tension between the emotional, natural, fluid themes explored in the poem and the structured form of the sonnet. Mirrors what was occurring at the time in which artists and poets were rebelling in the structured world of the neoclassical period. Shattering it from within Employing the familiar with the new and revolutionary-Wordsworth uses the familiar structure of the sonnet as well as referencing to familiar ancient Gods (in the authors context they would have been familiar) to persuade the reader to engage in a positive way to the concepts addressed. The unfamiliar or unknown is always feared and suppressed thus by incorporating the familiar with the revolutionary the reader in the 19th century is more likely to engage positively with Wordsworths message. In many ways this poem is a persuasive piece Repetition and rhyming scheme -Repetitive rhyming scheme ABBAABBA getting and spending late and soon emphasises the monotonous nature of modern life and materialism. Getting and spending, cluster of longer emphasised words with many consonants words are drawn out when read. Sluggish -In essence materialism is just that getting and spending it is devoid of emotion or a true fulfilling purpose no life of flare as shown in the language. This positions the reader to engage negatively with the glorification of materialism and industrialization. -In many ways the stereotypes of man and woman mirror the difference between the neoclassical and romantic period between civilized and nature. Men in this context are associated with rationality, strength, order and power, whereas the feminine is associated with emotion and the imagination. -Capitalization of the word Sea makes it a name. The idea that nature is not a commodity but and equal to man is demonstrated in the line little we see in nature that is ours. This implies that Wordsworth envisions an equal relationship between man and nature Music and Harmony for this for everything we are out of tune -Implies that man is out of tune with nature, unable to live in harmony. Through describing this as a tune this demonstrates Wordsworths use of the sense experience in his poetry. -From his defensive writings sense the music of the poem -Wordsworths poetry has lyrical harmonies Collective pronoun -Wordsworth uses the words "we" and "us". This involves and includes the reader once again positioning reader to engage positively. Persuasive Imagery "and are up gathered now like sleeping flowers" -Sleeping flowers suggest that man is numb and in a way dead and unaware of the beauty and power of the natural world. -However there is also a certain optimismsleeping flowers implies that humans

are dormant in other words there is some hope wake up and realize the power of nature. Punctuation -Many commas and semicolons create pauses that instill reflection in the reader. In each pause the reader is given space to contemplate and engage with the message.

THE POETRY of earth is never dead: When all the birds are faint with the hot sun, And hide in cooling trees, a voice will runFrom hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;That is the Grasshoppershe takes the lead 5 In summer luxury,he has never done With his delights; for when tired out with funHe rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.The poetry of earth is ceasing never: On a lone winter evening, when the frost 10 Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrillsThe Crickets song, in warmth increasing ever, And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, The Grasshoppers among some grassy hills. December 30, 1816. John Keats' Sonnet "On the Grasshopper and the Cricket" was written on December 30th 1816. The message of this poem is foregrounded in these two lines: "The poetry of earth is never dead" which is the opening line of the octave and the poem; and "The poetry of earth is ceasing never"which is the first line of the sestet. Keats asserts emphatically that no matter what the season, whether it is the peak of scorching summer or the bitterly cold winter season the music and 'poetry' of Mother Nature will be omnipresent and add vitality to the environment. The octave and the sestet compare and contrast a hot summer day and a bitterly cold and lonely winter evening. It's so hot that the usually chirpy and active birds have taken shelter amongst the shady trees and the whole countryside seems to be quiet, but just then one can hear the ever active grasshopper chirping away merrily in the hedges. Similarly when one is cosily sheltered in the comfort of his home in front of a warm stove from the cold frosty winter and is beginning to feel lonely, the silence is shattered by the shrill chirpings of the cricket which adds meaning to the lonely winter evening without filling it up by reminding him of the music of the grasshopper in the summer months.

W.B. Yeats (18651939). The Wild Swans at Coole. 1919. 1. The Wild Swans at Coole

THE TREES are in their autumn beauty, The woodland paths are dry, Under the October twilight the water Mirrors a still sky; Upon the brimming water among the stones Are nine and fifty swans. The nineteenth Autumn has come upon me Since I first made my count; I saw, before I had well finished, All suddenly mount And scatter wheeling in great broken rings Upon their clamorous wings. I have looked upon those brilliant creatures, And now my heart is sore. Alls changed since I, hearing at twilight, The first time on this shore, The bell-beat of their wings above my head, Trod with a lighter tread. Unwearied still, lover by lover, They paddle in the cold, Companionable streams or climb the air; Their hearts have not grown old; Passion or conquest, wander where they will, Attend upon them still. But now they drift on the still water Mysterious, beautiful; Among what rushes will they build, By what lakes edge or pool Delight mens eyes, when I awake some day To find they have flown away?

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Yeats was the leader of the Irish literary renaissance that aimed at reviving ancient Irish folklore, legends and traditions in new literary works. The influence of the Celtic Renaissance is strong in Yeatss early poetry in which the poems often center on Irish mythology and themes and are mystical, slow-paced and lyrical.

Yeats" redirects here. For other uses, see Yeats (disambiguation).

William Butler Yeats ( /jets/ YAYTS; 13 June 1865 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms. Yeats was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and, along with Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn, and others, founded the Abbey Theatre, where he served as its chief during its early years. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature as the first Irishman so honoured[1] for what the Nobel Committee described as "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." 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).[2] Yeats was a very good friend of Indian Bengali poet Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. 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 20th century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889 and those slow-paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and 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.

For Anne Gregory 'NEVER shall a young man, Thrown into despair By those great honey-coloured Ramparts at your ear, Love you for yourself alone And not your yellow hair.' 'But I can get a hair-dye And set such colour there, Brown, or black, or carrot, That young men in despair May love me for myself alone And not my yellow hair.'

'I heard an old religious man But yesternight declare That he had found a text to prove That only God, my dear, Could love you for yourself alone And not your yellow hair.' William Butler Yeats

The Lake Isle Of Innisfree I WILL arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made: Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade. And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings; There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow, And evening full of the linnet's wings. I will arise and go now, for always night and day I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey, I hear it in the deep heart's core.

First published in the collection The Rose in 1893, The Lake Isle of Innisfree is an example of Yeatss earlier lyric poems. Throughout the three short quatrains the poem explores the speakers longing for the peace and tranquility of his boyhood haunt, Innisfree. The Lake Isle of Innisfree suggests that a life of simplicity in nature will bring peace to the troubled speaker. However, the poem is the speakers recollection of Innisfree, and therefore the journey is an emotional and spiritual escape rather than an actual one. Innisfree may be a symbol for the speakers passed youth, which the speaker is unable to return to in the real, or physical, world. Emotionally, the speaker can return again and again to the tranquility of Innisfree. The Lake Isle of Innisfree Summary

Line 1 In this line Yeats establishes the opening tone as well as the refrain of the poem. The poem focuses on Innisfree as a place of escape for the speaker. Lines 24 Here the speaker describes Innisfree as a simple, natural environment where he will build a cabin and live alone. Note the rich description in these lines. The language is specific. The speaker does not merely mention that he will build a cabin, but also that it will be made of clay and wattles. The speaker also specifies that he will have nine bean-rows, instead of simply a garden. These are images that conjure up in the mind of the reader concrete visual features of Yeatss poetic fantasy. Notice also the particularly interesting image of the bee-loud glade. This image invests Innisfree with a magical air. DUST OF SNOW The way a crow Shook down on me The dust of snow From a hemlock tree Has given my heart A change of mood And saved some part Of a day I had rued.

Dust of Snow poem - a poem by Robert Frost

A poem can stir all of the senses, and the subject matter of a poem can range from being funny to being sad. We hope that you liked this poem and the sentiments in the words of Dust of Snow by Robert Frost you will find even more poem lyrics by this famous author by simply clicking on the Poetry Index link below! Choose Poetry online for the greatest poems by the most famous poets. Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To know that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.