Curated set · answers marked
What does the speaker of "Sailing to Byzantium" wish to become at the end of the poem?
AA golden bird singing on a golden bough✓
BA marble statue in a Byzantine temple
CA young man restored to his former vitality
DA disembodied soul floating in eternity
Rationale
In the final stanza, the speaker reveals his wish to be transformed "into the artifice of eternity" as a golden, mechanical bird perched on a golden bough — representing the lasting nature of art in contrast to the inevitable decay of the aging body.
What does the speaker of "Sailing to Byzantium" ultimately wish to become by the end of the poem?
AA golden bird singing on a branch✓
BA marble statue in a Byzantine church
CA young man restored to physical health
DA disembodied soul freed from all form
Rationale
In the final stanza, the speaker expresses a desire to be gathered into "the artifice of eternity" and envisions himself transformed into a golden, mechanical bird placed "upon a golden bough to sing" — a form crafted by art that transcends the decay of the natural, aging body.