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Characters · 3
The Sages
The Sages are the golden, mosaic-like holy figures that the Speaker calls upon in the third stanza of W. B. Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium."
character
The Speaker (The Aging Poet)
The Speaker serves as the sole human voice and central consciousness in W. B. Yeats's poem "Sailing to Byzantium" (1928), which reflects on aging, mortality, and the redeeming power of art.
character
The Young
In W. B. Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium," the Young aren't individual characters but rather a collective presence, filled with vitality and sensory awareness that defines the mortal world the Speaker is leaving behind.
character
Key quotes · 8
“That is no country for old men.”
The opening line of W. B. Yeats's poem Sailing to Byzantium (1928) is delivered by an aging speaker reflecting on the sensual, youth-focused world he is leaving behind.
The aging speaker (Yeats's poetic persona) · Stanza 1
“An aged man is but a paltry thing, / A tattered coat upon a stick.”
These lines are delivered by the poem's speaker — often seen as W. B. Yeats himself or an aging poet similar to him — in the opening stanza of "Sailing to Byzantium" (1928), featured in The Tower.
The Poet / Speaker (W. B. Yeats, persona) · Stanza 2
“O sages standing in God's holy fire / As in the gold mosaic of a wall.”
These lines are spoken by the aging speaker in the second stanza of W. B. Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium" (1928), directly addressing the golden sages shown in Byzantine mosaic art.
The poem's speaker (an aging man / Yeats's persona) · Stanza 2
“Consume my heart away; sick with desire / And fastened to a dying animal.”
These lines come from the aging speaker in W. B. Yeats's poem "Sailing to Byzantium" (1928).
The aging speaker (Yeats's poetic persona) · Stanza 3
“Once out of nature I shall never take / My bodily form from any natural thing.”
These lines are spoken by an older version of the poem's speaker — representing W. B. Yeats himself — in the fourth and final stanza of "Sailing to Byzantium" (1928), which is included in The Tower.
The aging speaker / Yeats's poetic persona · Stanza IV
“The young / In one another's arms, birds in the trees / —Those dying generations—at their song.”
These opening lines from W. B. Yeats's poem "Sailing to Byzantium" (1928) are delivered by the aging speaker as he looks back at the sensual, mortal world he is about to leave.
The aging speaker (Yeats's poetic persona) · Stanza 1
“To keep a drowsy Emperor awake; / Or set upon a golden bough to sing.”
These lines come from the fourth and final stanza of W. B. Yeats's poem "Sailing to Byzantium," published in 1928.
The Poet / Speaker · Stanza 4
“But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make / Of hammered gold and gold enamelling.”
These lines come from the final stanza of W. B. Yeats's famous poem "Sailing to Byzantium" (1928), expressed by the poem's elderly narrator as he contemplates the divine form his soul might assume after death.
The aged narrator / poetic speaker (Yeats's persona) · Stanza 4
Symbols · 4
Byzantium
In W. B. Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium," the ancient city of Byzantium symbolizes an eternal, transcendent realm of art and intellect—a golden, unchanging world that contrasts sharply with the fleeting, sensual nature of the mortal world.
The Golden Bird
In W. B. Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium," the golden bird represents the victory of art over the inevitable decay of life.
The Scarecrow
In W. B. Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium," the scarecrow represents the worn-down and embarrassing state of an aging human body — a ragged, empty shell that has lost its original function.
The Sea Voyage
In W. B. Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium," the sea voyage serves as a powerful metaphor for the soul's intentional escape from the physical world towards a higher spiritual existence and lasting art.
Literary devices · 12
Symbolism
Byzantium serves as the central symbol of the poem, representing not just the historical city but also a realm of timeless art and spiritual elevation.
Extended Metaphor
The concept of "sailing to Byzantium" weaves through all four stanzas.
Imagery
Yeats uses rich sensory imagery to create a tangible contrast between the mortal and immortal worlds.
Metaphor
Every stanza features individual metaphors that strike with concentrated power.
Apostrophe
The third stanza begins with a direct call to the sages shown in Byzantine mosaic art: 'O sages standing in God's holy fire.'
Personification
The soul is often depicted as an active, yearning agent that can express itself through physical actions.
Stanza
The poem consists of four stanzas with eight lines each, following the ottava rima form, and each stanza represents a distinct phase in the speaker's argument.
Irony
A deep irony runs through the resolution of the poem.
Alliteration
Alliteration weaves the poem’s sound texture together and highlights its thematic connections.
Paradox
Paradox is key to the poem's argument.
Allusion
The poem is rich with historical and mythological references.
Volta
The poem takes a significant turn at the beginning of the third stanza with the line, 'O sages standing in God's holy fire.'
Vocabulary · 10
paltry
Worthless and pitiful; of so little value or importance as to be beneath notice. Here it describes an old man's body as a sorry, contemptible thing compared to the life of the soul.
adjective · Chapter 1
tattered
Torn into ragged shreds and worn out beyond repair. In this poem it describes both a literal coat and, by extension, the decaying body of an old man.
adjective · Chapter 1
mortal dress
The physical human body, thought of as a temporary garment the soul wears during its earthly life, which ages and eventually dies while the soul endures.
phrase · Chapter 1
sages
Deeply wise and holy figures, here specifically the saints and scholars depicted in the glittering mosaic artwork of ancient Byzantium, whom the speaker calls on as spiritual guides.
noun · Chapter 1
mosaic
A picture or decorative design made by setting small pieces of colored glass or stone into a wall or ceiling. Byzantine churches were famous for their brilliant gold-background mosaics of holy figures.
noun · Chapter 1
perne
To spin or whirl in a spiral motion, drawn from the bobbin (called a 'pern') that spins as thread unwinds. Yeats uses it to picture the sages spiraling downward out of the eternal fire toward him.
verb · Chapter 1
gyre
A spiral or circular spinning motion. Yeats uses gyres throughout his work as a symbol of the turning cycles of history, time, and the soul's journey.
noun · Chapter 1
singing-masters
Teachers who train and perfect the art of song. Here the speaker asks the holy sages to school his soul in the kind of eternal, spiritual singing that transcends the body.
noun · Chapter 1
enamelling
The craft of fusing a smooth, glassy colored coating onto metal by firing it at high heat. Here it describes the decorative finish applied to the golden artificial bird, emphasizing its man-made, imperishable beauty.
noun · Chapter 1
hammered gold
Metal shaped by beating it repeatedly with a hammer into a precise, crafted form. The phrase stresses that the bird the speaker wishes to become is a deliberate human artwork, not a creature of nature.
phrase · Chapter 1