Introduction of the Poem “Sailing to Byzantium”:
The poem “Sailing to Byzantium” appears in Yeats’s collection The Tower, published in 1928. By this time, Yeats had acquired extensive knowledge of Byzantium, once the capital of the Roman Empire, renowned for its splendour, cultural refinement, and, most importantly, its rich artistic tradition. In the poem, the poet expresses a deep desire to abandon the world of physical and sensual pleasures and instead dwell among craftsmen and creators devoted to art.
The poem is essentially a reflection on eternity and the idea of timeless existence. Yeats explores the instincts and behaviour of living beings in a materialistic world, emphasising how all creatures are driven by sensory gratification. He also highlights the harsh reality that old age is disregarded and undervalued in such a world. Therefore, the poet urges the aged to turn toward spirituality, art, literature, and philosophy as a path to liberation and fulfillment. Byzantium is portrayed as a symbolic realm of intellect and spiritual transcendence—a visionary paradise where the soul is refined, and immortal golden birds sing from golden branches, representing pure intellectual and artistic joy.
Summary of the Poem “Sailing to Byzantium”:
Stanza 1:
That is no country for old men. The young
In one another’s arms, birds in the trees
Those dying, generations—at their song.
The salmon – falls , the mackerel – crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies,
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.
Explanatory Word – Meanings:
1. That is … old men = this materialistic world appears to belong completely to the young and there is no place for the old. 2. The young … arms = the young men and women indulge themselves in amorous plays and pleasures. 3. Birds in the trees= as the young men are lost in one another’s arms, in the same way the birds are sitting on the trees singing melodious songs. 4. Those dying generations = a mortal bird of nature amid natural trees sings a brief song of sensual joy in praise of mortal things. ‘Generation’ conveys the idea of reproductive process and sexual gratification among men and birds. 5. The salmon – falls = waterfalls replete with shoal of salmon. 6. Salmon= a fresh water fish of silvery skin and orange flesh much prized for food. 7. Mackerel = a kind of sea fish. 8. Fish= fish symbolises all aquatic creature. 9. Flesh= this word indicates to human beings. 10. Fowl= it indicates to all feathery creation. 11. Fish … dies= all kinds of creatures are born, they procreate and then they die. 12. Caught … intellect = all these mortal creatures understand the language of sensuality, but they are entirely unmindful to the intellectual activity. 13. Monuments … intellect= intellectual achievements are immortal and ageless and they have permanent value. 14. Monuments = great work of art. 15. Unageing = remain alive for ages.
Paraphrase:
The poet voices his deep dissatisfaction with his homeland, which he finds unfit for the aged. Troubled by the hardships of old age, he explains his desire to depart for Byzantium, the city of his spiritual ideal. Advancing years strip human beings of the sensory delights once enjoyed in youth. The elderly lose the ability to participate in physical pleasures and are therefore excluded from the world of the young. In the modern, material-driven society, old people are largely neglected and met with apathy by the younger generation. The world seems to exist solely for the young, who remain absorbed in love and physical passion. Young men and women are frequently portrayed embracing one another, immersed in sensual pursuits. Likewise, birds, fish, and other living beings follow a purely physical and instinctive existence centered on reproduction. Life for them is a repetitive cycle of birth, procreation, and death. Caught up in sensory enjoyment, the youth overlook the realms of art and philosophy. They show little concern for intellectual or spiritual pursuits and fail to recognise the timeless and enduring value of intellectual accomplishments.
Stanza 2:
An aged man is but a paltry thing.
A tattered coal upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence,
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.
Explanatory Word – Meanings:
1. An aged man= an old man. 2. But a paltry thing= just a petty, worthless and insignificant thing. 3. A tattered … stick = looks like a scare – crow in tattered clothes. 4. Tattered = worn out. 5. Unless … sing= the old man is like a worthless thing and is the subject of contempt if he, during the sunset of his life, does not purify his soul by dedicating himself in the feet of God. He should feel overwhelmed while singing in praise of God. 6. And louder … dress= As the old man feels approaching very close to death, he should show more enthusiasm in adoration of God. In other words the older a man, the greater his spiritual exaltation should be. 7. Nor is … magnificence = besides touching the summit of spirituality, an old man should study the immortal work of art. He should also develop his intellect. 8. Monument of its own magnificence = great or immortal work of art. 9. And therefore … Byzantium= that is the reason why the poet has crossed the oceans and arrived in the holy city of Byzantium which represents spiritual power and greatness. It is a country, famous for its artistic wealth.
Paraphrase:
The poet reflects that in a material-driven age, the elderly are largely ignored by the young, who remain absorbed in bodily pleasures. Having lost their physical strength, old men are unable to share in such sensual enjoyments and are therefore pushed aside, regarded as useless by the younger generation. As a result, they are deprived of their rightful place in a society governed by materialism and desire.
When old age brings physical decline and reduces a man’s worth in a world devoted to sensuality, he should redirect his attention towards spiritual life. By seeking spiritual paths, he can elevate and refine his soul, for old age should be marked by inner awakening and enlightenment. If an elderly person fails to purify his soul through devotion and praise of God, he becomes as lifeless as a scarecrow clothed in rags and fixed to a barren pole. In fact, the more worn the body becomes, the greater joy the soul ought to experience. Physical weakness should never hinder one from turning towards spirituality and divine refuge.
The human soul, being a part of the divine essence, possesses immense strength and power. Along with spiritual devotion, an old man should devote himself to art and literature, which provide the richest nourishment for the soul. A soul that is both spiritually awakened and intellectually refined moves closer to salvation. True happiness in old age lies in spiritual fulfillment and in the contemplation of timeless works of art. For this reason, the poet abandons the world of physical pleasure and journeys to the sacred city of Byzantium. Byzantium represents the ideal destination for the aged—a realm reached by severing ties with the land of youth—and stands as a powerful symbol of spiritual transcendence.
Stanza 3:
O sages standing in God’s holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing – masters of my soul,
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is: and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.
Explanatory Word – Meanings:
1. Sages = great learned holy persons who have fully control over their senses and renounce this world of desires for seeking the way of salvation. 2. Standing … fire= the poet visualises the sages standing in God’s holy fire. These sages have got complete freedom from the slavery of sensuality and in this way they have purified their soul. 3. As … wall= these sages are similar to the figures represented in the gold mosaic of a wall. 4. Mosaic = design made of inlaid work. 5. Perne = swoop down; descend. 6. In a gyre= in a rapid, whirling movement like that of a hawk descending upon its prey. 7. Be … soul = the poet begs to the sages to rise from their holy fire like immortal phoenixes and become a source of inspiration to him. 8. Consume … away = the poet’s heart is still sick with sensual desires, so he prays them to purify his heart. 9. Dying animal = although the poet is old and is unable to enjoy sensual pleasures, yet he feels the temptation to sensual desires. 10. It= the poet’s heart. 11. Gather … eternity = purged of all passions, the poet wishes to become a part of the immortal products of art.
Paraphrase:
The poet imagines venerable sages standing within God’s sacred fire, where their souls are cleansed of sin and sensual longing. These sages have renounced the material world and devoted themselves entirely to intellect and spiritual awareness. Having conquered physical desires, they emerge from the purifying flames as embodiments of divine perfection. To the poet, they resemble the timeless figures depicted in golden mosaics upon a wall.
The poet longs to free himself from worldly attachments and sensual cravings. Therefore, he prays that these holy sages may leave the sacred fire and descend upon him with the swift, commanding movement of a hawk. He wishes his heart to be filled with celestial harmony and asks the saints to teach him the art of spiritual song. By this, he means that they should enter his heart—the seat of passion—and transform it, cleansing it of all sensual impulses and filling it with divine joy.
Although the poet is old and no longer capable of physical pleasure, his heart remains afflicted by sensual desire. Despite repeated efforts to overcome it, his inner self continues to be dominated by worldly longings. Standing at the threshold of death, he finds himself unable to grasp the true nature of his own soul. Bound to the mortal body and shaped by a materialistic age, he has forgotten the divine and supernatural essence within him. A veil of ignorance has descended upon his soul, leaving it in spiritual darkness and in need of powerful inspiration to awaken it to its true identity.
The poet believes that these purified sages, as holy souls, can cleanse his heart of its impurities and grant him the permanence that great works of art possess. Freed from sensual desire, he hopes to be transformed into a timeless object of art—one that transcends decay and holds lasting, eternal value.
Stanza 4:
Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To Keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
Explanatory Word – Meanings:
1. Once … thing= the poet believes that once he is dead, he would never again enter the body of any other living creature. 2. Never take my bodily form = would never accept the mortal body. 3. Any natural being= any other living creature. 4. But such … awake = the poet would rather choose to be transformed into such form of art as that of the artificial birds made by the goldsmiths of ancient Greece for the pleasure of an emperor. 5. Or set … to come= as a golden bird, he would be placed on a golden bough and he would appear to be singing songs of all times (the past, the present, the future) to an audience of the lords and ladies of Byzantium. 6. Passing = present. 7. To come= future.
Paraphrase:
The poet feels deeply exhausted by a world dominated by materialism and sensual pleasure, so much so that he refuses to imagine taking on the mortal body of any living creature in a future life. His desire is for spiritual liberation. Since all physical forms are bound by time, decay, and death, he rejects the idea of any bodily rebirth. Instead, he longs to exist in a form that is timeless and indestructible. He envisions himself transformed into a golden bird, like the finely crafted figures said to have been made by Greek artisans to delight an emperor. As a piece of art fashioned in gold, he would be free from aging and mortality, unlike real birds that belong to successive, perishing generations. Perched on a golden branch, this eternal bird would sing to the nobles of Byzantium about all that has been, is, and is yet to come.
Critical Analysis of the Poem “Sailing to Byzantium”:
Introduction:
“Sailing to Byzantium” is a reflective poem concerned with the idea of eternity and the search for a timeless mode of existence. In it, Yeats presents an aged speaker who confronts the realities of old age, mortality, and the possibility of renewal, and ultimately arrives at a firm resolution. The poem opens the collection The Tower and was written in 1928, following the poet’s recovery from Malta fever. Yeats possessed deep knowledge of Byzantine art and mosaics, gained through both scholarly study and his travels in Italy. Byzantium, once the capital of the Roman Empire, was renowned for its splendour, cultural refinement, and, above all, its artistic achievements.
Through this poem, the poet expresses a desire to withdraw from a world dominated by physical pleasures and seeks instead a life among creators of lasting art. He urges the elderly to redirect their attention toward spiritual pursuits, art, literature, and philosophy. At the same time, he emphasizes the need for cleansing the soul of moral corruption in order to attain spiritual liberation. The poem conveys Yeats’s contempt for merely physical or transient existence and his longing to escape the endless cycle of birth and death. Rather than remaining bound to mortality, he aspires to achieve an eternal and indestructible form of being. This quest for spiritual transcendence is symbolized by the voyage to Byzantium, which stands as an emblem of spiritual and artistic permanence.
Thought – Content:
The poet suggests that advancing age cuts a person off from the sensuous pleasures associated with youth, making the world seem entirely dominated by the young and unwelcoming to the old. Absorbed in physical delights, the young ignore the higher realms of art, philosophy, and spiritual reflection. Therefore, the elderly are urged to turn away from this material world and seek a higher domain of artistic and aesthetic fulfillment. An aged person who fails to find solace in spirituality, literature, art, and philosophy, the poet implies, is worthy of disregard. Old age gains dignity and meaning only when it is enriched by a spiritual awareness and appreciation of enduring artistic achievements. Rejecting bodily existence, which is inevitably bound to decay and death, the poet longs to shed all passions and become one with the timeless creations of art.
Liberation of the Soul from the Sensual World:
When an aged man succeeds in detaching himself from sensual desires, he can take delight in the freedom of his soul. He enters the spiritual realm, and his joy deepens as he becomes increasingly aware of the soul’s grandeur. The soul, however, achieves its fullest realization through communion with great works of art. Drawn towards them, he soon discovers that these creations are not lifeless statues or empty memorials, but forms endowed with a living spirit. They exist in the pure and sacred fire of the divine, untouched by decay or corruption. Consequently, he longs for death as a release from his perishable body. Seeing in these living monuments the proof that the soul can inhabit something other than flesh, he yearns for rebirth—not into another mortal frame, but into the eternal, unchanging form of art.
The Use of Symbols and Images:
The whole poem is evocative and has become a symbol for “monuments of unageing intellect”, Yeats has used the elemental symbols of earth, air, fire and water. The Byzantium image is associated with the image of the golden bough on which the mechanical bird would be set.
‘Hammered’ implies effort. ‘Gold’ implies purgation. ‘Gold mosaic’ implies hardness. ‘Holy fire’ suggests a mode of purification through suffering, and the ‘gyre’ suggests the revolution of historical cycles.
The search for spiritual life has been represented by journey to the city. Byzantium also represents a world of art and culture. The realm of art is immortal. God in the poem stands less in the position of a Christian God than in that of supreme artist, artificer of eternity and the holy fire. Byzantium has also been treated as a symbol of purgatory where the souls are purified. The golden bird, as a symbol of immortality and art has been used.
The Golden Tree with its Golden Bird also reminds us of Yeats’ association with the Golden Dawn, its magical practices and the Tree of Life. The Golden Bird is the soul which has become pure. The Golden Tree is the tree of life.
Personal Element:
The poem is deeply personal because it addresses the anxiety of old age that persistently troubled Yeats. The speaker, an elderly man, feels alienated and unhappy in the physical world, as he is no longer suited to its sensuous pleasures. Seeking release, he turns toward Byzantium, a symbolic realm of art that transcends time and decay.
However, Yeats offers a contrasting response to ageing in A Dialogue of Self and Soul. In that poem, he rejects the soul’s call for a purely spiritual and contemplative existence, choosing instead to affirm life in the sensory world, despite the shame, suffering, and inevitable disillusionments that accompany it.
Style and Language:
The poem is made up of thirty-two lines arranged into four stanzas, each containing eight lines. It is written in iambic pentameter, with every line normally carrying five iambic feet, or ten syllables. In a few cases, an extra syllable is added at the end to preserve the rhyme scheme. Each stanza concludes with a rhyming couplet. The poem makes effective use of alliteration, full and half rhymes, and varied cadences.
The language is plain yet elevated, literary in tone, and rich in symbolism. Long, polysyllabic words appear sparingly, while monosyllabic and disyllabic words dominate. Yeats has always been known for his verbal dexterity, but here his wordplay rests on a firmer, more substantial foundation.
The poem clearly demonstrates his technical skill. Among modern poets, few have achieved such command over traditional stanzaic patterns passed down from Chaucer through Spenser to the Romantic poets. Indeed, it is rare in any age to find stanzas that combine such musical richness with such density of thought and expression.
Yeats’s language becomes increasingly sharp and flexible, capable of conveying a wide range of ideas. When he chooses, he can put the starkest facts into the starkest words:
“An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick.”