The Bird Image in Yeats Poems - 2062 Words

20100110003 陈æ ¡â€šÃ¨Å  ³ è‹ ±Ã¥â€º ½Ã¨ ¯â€"æ ­Å' Jan. 30, 2011 The Symbol of Soul —The bird image in Yeats’ poetry The poetry of William Butler Yeats is permeated by symbolism and mysticism which are attributed to his manipulation of various images. The image of birds crowns among the imageries of his poetry and is endowed with the poets’ profound philosophies. The bird as the symbol of soul is a heritage of classical writings. In Golden Bough, Sir James Frazer comments on the subject, â€Å"Often the Soul is conceived as a bird ready to take flight. This conception has probably left traces in most languages, and it†¦show more content†¦(qtd. in Wikipedia) In the poem, he sees the swans attended by â€Å"passion or conquest† mount up into the sky while he himself is wearied with a sore heart because everything in his life has changed except the wild swans whose hearts â€Å"have not grown cold†. The poet lives in a heart-ache time of the First World War and the Irish civil war when he says â€Å"All’s changed†. The pain of personal memory of the speaker is in a stark contrast with the swans’ untainted spiritual integrity, which adds greater mystery of the birds. And then he wonders where these mysterious and beautiful birds go, where they will build their nests and by what lake’s edge or pool they will entertain people when he wakes up one morning only to find they have disappeared. Compared to his early poems, the mood of that poem written in Yeats’ middle age is gloomier and more melancholy with a tone of sadness and sorrow. The solemn serenity exhibited by the beautiful imagery of the swans in pairs â€Å"lover by lover† suggests the poet’s longing for eternity of love, the integrity of soul despite enduring the pain of memory. The speaker in the poem is a pessimistic observer watching the ever-lasting affectionate birds with a touch of jealousy. Besides, the appearance and disappearance of the birds is used to symbolize the human soul that emerges in and dies away from the worldly life. It corresponds with a later poem Coole Park and Ballylee, 1931, in which YeatsShow MoreRelatedWilliam Butler Yeats The Second Coming1011 Words   |  5 PagesIn William Butler Yeats The Second Coming, the poet makes phrases such as; â€Å"the best lack of conviction of stony sleep (19) and the falcon cannot hear the falconer (2). The phrases are useful in suggesting various thematic concerns of the poem as well asserting separation of ideas and events that occur during the time when Yeats is writing his work. Different interpretations of the stanzas may bring a connection of the antagonism of people and events that Yeats foresees. For instance, the falconRead MoreAnalysis Of W. B. Yeatss Sailing To Byzantium1235 Words   |  5 PagesW.B. 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