The poet is awake late at night overlooking the sea, as a storm rages outside. It’s not that he fears for himself, but his little child, a baby girl, lies in her cradle.
That's right. What we see on Instagram is harsh and cold. But think rather of the winsome and ordinary beauty of an actress like Jeanne Crain, or the sheer womanly loveliness of Jane Wyatt...
Thank you for this. Yeats is a favorite of mine, but I have not read him widely. One poem alone was sufficient. "The Second Coming" has such vivid imagery He was sadly too prophetic about the rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem, but he was not the only one to foresee trouble. Have you read "Lord of the World" by Robert Hugh Benson?
One more question--what is the structure of the poem?
Yes, I've read The Lord of the World -- a mighty book.
The structure of the poem is interesting: rhyming AABBCDDC, with the D lines as tetrameter, all the others as pentameter. The result is that the final C line feels climactic -- a return to the pattern; but since the rhyme is delayed, the effect is somewhat softened and stilled. The final couplet is magnificent.
It’s beautiful and the theme resonates. I started out following along, but I got buried, mention of Helen for starters , and I don’t really feel I understand. 😟
Ah well -- Helen was the most beautiful woman in the world, yet she chose for her husbands two lesser men, Menelaus, somewhat of a stolid though genial blockhead, and Paris, occasionally brave but generally louche and slothful. So it is, Yeats is saying, with strikingly beautiful women; they eat "a crazy salad with their meat," and that messes things up.
The line that jumped out at me: “May she be granted beauty and yet not /
Beauty to make a stranger's eye distraught…” This is beauty that isn’t kind. We see it on Instagram, etc.
That's right. What we see on Instagram is harsh and cold. But think rather of the winsome and ordinary beauty of an actress like Jeanne Crain, or the sheer womanly loveliness of Jane Wyatt...
Thank you for this. Yeats is a favorite of mine, but I have not read him widely. One poem alone was sufficient. "The Second Coming" has such vivid imagery He was sadly too prophetic about the rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem, but he was not the only one to foresee trouble. Have you read "Lord of the World" by Robert Hugh Benson?
One more question--what is the structure of the poem?
Yes, I've read The Lord of the World -- a mighty book.
The structure of the poem is interesting: rhyming AABBCDDC, with the D lines as tetrameter, all the others as pentameter. The result is that the final C line feels climactic -- a return to the pattern; but since the rhyme is delayed, the effect is somewhat softened and stilled. The final couplet is magnificent.
A lot to like there! And thanks for sharing the picture of the place where this poem was made. That's the bridge through which he heard the wind!
After reading Twain's Defense of Harriet Shelley, I have no use for Shelley's work. Being a poet is no excuse for being a cad.🤷
Once again, a beautiful poem, and commentary. It caused me to think of this poem.
"What is my wish for you?
Not, that you are the very most beautiful tree,
that stands on this earth.
Not,
that you shine,
year after year,
with blossoms
on every branch,
but that from time to time,
on any branch,
a blossom opens up,
that, from time to time,
something Beautiful succeeds,
that at times,
a Word of Love,
finds a heart,
--that is, what I wish for you."
Jörg Zink
It’s beautiful and the theme resonates. I started out following along, but I got buried, mention of Helen for starters , and I don’t really feel I understand. 😟
Ah well -- Helen was the most beautiful woman in the world, yet she chose for her husbands two lesser men, Menelaus, somewhat of a stolid though genial blockhead, and Paris, occasionally brave but generally louche and slothful. So it is, Yeats is saying, with strikingly beautiful women; they eat "a crazy salad with their meat," and that messes things up.
This is such a beautifully written piece; reading it is like a meditation.
praying and appreciate so much the joys and goods God has given us!