The poem ‘The Circus Animals’ Desertion’ by W.B Yeats gives a voice to the deep frustrations of a struggling poet devoid of inspiration. I would strongly state however that his frustrations do not just extend to his inability to recreate the, ‘masterful imagery’ (Yeats 1939:31) of his previous works, but a frustration with the art of poetry itself. Through strong imagery and a range of other poetic devices this interpretation is made clear to the reader.
The apathy and frustration of Yeats is made immediately clear to the reader in the first two lines of the poem. Yeats was a perfectionist; with the form, structure and language of his works being diverse and varied. This striving perfection did come at a cost, In his poem, ‘All things can tempt me’ (Yeats:1916), he refers to his work as, ‘accustomed toil’(Yeats 1916:5), suggesting a long and laborious process, which is why the repetition of the word ‘sought’ in the first two lines is indicative of a lack of care for the poem. The scholar K.S Jochum comments that, ‘no poet has set before himself such higher ideals in perfection of his art’
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Just as animals feel entrapped by the circus, there is much evidence to suggest that Yeats was entrapped by his passion that of poetry. In his poem, ‘The Choice’ (Yeats 1933) he muses that, ‘The intellect of man is forced to choose perfection of the life, or of the work’(Yeats1933:1+2), which bearing in mind his constant seeking for higher ideals within his art form this is a clear indication that he is directly conveying a frustration with poetry. This notion is reinforced by the line, ‘Players and painted stage took all my love,’ (Yeats 1939: 22) which informs the reader of Yeats complete immersion in his
John Keats’s illness caused him to write about his unfulfillment as a writer. In an analysis of Keats’s works, Cody Brotter states that Keats’s poems are “conscious of itself as the poem[s] of a poet.” The poems are written in the context of Keats tragically short and painful life. In his ...
As ?All Things can Tempt Me? continues, Yeats addresses this question of role by describing the way he perceived bards in his youth. He speaks of the poet?s song, saying, "Did not the poet sing it with such airs/ That one believed he had a sword upstairs;" (7-8). Thi...
In William Butler Yeats poem “Leda and the Swan”, he uses the fourteen lines of the traditional sonnet form in a radical, modernist style. He calls up a series of unforgettable, bizarre images of an immediate physical event using abstract descriptions in brief language. Through structure and language Yeats is able to paint a powerful sexual image to his readers without directly giving the meaning of the poem.
It has been acknowledged by many scholars that Yeats' study of Blake greatly influenced his poetic expression. This gives rise to the widely held assertion that Yeats is indebted to Blake. While I concur with this assertion, I feel that the perhaps greater debt is Blake's.
Yeats opens his poem with a doom-like statement. He states "Turning and turning in the widening gyre." This enhances the cyclic image that Yeats is trying to portray. Here, Y...
While differing in technique and subject matter, John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (1820) and W.H. Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” (1940) demonstrate how using the rhetorical device of Ekphrasis in poetry helps to guide the reader to the central themes and messages of the poem. Both poems confront and explore the works of art differently: while Keats uses the rustic urn (in which scenes and myths are depicted upon it) to confront the nature as well as the limits of the world of art and fantasy; Auden uses Brueghel’s painting, The Fall of Icarus, in his second stanza to help reinforce the speaker’s comments (stated within the first stanza) on the apathy or indifference that seems to be present within the human condition in regards to human suffering. In comparing these two poems, it is evident that there are many different ways and techniques that ekphrasis can be used within poetry, also demonstrates how the work of art being described in the poem becomes instrumental in conveying a poem’s complex ideas in an effective and meaningful way.
Throughout Keats’s work, there are clear connections between the effect of the senses on emotion. Keats tends to apply synesthetic to his analogies with the interactions with man and the world to create different views and understandings. By doing this, Keats can arouse different emotions to the work by which he intends for the reader to determine on their own, based on how they perceive it. This is most notable in Keats’s Ode to a Nightingale, for example, “Tasting of Flora, and Country Green” (827). Keats accentuates emotion also through his relationship with poetry, and death.
In order to experience true sorrow one must feel true joy to see the beauty of melancholy. However, Keats’s poem is not all dark imagery, for interwoven into this poem is an emerging possibility of resurrection and the chance at a new life. The speaker in this poem starts by strongly advising against the actions and as the poem continues urges a person to take different actions. In this poem, the speaker tells of how to embrace life by needing the experience of melancholy to appreciate the true joy and beauty of
Within this poem, Keats explores the idea that beauty within life is temporary. Life will eventually go on and may end in disaster while art can capture a beautiful moment forever. When evaluating those ideas within the work, it is important to know about Keat’s background and understand that he was slowly dying and soon he would not be on earth. This idea is expressed in the lines “Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu; / And, happy melodist, unwearied”(22-23) where he expresses how beauty is important because it will remain long after he dies from his illness.
Though written only two years after the first version of "The Shadowy Waters", W.B. Yeats' poem "Adam's Curse" can be seen as an example of a dramatic transformation of Yeats' poetic works: a movement away from the rich mythology of Ireland's Celtic past and towards a more accessible poesy focused on the external world. Despite this turn in focus towards the world around him, Yeats retains his interest in symbolism, and one aspect of his change in style is internalization of the symbolic scheme that underlies his poetry. Whereas more mythological works like "The Shadowy Waters" betray a spiritual syncretism not unlike that of the Golden Dawn, "Adam's Curse" and its more realistic fellows offer a view of the world in which symbolic systems are submerged, creating an undercurrent of meaning which lends depth to the outward circumstances, but which is itself not immediately accessible to the lay or academic reader. In a metaphorical sense, then, Yeats seems in these later poems to achieve a doubling of audience, an equivocation which addresses the initiate and the lay reader simultaneously.
In the first place, the development of this poem is my first clue to identifying reality in contrast with imagination as the main idea. Keats starts his piece on the subject of reality while talking about how miserable he feels. Then, he wanders off into
Since the beginning of the modern day circus in the early 20th century millions of Americans have enjoyed the performances by both the people and the animals that perform for our entertainment. However, the audience is blinded by shock and awe of the show from what really happens behind the curtain. Animal cruelty, poor living conditions, and lack of legal regulation scars the animals and becomes very dangerous to the overall health of the animals and those who are around them. The mistreatment of animals in circuses has been occurring for far too long, and new laws need to be implemented in an effort to prevent future acts of cruelty toward these animals.
This refrain enforces his disgust at the type of money hungry people that the Irish have become. In the third and fourth stanza, however, Yeats completely changes the tone of his poetry. He praises the romantics of Irish history, such as Rob...
Life experiences and personal ideologies create interest in the poetry of W.B. Yeats- “The Wild Swans at Coole” Life experiences, both positive and negative, deeply influence an individual’s perceptions and understanding of life and in turn are the deciding factor in what ideologies the individual accepts. William Butler Yeats was one of the most influential modern poets and was deeply influenced by his unfortunate life experiences and subsequently unorthodox personal ideologies which are especially obvious in “The Wild Swans at Coole”. His strong but ultimately futile endearment to Maud Gonne that lasted almost three decades played a large role both personally and professionally along with fascination with the occult and supernatural and his
Chapter One: Animal Negligence Animal Abandonment Animal abandonment. The word makes me sick. The whole IDEA of animal abandonment sickens me. Basically, you decide, Oh, I don’t want this dumb pet anymore.