Rentz Zoey RentzProfessor WilliamsEnglish 11110 May 2013Sailing to Byzantium AnalysisThe poem “Sailing to Byzantium” is a four-stanza poem written by William Butler (W. B.) Yeats. The poem has a single speaker that is telling his story to the reader. The first two stanzas are describing the culture of a country that is not a place for old men, such as him. The reason being that this culture seems to focus only on the young people and only care about the newest trends. Since this country is no longer for him, he decides to sail to Byzantium. The poem emphasizes the faults with the sociopolitical trends that Yeats felt were prevalent in human culture.Yeats chose the Greek city Byzantium for this speaker to travel to. This is interesting because this city has a fascinating history. Megara, an ancient city in Attica, Greece has a king named Byzas. According to Greek mythology he is the son of Poseidon and Kerossa (Zeus’s daughter, Poseidon’s niece). The city of Megara wasovercrowded, like many Ancient Greek cities, so King Byzas went and consulted the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. The oracle told the king to settle opposite from the “land of the blind”, which is of course the common cryptic Greek God messages that made no sense to anyone, including King Byzas. 1Rentz Eventually King Byzas sailed northeast from Megara and found a city “opposite” at the entrance to the Black Sea, perfect for trading, farming, and strategically located for war. On this land he created the city of Byzantium. After being allies of the Roman Empire for years, Byzantium became part of the Roman Empire in 73 AD. Constantine the Great made it the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire in 330 AD. After Constantine the Great died, Byzantium was renamed after him and became Constantinople. Throughout the Middle Ages it was wealthy and well populated city big in Christianity and Greek culture. As the city began to decline, it was overtaken and made the capital of the Latin Empire. Crusaders of the Catholic religion did this. However, even though in 1921 the Eastern Roman Empire was back in control of the city, the Catholics had destroyed most of the churches (except the largest) and severely damaged the strength of the empire. In 1453 Constantine XI, the last Roman Emperor, was killed and Sultan Mehmed II took control of the city. Constantinople was now the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The largest cathedral was converted into a mosque and the capital was now Islamic (Sansal). The city grew religiously and culturally throughout its long history. In 1922 at the end of World War One it was occupied by British, French, and Italian troops. The final sultan to the Ottoman Empire was over thrown, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul. “…For more than 2,500 years has [Istanbul] stood between conflicting surges of religion, culture, and imperial power. For most of those years it was one of the most coveted cities in the world” (Britannica).2Rentz Though lengthy I think the history behind this poem is crucial to understanding what Yeats was trying to portray. The poem was written in 1926, a few years after the city had been renamed Istanbul. Yeats was about 60 years old at the time and I believe he is the elderly male character and speaker in the poem. The speaker has a somewhat cynical tone, and is possibly bitter or jealous. In the first stanza there is a quote, “The young In one another’s arms, birds in the trees –Those dying generations- at their song…” I think this line is interesting because if you leave out the speaker’s interjection about death it sounds like a nice happy place. The young people are in love; the birds are in the trees singing songs. Then the speaker interrupts the flow of the scene and refers to the young people as a dying generation.It seems that throughout human history the old think the young are wasting their lives with trivial things, yet the young don’t realize this until they become old, and the cycle continues.Cycles, circles, and gyres are patterns in Yates’ writing style, and this poem is no exception. “Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.” Simply put, the life cycle. Everything living eventually dies. The next few lines really give you a window into the speakers mind “Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unageing intellect.” The life cycle is caught in sensual music all neglect, possibly in regards to humans being mesmerized by a sensual song except once the song is over it is neglected. Meaning that music, like life, though beautiful is temporary and once overis given little attention. Clearly a cynical thinking style, I like it. Anyways, the speaker goes on to compare “temporary” music to monuments which are much 3Rentz more permanent. For as long as monuments stand they will continue to show the human intellect behind their construction. The speaker beings to talk about souls and spiritualism, “An aged man is put apaltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick, unless”. Paltry is defined as meager or small, which gives the reader a vivid description of an elderly man. Possibly how Yeats sees himself or other older people. However, he ends the description of this broken down old man with the word “unless”. The stanza continues to say “…unless,Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing For every tatter in its mortal dress.” Now we have shifted from the physical form of the elderly man and are looking at hissoul. The soul seems to be strong, being described as clapping and singing loudly. Possibly implying that the human soul grows as the physical human dies, and for every tatter in the physical body it lives it, the soul should sing louder. “Nor is there singing school but studying Monuments of its own magnificence;” Here the society of this still unnamed country is criticized, rememberthe speaker just told us the soul should sing loudly as the body ages. Except society doesn’t allow this. As humans age and go through school the soul is oppressed. In schools older humans do not let their souls sing. Students aren’t taught about experiences and interactions crucial to their development, intellect, or survival. Students instead study about their country’s monuments. These monuments imply their country’s superiority in comparison to other cultures. This is what the speaker4Rentz does not like. The speaker has explained his dismay