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Byzantium : Key info

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Byzantium is a notable literary work by William Butler Yeats. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Byzantium.

Key info

Key Facts

  • Writer: William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939)
  • Original Title: Byzantium
  • Source: Inspired by Yeats’ earlier poem, Sailing to Byzantium
  • Written Time: 1930
  • Published Date: 1933, in the collection The Winding Stair and Other Poems
  • Form: Lyrical poem, free verse with irregular rhyme
  • Genre: Symbolist poetry, philosophical poem
  • Tone: Mysterious, reflective, mystical
  • Point of View: First-person
  • Total Lines: 40 lines
  • Total Part: 5 stanzas (each with 8 lines)
  • Setting: 
  • Time Setting: Timeless, representing a spiritual realm beyond life and death
  • Place Setting: Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul), envisioned as a spiritual and artistic paradise detached from the mortal world