Lapis Lazuli : Key info
Lapis Lazuli 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 Lapis Lazuli.
Key info
Key Facts
- Poet: William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
- Original Title: Lapis Lazuli
- Written Time: 1936 (late period of Yeats’s poetic career)
- First Published: 1938, in Last Poems (posthumously published collection)
- Form: Philosophical Lyric Poem
- Genre: Symbolic, Reflective, and Philosophical Poetry
- Tone: Meditative, Tragic yet Joyful, Artistic, and Serene
- Meter: Mostly Iambic Pentameter with flexible rhythmic flow
- Point of View: First Person (the poet’s reflective and philosophical voice)
- Summary in a Line: Yeats celebrates the artist’s calm joy and creativity that transcend destruction, tragedy, and the fall of civilizations.
- Total Lines: 56
- Total Stanzas: 5 (long, meditative sections)
- Setting:
- Time Setting: The modern world on the verge of war (1930s), contrasted with timeless art and ancient civilization.
- Place Setting: Begins in a war-threatened Europe, moves through historical ruins of civilization, and ends with the image of a Chinese carving in lapis lazuli, symbolizing eternal artistic peace.