The Tower : summary

“The Tower” is a poem by William Butler Yeats, published in 1928. It is one of his later works. It mentions his complex reflections on aging, his personal history, and the state of the world. The poem is often seen as a reflection of his life and the search for spiritual understanding.

In the poem The Tower, the poet mainly talks about growing old outwardly and becoming strong inwardly. As the age increases, the body becomes worn and weak. However, he was surprised to notice that even though his body was getting more fragile due to age, his passions, love, mental power, hearing power, thinking power, and feelings were all getting very strong. He marvels at the infinite power surging through his mind.

Also, he is angry with old age. He does not understand why old age comes into people’s lives. He is angry, wondering why old age, which has no meaning, has been imposed on people. At the end of the poem, the poet says that he thinks he will give up writing poetry because if he starts writing books on various unreal philosophies like Plato or other philosophers, instead of writing poetry, people will not think him old-fashioned.

Finally, the poet says he wants to write some old poems before his death. He wants to die surrounded by these poems and the love of women. He feels that now is the right time to die. So, he prepares his body and mind for death as much as possible.