What prayer does the poet make to the sages in “Byzantium?”
The Second Coming 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 The Second Coming.
Answer
What prayer does the poet make to the sages in “Byzantium?” [NU: 2019, 21]
W.B. Yeats (1865–1939) writes “Sailing to Byzantium” (1927) to show his feelings about old age. He feels young people enjoy life, but old people are ignored. So, he wants to go to Byzantium. Byzantium is a spiritual place. Here, he wants to meet with wise sages. He prays to them to help him leave his body and become a pure soul.
The Poet Asks for Guidance: Yeats sees the sages as standing in God’s holy fire. They are full of light and truth. The poet prays to them to help him. He says,
“O sages standing in God’s holy fire”
He wants them to teach him the meaning of life. He wants to understand things that last forever, not just things of the body.
The Poet Wants to Leave His Body: Yeats feels that the body is like a worn-out piece of clothing. He asks the sages to burn away his heart and body so that his soul can be free. He wants to escape the pain of old age and become a soul full of knowledge.
The Poet Wants a New Spiritual Form: Yeats prays to be made into a golden bird. So he prays,
“Set upon a golden bough to sing”
He does not want to return to the human world. He wants to live forever as a bird of art and spirit. He wants to sing and teach truths.
The poet’s prayer to the sages is a deep wish for spiritual life. He wants to leave the world of the body. He wants to enter the world of art, soul, and peace.