Write a critical appreciation of “Sailing to Byzantium.”

Answer

Write a critical appreciation of “Sailing to Byzantium.”

Or, “Sailing to Byzantium” deals with Yeats’ journey from the sensual to the spiritual world. – Discuss. [NU: 2020]

W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) is one of the greatest poets in English literature. He loved beauty, art, and deep thoughts. He believed that the soul is more important than the body. In his old age, he wrote many poems about growing old and searching for spiritual peace. One of his greatest poems is “Sailing to Byzantium” (1928). This poem shows his journey from the world of the body to the world of the soul. This poem is connected with other poems like:

• “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” – about peace in nature.
• “The Second Coming” – about chaos in the modern world.
• “Among School Children” – about aging and the soul.

But “Sailing to Byzantium” is different. Here, Yeats wants to leave the world of youth and go to a place of art and soul – Byzantium.

Central Idea of the Poem: The main idea of the poem is the journey from the physical world to the spiritual world. Yeats is now old. He feels ignored in a world full of young people. He says:

“That is no country for old men.”

He means young people only love fun, love, and nature. They don’t care about the soul. But Yeats wants something more. He wants to leave this world and go to Byzantium. Byzantium is an old city full of holy art and wisdom. So he says,

“And therefore I have sailed the seas and come

To the holy city of Byzantium.”

In Byzantium, he will be free from the pain of aging. He will not be trapped in a dying body. Instead, his soul will live forever through art. He says:

“Once out of nature I shall never take 

My bodily form

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