William Butler Yeats
Ireland
13 Jun 1865 // 28 Jan 1939
Poet
13 Jun 1865 // 28 Jan 1939
Poet
Quotes
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An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress.
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress.
The Tower, 1928. Sailing to Byzantium
Come let us mock at the great
That had such burdens on the mind
And toiled so hard and late
To leave some monument behind,
Nor thought of the leveling wind.
That had such burdens on the mind
And toiled so hard and late
To leave some monument behind,
Nor thought of the leveling wind.
The Tower, 1928. Nineteen Hundred and Nineteen
The brawling of a sparrow in the eaves
The brilliant moon and all the milky sky And all that famous harmony of leaves
Had blotted out man's image and his cry.
The brilliant moon and all the milky sky And all that famous harmony of leaves
Had blotted out man's image and his cry.
The Rose, 1893. The Sorrow of Love
Whence had they come
The hand and lash that beat down frigid Rome?
What sacred drama through her body heaved
When world-transforming Charlemagne was conceived?
The hand and lash that beat down frigid Rome?
What sacred drama through her body heaved
When world-transforming Charlemagne was conceived?
A Full Moon in March, 1935. Supernatural Songs, VIII, Whence Had They Come?
The intellect of man is forced to choose
Perfection of the life, or of the work,
And if it take the second must refuse
A heavenly mansion, raging in the dark.
Perfection of the life, or of the work,
And if it take the second must refuse
A heavenly mansion, raging in the dark.
The Winding Stair and Other Poems, 1933. The Choice
We poets would die of loneliness but for women, and we choose our men friends that we may have somebody to talk about women with.
The Letters of W. B. Yeats Letter to Olivia Shakespeare, 1936
Swift has sailed into his rest;
Savage indignation there
Cannot lacerate his breast
Imitate him if you dare,
World-besotted traveler; he
Served human liberty.
Savage indignation there
Cannot lacerate his breast
Imitate him if you dare,
World-besotted traveler; he
Served human liberty.
The Winding Stair and Other Poems, 1933. Swift's Epitaph
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
Alone, important and wise,
And lifts to the changing moon
His changing eyes.
The Wild Swans at Coole 1919. The Cat and the Moon
Alone, important and wise,
And lifts to the changing moon
His changing eyes.
The Wild Swans at Coole 1919. The Cat and the Moon
The Wild Swans at Coole 1919. The Cat and the Moon
You think it horrible that lust and rage
Should dance attention upon my old age;
They were not such a plague when I was young;
What else have I to spur me into song?
Should dance attention upon my old age;
They were not such a plague when I was young;
What else have I to spur me into song?
Last Poems, 1936-1939, The Spur
The night can sweat with terror as before
We pieced our thoughts into philosophy,
And planned to bring the world under a rule,
Who are but weasels fighting in a hole.
We pieced our thoughts into philosophy,
And planned to bring the world under a rule,
Who are but weasels fighting in a hole.
The Tower, 1928. Nineteen Hundred and Nineteen
Search
On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays
Essays