An aged man is but a paltry thing
nbsp An aged man is but a paltry thing A tattered cloth upon a stick NU This quote is taken from Sailing to Byzantium by W B Yeats In this quote the poet talks about life age and art He feels old He wants to leave the world of youth He wants to enter a timeless world of beauty The poet says An aged man is but a paltry thing A tattered coat upon a stick These lines are from the first stanza of the poem The poet is in Ireland He sees young people enjoying life They sing dance and love But he is old He feels left out The poet calls an old man a paltry thing This means he thinks an old man is weak and small He has no energy He cannot enjoy life like the young He then uses a picture He says an old
man is like a tattered coat upon a stick A stick with an old coat looks empty It has no life inside It stands still It moves only if the wind blows This image shows the poet s feelings He feels his body is useless It is worn out like old clothes It is thin and weak like a stick It cannot do much The poet thinks only the mind can stay alive and strong The body will grow old but the soul can grow wiser This is why he wants to go to Byzantium In Byzantium he can learn from art and holy things His soul can live forever beyond age These lines show Yeats s sadness about old age They also show his wish to escape it The picture of the tattered coat makes us feel the weakness of age and the poet s desire for eternal beauty