Byzantium

Poetry | William Butler Yeats

Byzantium Quotations

Quotes:

"The unpurged images of day recede;" (Part - 1)

Explanation: This line shows the transition from the chaos and confusion of daytime to the calm of nighttime, symbolizing the shift from the physical world to a spiritual one.

"A starlit or a moonlit dome disdains 

All that man is, 

All mere complexities, 

The fury and the mire of human veins." (Part - 1)

Explanation: The starlit dome (heaven or a higher realm) rejects human problems and chaos, emphasizing how the spiritual world is free from human flaws and suffering.

"I hail the superhuman; 

I call it death-in-life and life-in-death." (Part - 2)

Explanation: The speaker acknowledges a higher, eternal state of being that transcends life and death, where human concerns no longer matter.

"Miracle, bird or golden handiwork, 

More miracle than bird or handiwork," (Part - 3)

Explanation: The bird represents an immortal, artistic creation—something perfect and timeless, beyond ordinary life.

"The golden smithies of the Emperor!" (Part - 5)

Explanation: The golden smithies refer to the divine, eternal forces shaping immortal things, contrasting with the imperfection of the human world.

 

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William Butler Yeats
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