Key Facts

• Writer: William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939)
• Original Title: The Magi
• Source: The Wild Swans at Coole (1919)
• Written Time: Around 1914-1916
• Published Date: 1919
• Form: Lyric poem
• Genre: Symbolist poetry
• Tone: Mysterious, contemplative, and reflective
• Point of View: First-person
• Total Lines: 8 lines
• Total Part: 1 part
• Setting: 

• Time Setting: Reflecting both Biblical times and the present (as imagined by the speaker)
• Place Setting: The sky, with references to Calvary and the nativity scene