Lapis Lazuli
Poetry
|
William Butler Yeats
Lapis Lazuli Full Poem
I have heard that hysterical women say
They are sick of the palette and fiddle-bow,
Of poets that are always gay,
For everybody knows or else should know
That if nothing drastic is done
Aeroplane and Zeppelin will come out,
Pitch like King Billy bomb-balls in
Until the town lie beaten flat.
All perform their tragic play,
There struts Hamlet, there is Lear,
That's Ophelia, that Cordelia;
Yet t...
Read Lapis Lazuli Full Poem
Lapis Lazuli Summary
Summary
Stanza 1 – Fear of Destruction and the Immortality of Art: In the opening stanza, Yeats portrays the panic of the modern world, where “hysterical women” complain that poets and artists speak only of joy while the world stands on the brink of destruction. They warn that “Aeroplane and Zeppelin will come out,” symbolizing the threat of war and devastation. Yet, Yeats contrasts this fear wit...
Expand Lapis Lazuli Summary
Lapis Lazuli Theme
Themes
The Eternal Cycle of Destruction and Creation: The central theme of the poem is the eternal process of the fall and rebirth of civilizations. Yeats shows how human civilization has been destroyed again and again — through war, greed, and death — yet mankind always rises to create anew. As he writes, “All things fall and are built again, / And those that build them again are gay.” These l...
Expand Lapis Lazuli Theme
Lapis Lazuli Quotations
Quotes
“All things fall and are built again,
And those that build them again are gay.”
Explanation: These lines express Yeats’s belief in the eternal cycle of destruction and creation. Civilizations collapse, art decays, and human lives end, but each fall leads to new beginnings. Those who rebuild — the artists, dreamers, and thinkers — do so with joy, not despair. Yeats celebrates this creative...
Expand Lapis Lazuli Quotations