Sailing to Byzantium

Poetry | William Butler Yeats

"Whatever is begotten, born and dies" - Explain

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Whatever is begotten born and dies Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unaging intellect These lines are from the poem Sailing to Byzantium by the well-known Irish poet W B Yeats In these lines Yeats analyses profound themes related to human existence mortality and the pursuit of immortality through art and intellect The first line Whatever is begotten born and dies describes the transitory nature of all living things Yeats mentions the entire life cycle from birth to death emphasising the ephemeral quality of human existence This line is a reminder of the inevitability of mortality and the fleetingness of physical life The second line Caught in that sensual music all neglect indicates that the sensual pleasures and distractions of the physical world often trap people The word sensual refers to life's material and sensory elements that can distract individuals from higher pursuits such as intellectual and

spiritual growth People become so absorbed in these sensory pleasures They neglect or overlook more profound matters The final line Monuments of unaging intellect illustrates an alternative to the transitory nature of physical existence Yeats means that the intellect human creativity and artistic expression can endure beyond the confines of time and mortality These monuments are the works of art literature and intellectual achievements humans create By engaging in intellectual and creative pursuits individuals can transcend the limitations of their physical bodies and achieve immortality through their contributions to culture and knowledge To Sum up Yeats is advocating for pursuing intellectual and artistic try to escape the limitations of mortal life He thinks that by creating enduring works of intellect and art he can achieve immortality that transcends the impermanence of the physical world These lines from Sailing to Byzantium reveal Yeats' fascination with the eternal his belief in human creativity's power to achieve immortality beyond the confines of time and decay nbsp

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