Easter 1916 I have met them at close of day Coming with vivid faces From counter or desk among

grey Eighteenth-century houses. I have passed with a nod of the head Or polite meaningless words, Or have lingered awhile and said Polite meaningless words, And thought before I had done Of a mocking take or a gibe 10 To please a companion Around the fire at the club Being certain that they and I But lived where motley is worn: All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born. In this stanza Yeats describes the people, or "vivid faces"(2), he sees in everyday life. They are insignificant to Yeats as individuals, however each of them shares a certain bond with him. They are all united in a fight for their homeland of Ireland. In lines 6 and 8, Yeats states that all he says to the people on the street are "polite meaningless words"(6). The fact that what he says to these people is always meaningless, shows how insignificant they are. And yet they all live together in the same country of Ireland. The lines: "Being certain that they and I / But lived where motley is worn,"(13-14) add to the fact that each citizen, like Yeats, is well aware that they share a common identity. The final line of the stanza: "A terrible beauty is born,"(16) describes the people of Ireland as they come together and work towards the goal of Irish independence from England. The birth of these united people is terrible because the fight for independence will inevitably cause bloodshed and death. It is also beautiful because the people are finally uniting and standing up for their beloved country. This is the first time this line is introduced to the poem. It is repeated throughout the poem and creates the poem's main theme. That woman's days were spent In ignorant good-will, Her nights in argument Until her voice grew shrill. 20 What voice more sweet than hers When, young and beautiful, She rode to harriers? This man had kept a school And rode our winged horse; This other his helper and friend Was coming into his force; He might have won fame in the end, So sensitive his nature seemed, So daring and sweet his thought.

This other man I had dreamed A drunken, vainglorious lout. He had done most bitter wrong To some who are near my heart, Yet I know him in the song; He, too, has resigned his part In the casual comedy; He, too, has been changed in his turn, Transformed utterly: A terrible beauty is born. Although Yeats memorializes the patriots of Easter 1916, He conveys their humanity and imperfections. Yeats illustrates the stagnant indifference and conformity in Ireland prior to the Rebellion through his description of the leading figures in the Easter Rebellion. Yeats characterizes Constance Markievicz as a figure of "ignorant good-will, / Her night in argument / Until her voice grew shrill " (18-20). Through this portrayal of Markievicz, Yeats suggests that the dream of Irish independence has not yet become reality because people talked of rebellion and politics, but before Easter 1916, they obediently conformed to England's rule rather than actively pursing change. The imagery of Markievicz arguing "Until her voice grew shrill"(20) but maintaining a life of "ignorant good-will"(18) illustrates the deceptive nature of appearances. Although these figures purposefully lobbied for Irish independence, there contributions had primarily consisted of lofty ideas and passionate discussions rather that thoughtful action. They maintained the appearance of dedicated revolutionaries, but until "A terrible beauty is born"(40) they continue to merely appear to desire change rather than actively pursue change. Yeats continues to describe Patrick Pearse, "a man who had kept a school"(24) and Thomas MacDunagh, "his helper and friend"(26). Pearse and MacDunagh were both members of the Gallic League and were actively involved in Ireland's fight for independence. Yeats portrays these two figures favorably, but he emphasizes the simplicity of their lives by alluding to their skill as writers and educators. By focusing on their daily life, rather than their political involvement, Yeats suggests the humanity of Ireland's heroes and indicates that common citizens have the ability to effect a change in society if they rebel against obedient conformity and "ignorant good-will"(18). In stanza three, Yeats portrays John MacBride, an Irish revolutionary and the estranged husband of Maud Gonne, as a "vainglorous lout"(32). Although Yeats personally despised MacBride because "He had done most bitter wrong / To some who are near my heart"(33-34), Yeats maintains that "He, too, has been changed in his turn"(38). Yeats implies that the figures of the Easter Rebellion should be respected for their participation in an event that will evoke change in Ireland. Yeats conveys the imagery of imperfect figures as heroes to emphasize this change that has effected the lives of martyrs of the Easter Rebellion and the citizens of Ireland as a nation. Evaluated on their individual merits, the participants of the Easter Rebellion are one of many insignificant figures shouting to be heard until their "voice grew shrill"(20). Because they took action and passionately evoked change in Irish society, Yeats memorializes these individuals as heroes and patriots despite their personal merits prior to the Rebellion.

In the final lines of stanza three, Yeats indicates that these individuals have "Transformed utterly"(39). Through their efforts to instigate change in Ireland, these figures establish their own coming of age. Yeats emphasizes that by rebelling against the established ruling class, the martyrs of the Easter Rebellion overcome their former weaknesses and establish their memory as heroes. Rather than subject to English rule, Ireland progresses down a path of independence, responsibility, change, and hardship as "A terrible beauty is born"(40). Hearts with one purpose alone Through summer and winter seem Enchanted to a stone To trouble the living stream. The horse that comes from the road, The rider, the birds that range From cloud to tumbling cloud, Minute by minute they change; A shadow of cloud on the stream Changes minute by minute, 50 A horse-hoof slides on the brim, And a horse plashes within it; The long-legged moor-hens dive, And hens to moor-cocks call; Minute by minute they live: The stone's in the midst of all. The use of "stone" in lines 43 and 56 is symbolic to the poem. A stone represents an inanimate object that stays the same. To go along with the theme of change, Yeats includes the idea that clouds change minute by minute. The state of constancy is the important aspect of this word. Everything that has happened previously in the poem cannot be changed. The stone will forever be a stone, as will the deaths of those mentioned earlier. The stone, whose purpose is "to trouble the living stream," hinders the flowing of the water. The entire stanza has the motif of nature. None of the previous stanzas mention nature. Instead, Yeats discussed people and their actions. He shifts the focus from the individual to nature. Nature proves to be important because the constant motion of the stream and the clouds symbolizes that change is inevitable. Too long a sacrifice Can make a stone of the heart. O when may it suffice? That is Heaven's part, our part 60 To murmur name upon name, As a mother names her child When sleep at last has come On limbs that had run wild. What is it but nightfall? No, no, not night but death;

Was it needless death after all? Amidst all of this change, the stone, (as first presented in stanza four), is a symbol of consistency as it does not move from its position on the bottom of the stream. In line 57-58, Yeats expresses the heart in a transformation, becoming consistent like the stone. "Too long a sacrifice"(57) in regards to war, has caused the heart to become a stone, bringing detrimental effects upon the hearts of all men. When this occurs, the responsibility the world must take is to love each corrupted soul, calling each by name "as a mother names her child when sleep has come"(63). However, sleep is a metaphor for death and these men die in result of their inability to change among the changing events around them. Despite the "needless" death described in this stanza, Yeats explains England's position, in relation to these deaths, that all tragic death is sprung from this heroic dream expressed in stanza 5: For England may keep faith For all that is done and said. We know their dream; enough To know they dreamed and are dead; And what if excess of love Bewildered them till they died? I write it out in a verse -MacDonagh and MacBride And Connolly and Pearse Now and in time to be, Wherever green is worn, Are changed, changed Utterly: A terrible beauty is born.

Everyone with that heroic dream died in result of its impossibility, confused by the "excess of love"(72) for their cause, country, and dream. Yeats "writes out in a verse,"(74) as he does in many of his poems to convey enlightenment and understanding to affect the future readers. He leaves this poem as a legacy and memorial to those poeple--MacDonagh, MacBride, Connolly, and Pearse--who are all untied by their dedication to the heroic dream, giving Ireland everything they could. Yeats continues to say that wherever the spirit of Ireland lies, represented by people wearing the color "green," those people will be forever changed. The terrible beauty, dying for this heroic dream, has been born.

The Circus Animals Desertion

I I sought a theme and sought for it in vain, I sought it daily for six weeks or so. Maybe at last, being but a broken man, I must be satisfied with my heart, although Winter and summer till old age began My circus animals were all on show, Those stilted boys, that burnished chariot, Lion and woman and the Lord knows what. II What can I but enumerate old themes, First that sea-rider Oisin led by the nose Through three enchanted islands, allegorical dreams, Vain gaiety, vain battle, vain repose, Themes of the embittered heart, or so it seems, That might adorn old songs or courtly shows; But what cared I that set him on to ride, I, starved for the bosom of his faery bride. And then a counter-truth filled out its play, 'The Countess Cathleen' was the name I gave it; She, pity-crazed, had given her soul away, But masterful Heaven had intervened to save it. I thought my dear must her own soul destroy So did fanaticism and hate enslave it, And this brought forth a dream and soon enough This dream itself had all my thought and love. And when the Fool and Blind Man stole the bread Cuchulain fought the ungovernable sea; Heart-mysteries there, and yet when all is said It was the dream itself enchanted me: Character isolated by a deed To engross the present and dominate memory. Players and painted stage took all my love, And not those things that they were emblems of. III Those masterful images because complete Grew in pure mind, but out of what began? A mound of refuse or the sweepings of a street, Old kettles, old bottles, and a broken can, Old iron, old bones, old rags, that raving slut Who keeps the till. Now that my ladder's gone, I must lie down where all the ladders start In the foul rag and bone shop of the heart.

Summary The speaker describes searching in vain for a poetic theme: he says that he had tried to find one for six weeks or so, but had been unable to do so. He thinks that perhaps, now that he is but a broken man, he will have to be satisfied with writing about his heart, although for his entire life (Winter and summer till old age began) he had played with elaborate, showy poetic themes that paraded like circus animals: Those stilted boys, that burnished chariot, / Lion and woman and the Lord knows what. What can he do, he wonders, but list his old themes in the absence of a new one? He remembers writing of a searider named Oisin, who traveled through three enchanted islands; but the speaker says that as he wrote about Oisin, he was secretly starved for the bosom of his fairy bride. He remembers writing a play called The Countess Cathleen, about a pity-crazed woman who gave her soul away; but the speaker says that the dream inspired by a woman who was forced to destroy her own soul had all my thought and love. He remembers writing of the hero Cuchulains battle with the sea while the Fool and the Blind Man stole the bread; but even then, he was enchanted by the dreamthe idea of Character isolated by a deed / To engross the present and dominate memory. He says that he loved the players and painted stage, and not the things they symbolized. The speaker says that those images were masterful because they were complete. He says that they grew in pure mind, and asks out of what they began. He answers his own question: they issued from Old kettles, old bottles, and

a broken can, / Old iron, old bones, old rags, that raving slut / Who keeps the till. Now that his ladder is gone, the speaker says, he must lie down where all the ladders start / In the foul rag and bone shop of the heart.

Yeats writes this poem out of the frustrating fog of writer's block and immediately introduces his situation in stating that "for six weeks or so" (2) he has "sought a theme" (1). While arguably the most brilliant poet of the twentieth century, Yeats' use of the word "maybe" (3) connotes feelings of uncertainty in his creative genius. Also, the alliterative statement of "being but a broken man" (3) emphasizes his bad condition. Yeats further stresses the content of this adjective clause by making it deviate from the iambic pentameter of the piece. However, Yeats resolves to "be satisfied with [his] heart" (4) as a poetic theme. This decision perhaps implies a deeper meaning to the aforementioned search for a poetic theme. As expressed in much of his other poetry, Yeats often deemed art superior to reality. The inability to create could leave an artist of his caliber devoid of passion in all aspects of his life. Therefore, his search for a poetic theme also constitutes a search for meaning in his life. He then goes on to introduce the imagery of the "circus" (6) through the diction of "stilted boys, that burnished chariot, / Lion and woman" (8). As the poem goes on, Yeats presents different poetic figures as the circus animals that have deserted him. Here Yeats contrasts the fantasy world of the circus to reality, similar to the stark difference between the brilliance of his poetry and the mundane.

Stanza II The focus of the poem then returns to the frustration of the poet to find a "theme" (9) for his art. The second stanza begins by claiming that he has lost creativity and can do nothing but "enumerate old themes" (9). Yeats then makes allusion to Oisin, a character of Celtic mythology, and presents him as one of the deserting circus animals. Stanza III The diction found in the second stanza connotes feelings of despondency. The repetition of "vain" (1, 12) emphasizes the bleak outlook held by Yeats as a result of his writer's block. The use of words such as "battle" (12), "embittered" (13), "old" (14), and "starved" (16) have very strong negative connotations. Yeats also displays his desire to join a world of fantasy in stating that he is "starved for the bosom of his faery bride" (16). He uses fantasy as a symbol for the world of his poetic creativity, a world to which he desires to return.

The poem then shifts its focus to the "half-crazed" (19) Countess Cathleen, another of the many circus animals on show. The understanding of her as Yeats' poetic creation gives a greater understanding of the anxiety felt by Yeats when writing "The Circus Animals Desertion".

Stanza V The poem then shifts in focus once again towards his frustration and self-loathing. After confirming the "pure mind" (34) of the past poets who created "those masterful images" (35) of the figurative circus animals, Yeats questions his own intellect and creativity. He defiles his brilliant mind by metaphorically describing it as "a mound of refuse or the sweepings of a street, / old kettles, old bottles, and a broken can, / old iron, old bones, old rags, that raving slut / who keeps the till" (35-38). This powerful imagery of useless objects and the repetition of "old" express the disgust with which Yeats views his inability to create. Yeats feels that his "ladder" to the elevated world of artistic creation is "gone" (38). Despite his frustration, he resolves to continue in poetry by deciding to "lie down where all the ladders start, / in the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart" (39, 40). This final statement closes the circle of the poem by returning to his aforementioned resolution to use his "heart" (4, 40) as his poetic theme. Yeats' ability to write a brilliant poem out of his poetic frustration is the great irony of this piece.

Poetry analysis: The Convergence of The Twain, by Thomas Hardy Published in 1915 Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928) writes "The Convergence of the Twain" a poem about the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912. The title literally means the meeting of the two in this case the Iceberg and Titanic. Hardy has written his views in a poetical form like many poets today writing about a tragedy in their lifetime. Think of WW1 WW2, 9/11and poets and musicians use catastrophes as a vehicle to express their opinion and somehow to bring meaning to the chaos. This poem is critical. The basic theme of it is: Watch out pride comes before a fall. Each verse is rather like a concrete or shape poem where the shape of it looks in this case like a liner with two short lines sitting in the middle of the page above a third large line. Verses 1 -6 deal with the present state of the ship. The final (7-11) verses deal with the lead up to its destruction. The first stanza with its word "solitude" indicates how this supposedly wonderful ship is now alone. It was once full of life and now there is a quietness, referred to by "stilly couches she," Each verse has rhyming triplets such as "Pyres" "fires" and "Lyres" (stanza 2). The second stanza reminds of imminent death. The word "pyres" is like cremation and even the reference to "fires" serves as a warning that this poem won't be pleasant. In Verse 3 the reference to "sea worm crawls grotesque" isn't unlike the image of a coffin with worms crawling under the earth. Wealth is also explored. It is also like the Biblical idea of not being able to take riches with you when you die. The "mirrors" mentioned in verse 3 represent the vanity of the rich and yet the contrast is that now a "sea-worm crawls" over them not caring about his look. He is "indifferent." The following stanza 4 also continues with the theme of vanity. The expensive jewels that were so important are worthless. We are told how the jewels that now "Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind" For me this symbolizes the fact that possessions can't save you. The whole idea of putting faith in jewels is ludicrous. The word "blind" informs us about the shallowness of the people who bought them. When the jewels were purchased they may have seemed precious but the people were blind to assume the jewels were really worth happiness. Now the jewels are just rubbish under the ocean no good. Even the fish we are told in Stanza 5 wonder why there is all this "vainglorious down here" In Stanza 6-11 the narrator changes time. These verses are the narrator's interpretation of how it happened. It could either refer to fate or God mentioned as "The Imminent Will" but the whole disaster was planned from the formation of this marvelous ship. Perhaps these lines would have given hope to family who had lost loved ones. It was something out of man's control. Verses 7 refers to the iceberg being formed described as a "sinister mate" whilst verse 8 in contrast discusses how the ship growing in "stature, grace and hue". There is the difference between the "smart ship" and the iceberg which will cause disaster. Yet both will have equal importance in verse 10 because we are told they are "twin halves of one august event" They will be two halves of the tragedy. By the end of the poem in verse 11 we realize it is a master plan. Fate or God described as "The Spinner of the Years" Two hemispheres collide in various ways, two different entities making a tragic event that will be remembered in history. Two countries will be united in tragedy and there are two hemispheres between humanity and God. Thomas Hardy was a prolific writer. Although he wrote short stories and novels, in my opinion it is his poems that are his most powerful pieces of work. I In a solitude of the sea Deep from human vanity, And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she. II Steel chambers, late the pyres Of her salamandrine fires, Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres. III

Over the mirrors meant To glass the opulent The sea-worm crawls--grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent. IV Jewels in joy designed To ravish the sensuous mind Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind. V Dim moon-eyed fishes near Gaze at the gilded gear And query: "What does this vaingloriousness down here?". . . VI Well: while was fashioning This creature of cleaving wing, The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything VII Prepared a sinister mate For her--so gaily great-A Shape of Ice, for the time fat and dissociate.

VIII And as the smart ship grew In stature, grace, and hue In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too. IX Alien they seemed to be: No mortal eye could see The intimate welding of their later history. X Or sign that they were bent By paths coincident On being anon twin halves of one August event, XI Till the Spinner of the Years Said "Now!" And each one hears, And consummation comes, and jars two hemispheres. Thomas Hardy's poem "The Convergence of the Twain" deals with the force of fate and man's destiny which man has no control over. Hardy uses the event of the Titanic to show the forces of fate that man cannot control his destiny. When I first read "The Convergence of the Twain", I thought it was a poem relating the loss of the Titanic and Hardy's personal feelings and views about the event. But Hardy's poem concerns human aspects of pride, vanity, man and nature, coincidence and the force of fate. The poem's event is well known and apparent but Hardy gives it a profound significance. The poem is written in simple narration without a speaker, unless Hardy is the speaker himself. The Titanic sank on her maiden voyage on April 15, 1912 in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg. Hardy gives the poem a profound significance because of the impact left on man. In stanza eleven, line three, Hardy tells how the sinking of the Titanic "jars two hemispheres" - England and America. After the Titanic's sinking, the world was faced with the fact that they had been playing odds against fate and they could no longer

ignore them. The poem begins by creating the scene of the Titanic at the bottom of the sea far from the "Pride of Life" and vanity that built her. He personifies the Titanic as "her" and "she", the way ships are referred to as women. Hardy used "Pride of Life" to mean technology. The latest and most modern marine equipment available went into the designing of the "unsinkable" Titanic. Hardy emphasized "Pride of Life" because of the overconfidence man had in his advancement in technology at the time. This overconfidence led to the deceptive believes that the Titanic was unsinkable thereby challenging fate and coincidence. Despite the status of the Titanic with all of her wealth and modern technology, she sits at the bottom of the sea. In stanza, two it talks about how her great steel chambers, which once burned with bright red fires, now, have the cold currents of the sea running through them. In stanza three Hardy continues to describe the fate of the Titanic. Here the mirrors are used to also describe the wealthy rich and affluent passengers aboard the Titanic as well. Now all that is reflected from her mirrors are sea-worms, which are indifferent to her finery. Moreover, the jewels that were meant to attract well-to-do passengers are now dimmed and gone. The glitter is no more. Stanza five is ironic in the sense that all of the "vaingloriousness" now lies at the bottom of the Atlantic, where only "sea-worms" can admire it. Hardy was a believer in the force of fate and once our destiny has been, prepared man cannot control his fate. Hardy shows this in stanza six that while man was "fashioning" the Titanic, fate was also making the Titanic's fate-the iceberg. "Immanent Will" is used in stanza six; line 3 as a personification of the force of fate. Hardy used the personification of the force of fate to emphasize it and human destiny which man is unable to control. Then in stanza 10, line 3 fate brings the two together as "one august event." In the last stanza, fate is personified as "The Spinner of the Years": and once fate says "Now!" it is your time, nothing can change it. Hardy makes clear the power of nature over man, fate and coincidence, and man's pride and vanity in his achievements. The first five stanzas relate man's vanity, pride, and overconfidence in the building of the Titanic. Because of this overconfidence in his achievements, man didn't take into account for fate and destiny, or nature. Hardy also showed how destiny is the same for all, regardless of status (which the Titanic was a status symbol, a symbol of modern technology). When the Titanic sank, it took with her all of the modern technology used to make her unsinkable, along with all of the wealthy passengers. Third class passengers, as well as the millionaires, all shared in the same fate. Once fate deals her cards the wealthy and the poor all experience the same fate, which is our human destiny. Death is a common factor in that it does not distinguish between rich and poor. Hardy's poem shows the tragedy of man's overconfidence. The builders of the Titanic were so confident in their ability that they completely ignored any provisions for safety. Hardy's poem ended in wisdom: Prepare ourselves for the forces of nature we cannot control and learn from our mistakes, not taking fate and coincidence for granted.