“That is no country for old me”
Yeats begins this poem with a self
reflection of his old age. His body is
weak and he has decided that he no longer can live in the world of the young. It is far too demanding and the people there “commend
all summer long”. That is no matter
though, because Yeats is wise. His
knowledge is all he needs now, and with it he has sailed to Byzantium to join
the others like him.
Maybe this is the same feeling older
people have when they move to elderly communities. They have everything they need and they’re
surrounded by people of, mostly, the same physical and mental states. It actually seems pretty smart.
A few years ago my grandparents
moved into one of these neighborhoods.
When my mom first explained to me what it was, I didn’t really
understand her. I was confused. A community of just old people; the idea
seemed weird to me. After countless
visits to my grandparents’ house though, my views have sharply changed.
You’d think being around other old
people would just make you feel even older, but nope. It’s like a second High School, except there
no school part and everyone’s really nice.
There’s also tons of clubs and organization you can join. Even old people can get involved.
So maybe this is their “holy” city, where they have sailed,
as to escape the faults and needs of younger generations. This even further
exemplifies Yeats’ understanding of himself and the world around him. He was old at the time he wrote the poem and
he knew it, but he wasn’t going to let it hinder him.
I believe these are Yeats’ thoughts in his first two stanzas,
before he gets into the whole idea about immortality.
No comments:
Post a Comment