The Saint And The Hunchback

William Butler Yeats 1865 (Sandymount) – 1939 (Menton)



Hunchback. Stand up and lift your hand and bless
A man that finds great bitterness
In thinking of his lost renown.
A Roman Caesar is held down
Under this hump.

Saint. God tries each man
According to a different plan.
I shall not cease to bless because
I lay about me with the taws
That night and morning I may thrash
Greek Alexander from my flesh,
Augustus Caesar, and after these
That great rogue Alcibiades.

Hunchback. To all that in your flesh have stood
And blessed, I give my gratitude,
Honoured by all in their degrees,
But most to Alcibiades.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
126

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXBBX CCXAXXDA XXDA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 541
Words 102
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 5, 8, 4

William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. more…

All William Butler Yeats poems | William Butler Yeats Books

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