Analysis of Beautiful Lofty Things

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



BEAUTIFUL lofty things:  O'Leary's noble head;
My father upon the Abbey stage, before him a raging crowd:
'This Land of Saints,' and then as the applause died out,
'Of plaster Saints'; his beautiful mischievous head thrown back.
Standish O'Grady supporting himself between the tables
Speaking to a drunken audience high nonsensical words;
Augusta Gregory seated at her great ormolu table,
Her eightieth winter approaching:  'Yesterday he threatened my life.
I told him that nightly from six to seven I sat at this table,
The blinds drawn up'; Maud Gonne at Howth station waiting a train,
Pallas Athene in that straight back and arrogant head:
All the Olympians; a thing never known again.


Scheme ABCDEFGHGIAJ
Poetic Form
Metre 100101010101 1100101010110101 111101100111 11011100100111 100100100101010 101010100101001 01010010101110 0100100101011011 11111011110111110 01111111101001 101011101001 1001000110101
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 685
Words 115
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 46
Words per line (avg) 10
Letters per stanza (avg) 548
Words per stanza (avg) 114
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 12, 2023

35 sec read
132

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

8 fans

Discuss this William Butler Yeats poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Beautiful Lofty Things" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39294/beautiful-lofty-things>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    0
    hours
    23
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Lewis Carroll wrote: "You are old father William, the young man said..."
    A "and your eyes have become less bright"
    B "and your hair has become very white"
    C "and you're going to die tonight"
    D "and you seem to have lost your sight"