Analysis of The Two Kings
William Butler Yeats 1865 (Sandymount) – 1939 (Menton)
KING EOCHAID came at sundown to a wood
Westward of Tara. Hurrying to his queen
He had outridden his war-wasted men
That with empounded cattle trod the mire,
And where beech-trees had mixed a pale green light
With the ground-ivy's blue, he saw a stag
Whiter than curds, its eyes the tint of the sea.
Because it stood upon his path and seemed
More hands in height than any stag in the world
He sat with tightened rein and loosened mouth
Upon his trembling horse, then drove the spur;
But the stag stooped and ran at him, and passed,
Rending the horse's flank. King Eochaid reeled,
Then drew his sword to hold its levelled point
Against the stag. When horn and steel were met
The horn resounded as though it had been silver,
A sweet, miraculous, terrifying sound.
Horn locked in sword, they tugged and struggled there
As though a stag and unicorn were met
Among the African Mountains of the Moon,
Until at last the double horns, drawn backward,
Butted below the single and so pierced
The entrails of the horse. Dropping his sword
King Eochaid seized the horns in his strong hands
And stared into the sea-green eye, and so
Hither and thither to and fro they trod
Till all the place was beaten into mire.
The strong thigh and the agile thigh were met,
The hands that gathered up the might of the world,
And hoof and horn that had sucked in their speed
Amid the elaborate wilderness of the air.
Through bush they plunged and over ivied root,
And where the stone struck fire, while in the leaves
A squirrel whinnied and a bird screamed out;
But when at last he forced those sinewy flanks
Against a beech-bole, he threw down the beast
And knelt above it with drawn knife. On the instant
It vanished like a shadow, and a cry
So mournful that it seemed the cry of one
Who had lost some unimaginable treasure
Wandered between the blue and the green leaf
And climbed into the air, crumbling away,
Till all had seemed a shadow or a vision
But for the trodden mire, the pool of blood,
The disembowelled horse.
King Eochaid ran
Toward peopled Tara, nor stood to draw his breath
Until he came before the painted wall,
The posts of polished yew, circled with bronze,
Of the great door; but though the hanging lamps
Showed their faint light through the unshuttered windows,
Nor door, nor mouth, nor slipper made a noise,
Nor on the ancient beaten paths, that wound
From well-side or from plough-land, was there noisc;
Nor had there been the noise of living thing
Before him or behind, but that far off
On the horizon edge bellowed the herds.
Knowing that silence brings no good to kings,
And mocks returning victory, he passed
Between the pillars with a beating heart
And saw where in the midst of the great hall
pale-faced, alone upon a bench, Edain
Sat upright with a sword before her feet.
Her hands on either side had gripped the bench.
Her eyes were cold and steady, her lips tight.
Some passion had made her stone. Hearing a foot
She started and then knew whose foot it was;
But when he thought to take her in his arms
She motioned him afar, and rose and spoke:
'I have sent among the fields or to the woods
The fighting-men and servants of this house,
For I would have your judgment upon one
Who is self-accused. If she be innocent
She would not look in any known man's face
Till judgment has been given, and if guilty,
Would never look again on known man's face.'
And at these words hc paled, as she had paled,
Knowing that he should find upon her lips
The meaning of that monstrous day.
Then she:
'You brought me where your brother Ardan sat
Always in his one seat, and bid me care him
Through that strange illness that had fixed him there.
And should he die to heap his burial-mound
And catve his name in Ogham.' Eochaid said,
'He lives?' 'He lives and is a healthy man.'
'While I have him and you it matters little
What man you have lost, what evil you have found.'
'I bid them make his bed under this roof
And carried him his food with my own hands,
And so the weeks passed by. But when I said,
''What is this trouble?'' he would answer nothing,
Though always at my words his trouble grew;
And I but asked the more, till he cried out,
Weary of many questions: ''There are things
That make the heart akin to the dumb stone.''
Then I replied, ''Although you hide a secret,
Hopeless and dear, or terrible to think on,
Speak it, that I may send through the wide world
Day after day you question me, and I,
Because there is such a storm amid my thoughts
I shall be carried in the gust, command,
Scheme Text too long Poetic Form Metre 11111101 10110100111 11111101 11110101 0111110111 101111101 10111101101 0111011101 11011101001 1111010101 01110011101 1011011101 100101111 1111111101 0101110101 0111111110 0101001001 1101110101 110101001 01010010101 01110101110 101010011 0101011011 111010111 0101011101 100110111 1101110011 0110010101 01110101101 0101111011 010010100101 111101011 01011101001 010100111 11111111001 0101111101 010111111010 110101001 1101110111 11110100010 1001010011 01010110001 1111011010 1101010111 011 111 011010111111 0111010101 0111011011 1011110101 111110110 1111110101 1101010111 1111111111 1111011101 0111011111 1001011001 1011011111 0101010011 0101010101 0110011011 110101011 1011010101 0111011101 0101010011 11011011001 1100111111 1111110011 1101010101 11101011101 0101010111 1111110011 11101111100 1111010111 11011100110 1101011111 0111111111 1011110101 01011101 11 111111011 1011101111 1111011111 01111111001 01110111 1111010101 11110111010 11111110111 1111111011 0101111111 0101111111 1111111010 111111101 0111011111 1011010111 1101011011 1101111010 10011100111 1111111011 1101110101 01111010111 11110001011 Closest metre Iambic pentameter Characters 4,394 Words 841 Sentences 27 Stanzas 1 Stanza Lengths 102 Lines Amount 102 Letters per line (avg) 34 Words per line (avg) 8 Letters per stanza (avg) 3,518 Words per stanza (avg) 842 Font size:Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 4:11 min read
- 66 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Two Kings" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39562/the-two-kings>.
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!
The Web's Largest Resource for
Poets, Poems & Poetry
A Member Of The STANDS4 Network
April 2024
Poetry Contest
Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
0
days
19
hours
8
minutes
Special Program
Earn Rewards!
Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!
Quiz
Are you a poetry master?
»Who wrote the 1892 poem Gunga Din?
A
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
B
Walt Whitman
C
Rudyard Kipling
D
Ho Xuan Huong
Discuss this William Butler Yeats poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In