Analysis of What Then?

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



HIS chosen comrades thought at school
He must grow a famous man;
He thought the same and lived by rule,
All his twenties crammed with toil;
'What then?' sang Plato's ghost.  'What then?'

Everything he wrote was read,
After certain years he won
Sufficient money for his need,
Friends that have been friends indeed;
'What then?' sang Plato's ghost.  ' What then?'

All his happier dreams came true --
A small old house, wife, daughter, son,
Grounds where plum and cabbage grew,
poets and Wits about him drew;
'What then.?' sang Plato's ghost.  'What then?'

The work is done,' grown old he thought,
'According to my boyish plan;
Let the fools rage, I swerved in naught,
Something to perfection brought';
But louder sang that ghost, 'What then?'


Scheme abaxC xdeec fdffC gbggc
Poetic Form Etheree  (20%)
Metre 1101111 1110101 11010111 1110111 11110111 101111 1010111 01010111 1111101 11110111 11100111 01111101 1110101 10010111 11110111 01111111 01011101 10111101 1010101 11011111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 729
Words 137
Sentences 11
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 140
Words per stanza (avg) 33
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 26, 2023

39 sec read
372

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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