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.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 12, 2023

35 sec read
132

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHGIAJ
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 685
Words 115
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

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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