Before The World Was Made

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



If I make the lashes dark
And the eyes more bright
And the lips more scarlet,
Or ask if all be right
From mirror after mirror,
No vanity's displayed:
I'm looking for the face I had
Before the world was made.

What if I look upon a man
As though on my beloved,
And my blood be cold the while
And my heart unmoved?
Why should he think me cruel
Or that he is betrayed?
I'd have him love the thing that was
Before the world was made.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

27 sec read
769

Quick analysis:

Scheme xaxaxbxB xxxxxbxB
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 436
Words 90
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8

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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