The Cold Heaven

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



SUDDENLY I saw the cold and rook-delighting heaven
That seemed as though ice burned and was but the more ice,
And thereupon imagination and heart were driven
So wild that every casual thought of that and this
Vanished, and left but memories, that should be out of season
With the hot blood of youth, of love crossed long ago;
And I took all thc blame out of all sense and reason,
Until I cried and trembled and rocked to and fro,
Riddled with light.  Ah! when the ghost begins to quicken,
Confusion of the death-bed over, is it sent
Out naked on the roads, as the books say, and stricken
By the injustice of the skies for punishment?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
171

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABACADADAEAF
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 630
Words 120
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…

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