The Three Monuments

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



THEY hold their public meetings where
Our most renowned patriots stand,
One among the birds of the air,
A stumpier on either hand;
And all the popular statesmen say
That purity built up the State
And after kept it from decay;
And let all base ambition be,
For intellect would make us proud
And pride bring in impurity:
The three old rascals laugh aloud.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 31, 2023

19 sec read
379

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDCEFEF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 351
Words 66
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 11

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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