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?'
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 366 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | abaxC xdeec fdffC gbggc |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 729 |
Words | 137 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5 |
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"What Then?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/39620/what-then?>.
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