Discuss Ways in Which Yeats Considers Freedom in the Poem 'Sailing to Byzantium'

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Discuss ways in which Yeats considers freedom in ‘Sailing to Byzantium. Published in 1928, “Sailing to Byzantium” portrays Yeats’ change in direction, from themes of Romanticism and his long time love affiliation with his true love Maud Gonne and Irish independence. Instead he focuses on the theme of artistic freedom. The holy city of Byzantium (or modern day Istanbul) is located in Turkey, it was founded in by Greek settlers in 657Bc and became a, ideal place for artists to practice as it had an integration of eastern cultures and western cultures, this blend of art formed a beautiful contrast and made the city into the art capital of the world. In the poem Yeats’ yearns to express artistic freedom in Byzantium because he feels he is too old for the modern Ireland and that it should be left to the younger generation, a generation (from what evidence I have gathered) he does not fully understand. Byzantium in the poem does not have to be taken literally, but it could be taken as a metaphor for artistic freedom. I personally believe that this poem is comparable with the poem “The Stolen Child” which is a poem from Yeats’ earlier career. The poems portray freedom in a different way, as in “the stolen child” freedom is seen as something that lures people away from what was important at the time which was Irish national-ism. Yeats now feels the freedom of Ireland to be somewhat of an anti-climax and he feels let down by it, it seems as if he wants no affiliation with it as stated in the very first line “THAT is no country for old men. The young” . The word “THAT” is very significant as it shows his detachment from his country, it is also a very plosive word that could be interpreted as angry or even aggressive towards his native land and the distance he has put between Ireland and himself. Another point of interest in the first stanza is how he seems to loath the
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