WB Yeats (1865-1939) was greatly influenced by the French Symbolist movement and is often considered the most important Symbolist poet of the twentieth century. Yeats felt that "metaphors are not deep enough to be moving", so his poems heavily incorporate symbols as a means of expressing abstract and mystical ideas. However, through the use of symbolism, Yeats's poems are much more dispersed and fragmented than the work of previous poets, and therefore at first glance may seem more difficult to understand because there is no direct (one-to-one) correspondence. Symbols instead become reverberating images that provide a contemplation and reorganization of material things, where it is necessary to complete the meaning by filling the gaps with different interpretations. “The symbolists aimed for a poetry of suggestion rather than direct statement, evoking subjective moods through the use of private symbols, avoiding the description of external reality or the expression of opinions.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay By focusing on the two poems “Sailing to Byzantium” from The Tower (1928) and “Byzantium” from The Winding Stair (1933) we can examine the symbols Yeats uses to express himself and his ideas. First of all, the images that appear in the titles of these collections are two very important recurring symbols. The Tower, often considered Yeats's masterpiece, became a crucial symbol within his work; as he himself states "I declare that this tower is my symbol" (Selected Criticism, 14). In a sense it is a private symbol as it refers directly to him - towards the end of his life he finally withdrew from his family, his wife and the outside world, retiring to a tower where he spent the rest of his life existing as a hermit. like fashion. Thus, thanks to this biographical element, he transforms this building and the collection of poems into something that represents an allusive assessment of his life so far. The tower literally becomes the embodiment of his fictional home, the place where he works and finds inspiration. It is also a place of peace not only for him but also for others. The symbol of the tower becomes more universal in the fifth part, "The Road to My Door," of the poem "Meditations in the Time of Civil War," where two men on opposite sides arrive at the narrator's door on several occasions. The men, one a member of the IRA, an 'irregular', and the other 'a brown lieutenant' (6), an officer of the Home Army, are symbols of the long and bitter struggle in Irish politics that goes on behind them . However, standing here beside the tower they are just mere men: they become human again and emerge from the uniform into humanity. The tower then becomes a fixed point at the center of the destruction, where dialogue about the ordinary and the real (such as 'making jokes' (3) and talking 'about bad weather' (9) has a chance to be heard. The image The spiral staircase is also very important and appears repeatedly throughout his work. Yeats emphasized its importance when he stated: "I declare / This twisting, winding, aspiring treadmill is my ancestral staircase" (Selected Criticism, 14) .for his Irish origins, time and his cyclical theory of history. Yeats had his own philosophical theories which he expanded in "The Vision". which every age is overthrown by some catastrophic change Thus: He symbolized this in vortices, alternating series of historical change, a vortex being a conical spiral movement, beginning at some point in history(an annunciation, the birth of Christ, etc.) and expands to its next point. fullest circle, after which in the middle of this circle a point occurs, the next annunciation, and with it the birth of a new era which will be the opposite of everything that has gone before. The spiral staircase reminds Yeats of a vortex and he believes that his era will come to a catastrophic end because of all the war he has seen. The stairs could also be seen rising from earth to heaven and symbolizing the eternal oscillation of human thought towards permanence and intellectual beauty. This is often a key concern in much of Yeats's work, in his quest for immortality and need to transcend. The tension in most of his poems is the desire to float out of the material world into an infinite and purer space, away from the material world. This can be especially seen in the poems of "Byzantium". Here, in the title of the collection, the spiral staircase symbolizes a journey away from the earth and towards the spiritual, thus highlighting the question of body and soul (especially in relation to symbolism). This was a topic of great interest to Yeats, as can be seen in his essay "The Symbolism of Poetry" in which he describes that "the soul moves among the symbols and unfolds itself in the symbols" (Selected Criticism, 51). Therefore, symbolism for Yeats has a special mysticism and spirituality. In "Sailing to Byzantium" Yeats again presents the reader with a symbolic (though fictional) journey, in which the speaker sets sail from a place of decay - the natural world of "Fish, Fowl's Flesh" (5) to one with promise of immortality where neither time nor nature can interfere. Byzantium becomes a symbol of this world. However, since no symbol has a fixed meaning, but can instead have a variety of associations, "Byzantium, therefore, has a multiple symbolic value." . The city Byzantium (modern Istanbul) "was a highly sophisticated city, celebrated for beauty in the visual arts and in the drama and mystery of its elaborate religious ritual" until its capture by the Turks in 1453. It therefore represents all aspects of life, especially a place of culture where one can be immortalized. It could also represent a meeting point, where different cultures and people can be in the same place without their differences interfering; this is similar to the meaning of the tower in "The Road to My Door". The 'mummy cloth' (11) in 'Byzantium' perhaps represents 'the Egyptian element in Byzantine art' (Henn, 229). It may also suggest that Byzantium is a symbol of memory as it links it to the ancient and glorious civilization and tradition of Egypt, where people were extremely concerned about the afterlife and being remembered here on earth after death. Byzantium could well symbolize a new Ireland breaking away from its masters so that it could develop, or rather return to, its philosophical, religious and artistic destiny” (Henn, 222). This is evident from the fact that he is talking about a civilization that has long disappeared, but which should be renewed. Birds are also important symbols in both poems. In 'Sailing to Byzantium' the 'birds in the trees' (2) symbolize nature while the mechanical bird 'of hammered gold' (28) symbolizes artifice. Usually the artificial is criticized and the natural is praised, but Yeats turns the tables as the person sees the golden mechanical bird as perfect, and thus it becomes a monument of "timeless intellect" (8), which is what Yeats wanted affirm. AS. (This mechanical bird may be a literary reference to Keats's Ode to the Nightingale). This element of the poem becomes problematic as it praises art at the expense of life. Even thesong is important and symbolizes the importance of music for the symbolists. “They wanted to bring poetry closer to music, believing that sound had mysterious affinities with the other senses” (Baldick, 253). In 'Sailing to Byzantium' the birds, the young and the 'dying generations' (3) are all 'at their song' (3) and therefore united. Yeats believed that “Pattern and rhythm are the road to poetic symbolism,” (Selected Criticism, 34) as he stated in “A Symbolic Artist,” so by making poetry more musical he was able to speak to more people.people . However, the song that is sung does not necessarily have to be actual music, but in the case of young people, on a symbolic level it could be the passion expressed in their love, as in 'sensual music' (7) which is connected with youth, creativity and productivity. The person, however, is concerned about those involved in sensual music, because they belong to the natural world where immortality is overlooked. Furthermore, the song of the bird when it is "placed on a golden branch to sing" (30) could have an alternative meaning: since the song takes place towards the end of the poem, it could be representative of the last dying song of the swan (which links to another of Yeats's most significant symbols, the swan). Animals are very present in the two poems, but each represents something different. The "mackerel-sung seas" (4) could be seen as symbols of vitality and youth, thus suggesting the vigor and abundance of nature. Furthermore, the Salmon in particular was a “symbol of strength in Celtic literature” (Henn, 224). This is juxtaposed with the "dying animal" (22) which represents the human body and how it decays - once again highlighting Yeats's concern, frustration (and perhaps even bitterness) towards ageing. When Yeats speaks of the "Monuments of ageless intellect" (8) he is not only talking about buildings that are often associated with the cold and the formal but also with the "rational quality of the intellect" (WB Yeats Selected Poems, 77), perhaps suggesting that the monuments could be verses, images or any other artistic creation. Buildings can be weathered and can change over time, but here he suggests that those created by the intellect are beyond time, thus suggesting that these monuments are more magnificent than works of nature. The “Dance Floor Marbles” (36) in “Byzantium” could also be seen similarly, although they could represent coldness; they also represent durability and artistry. The "golden mosaic" (18) of "Sailing to Byzantium" is a symbol of eternity, where a moment of history is frozen and preserved through art and "in the artifice of eternity" (24), (this it reminds us of Keats once again since its meaning is similar to that of 'Ode to a Grecian Urn'). This symbol aims to remind the reader of the transience of nature and the durability of art. These monuments and works of art that Yeats speaks of serve to provide an imaginary defense against time. Henn also suggests that mosaics "depict spiritual experience, stabilized by the artist's knowledge and technique"; (Henn, 229) Yeats views his quest for immortality as a spiritual journey. The fire in the poems also refers to their spiritual nature. The 'sacred fire of God' (17) in 'Sailing to Byzantium and the 'Flames that no faggot stokes' (26) of 'Byzantium' could represent the flame of eternal life, the fire of Pentecost, inspiration and life new. The image of fire suggests that the "spirits begotten of blood" (28) in "Byzantium" must be cleansed of their sins and must be burned by the divine flame to be eligible for eternal life. This ritual is mentioned in many traditions., 2001).