Sailing to Byzantine by William Butler is a complex poem with a lot of hidden meaning. Upon first reading the poem I was very confused, I couldn’t seem to understand what the author was portraying. After going through line by line, however, I found this poem to be interesting and intriguing. Through the way, the author utilizes the poems unusual setting, metaphors, and the mood or tone to point to the overall theme and meaning of the poem.
This piece of literature from the first line begins to point to an unusual setting and a harsh tone. “That is no country for old men (Sailing to Byzantine William Butler p.995).” The author automatically starts this poem out in a confusing place. What we know is the narrator is currently living in a country …show more content…
In the first stanza, the narrator compares the young people of the land to animals. “Those salmon falls, the mackerel-crowded seas, fish, flesh, or fowl, command all summer long (Sailing to Byzantine William Butler p.995).” In this line he compares the young people to animals, he is trying to say that these people do not think about meaning. Instead, they are like animals they live their life and then just die. There is no greater purpose in life instead you just live for yourself no matter who gets in your way. But when he looks at older people, he sees a much different picture. “An aged man is but a paltry thing, a tattered coat upon a stick, unless Soul claps its hands and sing, and sing louder (Sailing to Byzantine William Butler p.995).” This quote shows us that when he looks at older people like himself, he sees the complete opposite picture he depicts for young adults. Instead of a life without meaning, he sees people like himself and attributes the epitome of meaning to them. He believes that instead of standing around doing pointless things they have done things that are good for the soul. Because of this the narrator seems to think that the soul is the essential part of our bodies; the rest of us is just hanging there, but our souls have a more significant purpose which is something the young adults in the old country had no worry or
This piece of literature from the first line begins to point to an unusual setting and a harsh tone. “That is no country for old men (Sailing to Byzantine William Butler p.995).” The author automatically starts this poem out in a confusing place. What we know is the narrator is currently living in a country …show more content…
In the first stanza, the narrator compares the young people of the land to animals. “Those salmon falls, the mackerel-crowded seas, fish, flesh, or fowl, command all summer long (Sailing to Byzantine William Butler p.995).” In this line he compares the young people to animals, he is trying to say that these people do not think about meaning. Instead, they are like animals they live their life and then just die. There is no greater purpose in life instead you just live for yourself no matter who gets in your way. But when he looks at older people, he sees a much different picture. “An aged man is but a paltry thing, a tattered coat upon a stick, unless Soul claps its hands and sing, and sing louder (Sailing to Byzantine William Butler p.995).” This quote shows us that when he looks at older people like himself, he sees the complete opposite picture he depicts for young adults. Instead of a life without meaning, he sees people like himself and attributes the epitome of meaning to them. He believes that instead of standing around doing pointless things they have done things that are good for the soul. Because of this the narrator seems to think that the soul is the essential part of our bodies; the rest of us is just hanging there, but our souls have a more significant purpose which is something the young adults in the old country had no worry or