Victoria Rosania
2015
A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YEATS, SYMBOLISM AND RHYTHM
William Butler Yeats took it upon himself to complicate his own poetry. His expressions of nature in many of his poems are quite romantic, but his symbols are more than one-dimensional. He utilizes symbolism and rhythm as his tools to give emotions and ideas tangibility within his works. Yeats symbolism is seated in nature, but it also emphasizes change, solitude and the passage of time.
The relationship between Yeats' symbolism and his rhythm is an important one. The rhythm of his poems creates a space for the symbolism to be understood. The meter in "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" is set at a slow pace, reminding readers of a slow, relaxed heartbeat, or even Yeats' image of "lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore". This gives the proper headspace to absorb Yeats' symbolism of peace, quiet and a deep connection with nature. Although Yeats does write specifically of these symbols, a reader can almost feel them as "peace comes dropping slow; / Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;" all while the slow heartbeat rhythm emphasizes a meditative state that follows Yeats and his symbols. Here, alone in nature, Yeats finds his peace within "the bee-loud glade" of his imagination and by giving readers more than just stark symbolism, it is easy to see and feel him there.
Yeats also uses a heavy hand with his naturist symbolism in "The Wild Swans at Coole". The poem provides a great contrast—the beauty of the swans that is timeless versus the aging of the narrator as he beholds their beauty as "I have looked upon those brilliant creatures, / And now my heart is sore." as "they drift on the still water / Mysterious, beautiful" showcasing two of Yeats' great symbols from different places within the poem. Yeats' rhythm holds a pattern that makes the poem conversational—if spoken aloud it is as if the change of beats and stresses are reflecting real emotions. This pairs with the true emotional symbolism of the poem—a distinct sadness of the passage of time and loss of beauty paralleled by the swans magnificent nature.
Comparatively, in terms of rhythm, the poems differ greatly. "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" has a slow, melodic meter, whilst "The Swans at Coole" has a changing syllabic meter reflecting emotional speak. But, Yeats uses rhythm for the same purpose. It allows readers to engage actively with the symbolism in the poetry—flow as quietly and peacefully as the "bee loud glade" or as emotionally staggering as when "The nineteenth Autumn has come upon me". Without his specific rhythms, Yeats' symbolism could easily stay one-dimensional. Yeats forces his readers into the proper pace to appreciate his symbolic nature.
Yeats uses nature to symbolize many different states of mind and ideas between the two pieces, as well. "The nineteenth Autumn" a symbol of many years passed as Yeats gazed upon the swans, and "There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple" for the independence and peace as Yeats escapes to solidarity in nature. This is his connection—he uses nature as a bridge for other symbols to come forward and take their places.
Without his rhythm, Yeats' symbolism loses its impact. The two paired together in his intricate pieces make the perfect couple for his intellectual symbolism. His rhythms create a recess within the minds of readers to feel the full impact of his naturist symbolism of aging, beauty and time. He crafts every line to reflect a full spectrum of sensations, giving his symbols an almost physical quality for readers.