Need major help with inpenetrable Yeats quote which I don't understand!!!!!! (1 Viewer)

[t kitchingman]

Hi all.

If anyone studying Yeats' poetry for Module B could tell me what the quote
in Sailing To Byzantium "it knows not what it is" means that would be great. I know it is some sort of allusion to a Biblical quote something along the lines of "Forgive him father for he knows not what he is," but I still have no idea how that's relevant to the poem.

Any ideas would be great.
Thanks.

 

[Caitlin63]

Ok well the way i see it is:

"Consume my heart away, sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is"

Here Yeats is referring to that while our souls may be forever young, they feel confused, alienated and diminished by our ageing bodies (the dying animal). It is saying that our souls no longer recognise who we are because our body's have transformed from who we used to be. For this reason the person of the poem asks "gather me, into the artifice of eternity" where he can go to Byzantium and trancend the concepts of youth and age.

Hope that helped a bit.

 

[schmani]

In my notes;

"It knows not what it is;" is describing how with old age his heart has become confused. Yeats is describing how with time his body has grown older and it is trapping his spirit, "and gather me, Into the artifice of eternity". Essentially he is dehumanising himself.

I hope this somewhat helps? Thats all i have in my notes from class.

 

[t kitchingman]

thanks guys for your help. still doesnt explain the religious allusion though so if anyone else has any ideas about that id really appreciate them.

 

[Caitlin63]

Well we seem to agree on that pretty much, so lets hope we're right.