Essay Questions

How does Into the Seven Woods: Being Poems Chiefly of the Irish Heroic Age differ from Yeats's previous work?

Before this collection of poetry, Yeats's style had resembled that of the Pre-Raphaelite poets in its slow pace, imaginative Romanticism, and focus on the transcendental rather than the purely physical. His former work relied heavily on smooth lyricism and lofty, idealized images. In contrast, this work, which is noted as being the first in his "Middle Period," differs greatly in many respects. Instead of hopefully musing upon the transcendental, Yeats begins to take a more pragmatic, starkly realistic view of nature. The smooth and imaginative lyricism is replaced with physical descriptions with an occasional edge of cynicism. This volume is almost anti-Romantic, a direct contrast to his previous work that resembled that of the Romantics.

Explain the message of "The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water."

Poem Text:

“I heard the old, old men say
‘Everything alters,
And one by one we drop away.’
They had hands like claws, and their knees
Were twisted like the old thorn trees
By the waters.
I heard the old, old men say
‘All that’s beautiful drifts away
Like the waters.'”

This short poem has a concise and powerful message. The old men are staring into the water, admiring their reflections, while saying that all beautiful things drift away like the waters. These men, however, are still admiring their reflections, even though they have clearly lost whatever beauty they might have possessed. This scene thus gives a cynical view of human nature: people will say empty things like "beauty is worthless because it's transient" while actually living in a way that directly contradicts their words, reflecting a narcissistic and skewed self-knowledge. Yeats has clearly departed from his youthful infatuation with Romanticism; this poem is starkly realist.