Famous Poems: Poetry Competition

Greetings!I thank my opponent for accepting. I wish him the best of luck! I shall then start with a poem of my favorite lyrical poet: William Butler Yeats. The poem uses extensive metaphor, and allusions alongside powerful imagery combined with powerful verse. Aedh Wishes For The Cloth of HeavenHad I the Heavens’ embroidered cloths,Enwrought with golden and silver light,The blue, and the dim, and the dark clothsOf night, and light, and the half light,I would spread the cloths under your feet:But I, being poor, have only my dreams;I have spread my dreams under your feet;Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.I am tempted to leave this poem without any analysis, so well does it speak for itself, and yet I find myself writing out what is surely blasphemous with regards to this poem. Let us then start with the title of this poem; by the title we may determine that the narrator of this poem is Aedh. This is significant, since we know that W. B. Yeats was Irish[1], and Aedh is a god in Irish mythology.[2] In fact Aedh is the god of death, and it is said that anyone who should hear him play his harp shall be doomed.[3]Why would then Yeats use Aedh to narrate this love poem? Does it seem right that death itself is narrating a poem? Well firstly the allusion is rather deeply rooted in Irish mythology. Aedh's mother, angry at Lir (his father) turned him, and his siblings into swans who shall roman the English Channell, here it is said that Aedh picked up on all the lanuguages of Ireland, as well as learnt the Arts, so much so that he created the harp.[4] Yeats then uses Aedh to attempt to show to us the personality of the narrator (which Yeats himself identifies himself). The narrator is perceived as cold, and is yet passionate: he is pale, lovelorn, in the thrall of "la belle dams sans merci". For one who would be Aedh how great would the cloths of Heaven be? Connection it with the allusion, Yeats moves on to use powerful imagery. The poem begins by the narrator wishing for the "cloths of the Heavens" note how it uses the word "Heavens" instead of "Heaven" once more reinforcing the universality. This "cloth" is a symbol which could mean many different things, but since its comparison is with "dreams" later on, it would suggest that this cloth is the aspiration of Heaven itself. I take this to mean that Aedh says had I been so great, not so forlorn, not so pale, that I had the aspirations, the "cloths" of Heaven, which would have the majesty of the Heavens, for the cloth is "enwrought with golden and silver light", and would yet be universal, and without pretense, for they would have not only the majesty, also symbolized by the color blue, but would be "universal" with the "night, and light", and of twilight. This imagery has been used to show the cloths to be the most precious things in existence, majestic, universal, without pretense and with grand beauty. This was the first of three parts of the poem. It starts of with a wish, it starts off by contrasting the dead, cold appearence that Aedh might have by showing him in the light of ardent desire and passion. It then moves on, and becomes an offer. Here the beauty of the beloved is emphasized, for they are taken to be even more precious than what the narrator originally wished for, so much so that Aedh would have been willing to "spread the cloths under your [the beloved's] feet". Again the passion even in one who is supposedly emotionless is shown. Aedh proudly declares that should he have that which is most precious he would not hesitate to put it under his beloved's feet. "But I, being poor, have only my dreams" How can I explain it any better than it explains itself? The emotion, the passion, the bitter-sweet tone. At once Aedh affirms his own poverty in such matters. He affirms that he does not possess what is worthy of the beloved, that he is poor when it comes to all such things, for he was cursed. He does however has his dreams. By this for him, his dreams are as important as the cloths of Heaven. He says he has laid his dreams under his beloved's feet. The last part of the poem is a request, now that the poet has given all he had of value to his beloved, he begs that they be careful. "Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." [1]http://en.wikipedia.org...[2]http://digital.library.unt.edu...[3]Ibidem[4]http://en.wikipedia.org...