The poem “Sailing to Byzantium” was written by William Butler Yeats in 1926, and it was part of a collection called Tower. The title of the poem refers to the ancient city of Byzantium in Turkey that is presently known as Istanbul. It is the first of two poems known together as the Byzantium series. The poem has four eight-line stanzas that are metered in iambic pentameter. The poem is prismatic in nature and viewed from the right perspective, it reveals a spectrum of meanings and emotions. It is through the use of many literary devices that the poet is able to convey these multiple meanings. Yeats, drawing from his personal life experiences, effectively dwells on the themes of escape from the world’s troubles and a search for immortality. Through his meticulous choice of words Yeats brings out the frustration and intense need for escape and immortality that many people feel in their moments of desperation. In this poem, Yeats imagines himself to be a traveler leaving Ireland for sixth century Byzantium – of which he first talks about highly and then rejects. The poem revolves around the central theme of transformation. Life ends with death and youth evolves into age. The end of youth and life is lamented by Yeats who tries to find spiritual rebirth by leaving the land he is familiar with to a new land, Byzantium. There is a blurring of the physical and spiritual rebirths as the speaker envisions himself as a work of art that can live forever. He opens with the description of the land he has just abandoned. The opening line: “That is no country for old men.” It is a land of perpetually renewed youth. The poet expresses his deep concern for ‘old age’ while in a subtle manner; he also implies that it is a country that is meant for the young and lively things. These youthful things and abundance of life are well brought out by the poet by references to the ‘the young in one anothers arms’ ‘birds in the trees” ‘the salmon-falls’ and ‘the mackerel crowded seas’ (Yeats 2-4). This is followed by the line “Whatever is begotten born and dies.” This shows the frustration of the poet at the inevitability of mortality. Yeats rues the fact that the society tends to focus only on the sensual things of the present world and ignores more substantial things such as wisdom and intellect: “Caught in that sensual music all neglect/Monuments of unageing intellect” (Yeats 7-8). These monuments refer probably to Yeats’ own poetry and philosophy. In the second stanza of the poem Yeats carefully asserts why he has rejected the land of eternal youth and chosen to “. come/To the holy city of Byzantium.” He has grown old and nearing his death and feels very much out of place in the land he has left. The old man, according to Yeats, is “a paltry thing, / A tattered coat upon a stick” (Yeats 9-10). These lines seem to reflect the poet’s own physical inability and old age. The poet says that the only thing that can give life to such an old man is the ability to sing through his poetry. The poet holds that poetry is the magic potion that can revive him and help him to overcome the transience of time and old age. “For every tatter in its mortal dress” (Yeats 12) refers to the human body that is suffering from many physical inabilities. The poet reflects that there is no ‘singing school’ implying that poetry cannot be taught. It needs