Chapter 128
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.
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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.