The “Living Beauty”by Yeats, 1865 – 1939

As one reads the “Living Beauty” by Yeats, they will realize the prolific establishment initiated by the conviction the author had. The poem is an indication of the ideology of occultism, spirituality, mysticism, and astrology at the same time. It also reflects on the broad subject of life, which intends to give a paranormal research organized into giving a political point of view (Vendler 93). During the time when the poem was written, the contextual ideology was instigated by the Holocaust that enabled the emotions in the poem to be evoked from the portrayal within the context of the poem. For instance, Yeats indicates that, “I’ll say and maybe dream I have drawn content, Seeing that time has frozen up the blood” (Vendler 92). This is an indication that during this period, the author could not stand seeing the things that were happening around him. At the same time, the events could not be predicted and the people were being astonished by the occurrences. The phrase “freezing up the blood”, is being applied to indicate that at any moment, one might lose his life without knowing.

The concept of the Holocaust has been instigated differently by the poem as it is shown to have a combination of tragedy and emotions at the same time. The author uses the concept of pain to express emotions though he looks at things differently from the beginning. For instance, the emotions of the poem are triggered by the events happening within the surrounding. However, the author uses a contradicting title to initiate the ideas to the society (Vendler 92). The poems title is the “Living Beauty” and yet the atmosphere that the author depicts is filled with anguish and fear. It is probable that the author hopes that things will change and hence gives the poem a contradicting title. The title is the author’s opinion of the future.

The poem also talks about the nature in which the society deprives its people of their youth, and make them get into adulthood faster. From the expressions in the poem, one would notice that individuals notice the adult life without acknowledging the fact that they were once young. The poem implies, “The wick of youth being burned and the oil spent. From beauty that is cast out of a mould” (Vendler 92). From the expression in the poem, the author feels lonely and wants to go back to the times when they were young, as he does not remember what happened during the early stages of life. He also claims that the events had stolen their beautiful status of being young and enjoying their youth.

The events were also not favorable to them that wanted to be lonely and happy rather than having people who wanted to hurt them. Their instigation and expression of solitude was the perfect way to escape the reality. Their old age has darkened their heart and mind making it impossible for them to see the best things that the world has to offer (Vendler 92). The author indicates that the people in their society do not have the luxury of being happy since the only people who see the good of it are the young people. At the same time, he implies that all the happiness that they should have had cannot be achieved at the moment and it is time they find an alternative way of finding happiness. The emotion at the end of the poem is an indication of composure and retention of the atmospheric pressure. He indicates that everything should be leftbehind and one should focus on the future. Focussing in the future, as mentioned earlier, is the author’s best chance. He believes that the future holds much better chances than the present and hence works towards making it work.

The concept of old age makes the author lament on the conditions in which he is living. He declares his contentment aloud and gives the impression that qualifies as the ideology of wasted dreams. He believes that he would have lived differently, if he were given a chance to do so. His dreams were all about him using his less active blood that he might have applied if he was young. At his age, one would have thought that he had no desires for the high-ended properties though he still wishes to have the best properties that the world can offer. It is also probable that he feels guilty for not having worked towards creating a better society for the present generation. He also feels weak and unable to help the situation in his old age.

On the other hand, the things he desires are achievable and are present within the reach of the speaker. He believes that he has initiated content and presented a different god, which makes human beings seem beautiful. The author implies, “from beauty that is cast out of a mould / In bronze, or that in dazzling marble appears” (Vendler 92). The writer also brings complication to his life and everything that is happening. He brings contentment from his eternal being where a supernatural being is involved in everything that is happening to him. He declares that the gods have ensured that beauty is made temporary and would only appear at one point in time if one chooses. From the ideologies presented, he instigates that there is a supernatural approach that can be taken into two perspective though they can be narrowed down to one. The two concepts he presents deal with idols and beauty, which he has initiated in the memories and both fade with time, as they have not conceptualized in time.                

Work Cited

Vendler, Helen. Poets Thinking: Pope, Whitman, Dickinson, Yeats. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2006. Internet resource.