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The poem has four stanzas, each of eight lines, which follow a rhyming scheme of abababcd. There are many imageries employed in the poem as the poet compares his old being with “a paltry thing” and “A tattered coat upon a stick”. According to the poet, he is an old creature who has no value and is like a torn coat hanging on a stick. His existence is all ragged because of the long time that he has passed in this world but Byzantium is full of youth and inspires him with its youthfulness.

He further elaborates his situation and says, According to Yeats, his soul is “fastened to a dying animal” and that is his body. He describes that he is old and his body is no more young, however, his soul is youthful and is “sick with desire”. According to Rukhaya (2010), “It now seems like an alien to himself incompatible with his aged body”. His body is alien to him, as he wants to get rid of it because of his youthful soul. Yeats shows infatuation with the idea of gold and gold creations as he mentions gold a number of times in the poem as he uses the words, “gold mosaic”, “hammered gold”, “gold enamelling” and “golden bough”.

Yeats uses a number of symbols in “Sailing to Byzantium” such as “Byzantium” (Holy City), “dying animal” (old man), “mortal dress” (human body) and gold made bird by “Grecian goldsmiths. Franke (1998) says, “One of the most powerful and richly poetic of all Yeats’ unifying symbols is the Sacred City of Byzantium” (25).Byzantium that is used as a holy land by Yeats is itself a poetic symbol employed by him. The word, “Byzantium” stands for ancient art and what is manmade.

Yeats shows inspiration for Byzantium because of its association with Greek world and artistic vigor found in the land. Byzantium is depicted as an eternal land. The poem Sailing to Byzantium by W.B. Yeats,