What did W.B. Yeats mean ? 1

[mscallisto]

Under Ben Bulben is a poem written by celebrated Irish poet W. B. Yeats. It was one of the last poems he wrote, and the last three lines decorate his gravestone in Drumcliffe, County Sligo, Ireland.

Cast a cold eye
On life, on death.
Horseman, pass by!

I was there recently with a group of relatives. We all had many thoughts of what he may have meant but none really convinced me and WEB searches yielded the same.

Any Thoughts???

Sam

 

[rjoubert]

I found this link that may shed some light on the meaning...

http://ireland.wlu.edu/landscape/Group4/analysis6.htm

 

[flyboytim]

Yeats had an uncomfortable time with Christianity - both Catholic and Protestant - and his epitaph seems to say "I viewed you (God) with contempt in Life, and now in Death, so if there is an Apocalypse, ignore my dead bones, I still want no part of it." - but much more poetically.

 

[mscallisto]

rjoubert

Well that's the best explanation (makes the most sense of the meaning) that I've seen thus far.

flyboytim

I haven't seen it expressed that way before but it too seems a decent explanation.

Sam

 

[Olaf Doschke]

Horseman, pass by!

My first thought on that one was the Horseman meaning Death. And as Death is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, that would match, what flyboytim said. Though I wouldn't say, that this is adressing Death for the case of an Apocalypse, only.

Overall it's a poetic form of "(let me) rest in peace", with a sad reasoning on not wanting an afterlife (even not in heaven) having had a sad and tragic life, perhaps.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[CajunCenturion]

After reading the entire poem, Under Ben Bulben, I think Yeats is simply acknowledging that he's lived his life and his time is up. Death is just another part of life, so don't fret over it or make a big deal about it. Don't let me get in your way. Get on your horse and live the life you're meant to live.

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[mscallisto]

Hmmm OlafDoschke's theory does shed dome light on the most perplexing last line "Horseman, pass by!"

I did find Cajun's explanation to be (so far) the closest to what I thought while standing before the grave.

It certainly is one heck of an epitaph to decipher!!

Sam

 

[Turkbear]

The beauty and artistry of good poetry is that it is does not say the same thing to every reader. This discussion supports Yeats'
place as a great poet.



To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> perplexing last line "Horseman, pass by!"
I think it simply means there's no need to stop and pay any respects here. Ride on into your own life.

--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato

 

[mscallisto]

Ride on into your own life" .... I agree

And I certainly agree with Turkbear

Sam