Sailing to Byzantium by W. B.

Yeats: Voyage of the Inner Spiritual Essence into

the Wisdom and Freedom

Introduction: Sailing to Byzantium, one of Yeats masterpieces is organized round

the dichotomy of flesh and spirit, nature and art where the sea symbolizes the energetic
vitality of the former. As Yeats advanced into old age he continued to be troubled by the
passions. The voyage in this poem is thus an inner voyage of spiritual awakening. To
wards wisdom and freedom from the enslavement to nature. Quite apart from the
special meaning that Byzantium has in Yeats system, historically it was the meeting
point of the Pagan and Christian civilization. The poem carries a symbolic pattern and a
mystic philosophic notion is derided.
A journey and the Byzantium: There has been a multiple interpretation of Yeats
symbols and imageries. Sailing to Byzantium is no exception. It is a journey of
metaphysical content and the destination is Byzantium En-route Sea. Byzantium is the
excellence of art, glory of self and emblem of beauty. It is a journey for excellence, for
supremacy, for artistic exuberance and for self realization of consummate and conscious
artist.
Journey of the Soul: A recent study in Yeats has shown that Yeats has had spiritual
knowledge of Yoga and Upanishada, particularly of Patranjalis Yoga Sutra, which was
translated into English by Yeats himself in 1936-37. The book contains the journey of
soul, rebirth, and doctrine of Samadhi. The poem Sailing to Byzantium is a display of
this learning.
Yeats beings his poem by mentioning that life is itself a journey a souls journey
through the countries of childhood, youth and old age. His own soul has already
journeyed through the countries of sportive childhood and sensual youth. Commenting
on the youthful vigour he compares it to a period of procreation and sensual appeal.
Under an urge of mating young birds tune in. the soul of fish with their burning passion
of sex, copulate and spawn
The salmon falls the mackerel crowed seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
The youth is meant for celebration, for emotional attachment, for sensuality and for
concern of spring.
But such the country of youth is none a place the old poet that is no country for old
men. The youths are caught in the sensual music and totally ignore the monuments of
the unageing intellect. Thus, the youths do not know the immortality of intellectual
supremacy of Yoga, the knowledge of soul which the poet finds a monument. The poets
old age is weak in physicality, sensuality and rejuvenation and fecundity. He finds
himself a scarecrow a tattered coat upon a sick, an image of ugliness and decay. He

finds none of the songs of his soul. He has thus, voyaged and reached the holy city of
Byzantium to record his souls content.
The journey is no physical rather a spiritual: Yeats is on his seat to go yogic
Samadhi. When a yogi intends to go into Samadhi, he withdraws the power of the
senses and centralized them into the mind. Here the powers of senses are compared to
sages standing in the fire of prana which may be called Gods holy fire. The senses are
like gold mosaic of a wall. The poet bids them to come back to his mind being in control
of the self just as a flying pern comes back to his master after circular flight. If the
Samadhi is complete, the yogi learning will consume the material and sensual
drawbacks and gradually he should be an artifice of eternity, of self effulgent, of
unegoing and perfection
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
.
; and gather me
Ito the artifice of eternity.
In the concluding stanza the poet wishes to continue his yogic Samadhi. None of the
physical approach worldly riches or extra should have an impact on him. On the
contrary, he shall mention his Samadhi posture for ever. He shall keep sitting like statue
ever made by Greek Goldsmith out of gold and coated with enamel. He should keep his
posture intact in order to keep his soul, the Emperor of nature universe, awake to its
eternal glory. He wishes to attain an absolute freedom from the sickles of his mind and
body through the doctrine of Yoga Sutra. The absolute Samadhi would lead him into
samaskaras, knowledge of absolute. He can relate then of what is past, or passing, or
to come.
Conclusion: A part from the spiritual analysis the Byzantium can be read as a study of
heightened consciousness, an eternity specific to art etc. the awaking or learning of the
Emperor of our artistry, spirituality and intellectuality. Sailing to Byzantium is thus
rich in complexity, concrete in experimenting, irreducible threads.