Nov 28, 2010

Yeats, "The Song of Wandering Aengus"




The Song of Wandering Aengus, by W.B. Yeats


"The Song of Wandering Aengus" is early Yeats and at least a bit on the sentimental side. But I liked it as an undergraduate when I was first getting to know Yeats, and I still find it appealing--the music of the language, the unabashed romanticism of the story and imagery. Also, at Kensington Metropark today, where it was sunny and 40 degrees, I had some luck with chickadees, tufted timice, and nuthatches; looking at the photos reminded me of the poem. Aengus can have his fish if I can have the birds.

If you want to earn an A, you'll need to compare the Yeats poem to Keats' "La Belle Dame Sans Merci," posted here November 12.

The Song of Wandering Aengus, by W.B. Yeats

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Photos 2 & 3 -- I'm all about the little fellow on the right. Such great expressions.

(The poem, not so much.)

Pasadena Adjacent said...

I like that last photo. It looks like your friend is dancing with his shadow while the two hold a chick a dee. How can Yeat's ever compare to the romanticism displayed in that?

"the eye is faster then the word" Leslie Stahl during the Regan administration

Jean Spitzer said...

charming photos, charming singsong poem.

Brenda's Arizona said...

Oh man, I love this poem! "a fire in my head" - doesn't that totally describe what happens after the symphony in your brain clashes? In old age, I want to wander and find someone, too. I'll forgo the "A" just for the privilege of reading this again.

Pasadena Adjacent said...

I went back and enlarged the photos. They're really beautiful. The colors in the blurred background. Nice micro capacity on your camera. I'm always trying to use mine on wild flowers but because there is always a slight wind in wild places, they always come out as a slight blur

Lovers' Lane