If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
What were all the world's alarms To mighty Paris when he found Sleep upon a golden bed That first dawn in Helen's arms?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the profound joys of love and intimacy, suggesting that nothing else mattered to Paris when he was with Helen.
In this quote, Yeats evokes the image of Paris finding solace and contentment in Helen's embrace, portraying love as a powerful force that eclipses all worldly concerns. The reference to 'world's alarms' highlights how love can bring a sense of peace and refuge from external chaos, symbolized by the 'golden bed' that signifies luxury, comfort, and desire. This moment illustrates the timeless theme of love as a refuge, indicating that in the face of life's challenges, true love offers profound solace.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote would be fitting to share at a wedding to emphasize the power of love.
More from William Butler Yeats
All quotes βIt was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
For he would be thinking of love Till the stars had run away And the shadows eaten the moon.
Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action, for we would not change that which we love.
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The last time I saw Paris, her heart was warm and gay, I heard the laughter of her heart in every street cafΓ©.
She is standing on my lids And her hair is in my hair She has the colour of my eye She has the body of my hand In my shade she is engulfed As a stone against the sky She will never close her eyes And she does not let me sleep And her dreams in the bright day Make the suns evaporate And me laugh cry and laugh Speak when I have nothing to say
I thought of you and how you love this beauty, And walking up the long beach all alone I heard the waves breaking in measured thunder As you and I once heard their monotone. Around me were the echoing dunes, beyond me The cold and sparkling silver of the sea -- We two will pass through death and ages lengthen Before you hear that sound again with me.
When I tried to draw near, you dissolved into air before my lips could touch you...