Excellent poetry should move the reader to the depths of his soul, paint splendid visual pictures in the mind, and convey a meaningful message to the reader. On all these counts, "Sailing to Byzantium" achieves excellence. It is one of Yeats's most poignant poems, beautifully crafted, and rich with meaning and imagery. The poem contrasts the lush vibrancy of youth with the decay and imminence of death in old age. There is a palpable longing for the carefree days of youth, with its warm embraces and the happy sounds and abundance of nature. Paradoxically, however, these images of life bring sadness to the old man who has nearly completed the journey of his life; his "voyage" to the holy city of Byzantium, representing the afterlife, is at an end, and Byzantium stands before him.
Rather than feeling relieved that he is about to pass into a better world or satisfied that he has accomplished great things, the poet instead addresses the sages "standing in God's holy fire" and invites them to "Consume my heart away; sick with desire And fastened to a dying animal." With deep sadness, the poet relinquishes his life to "the artifice of eterni
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