Poem Analysis - High Talk

Introduction: A Stance of Artistic Defiance

William Butler Yeats' "High Talk" is a defiant and somewhat cynical poem that explores the nature of artistic creation and legacy. The poem's tone initially carries a hint of resentment towards superficiality, gradually evolving into a bolder assertion of the speaker's artistic identity and perseverance. The mood is less melancholic than some of Yeats’ other works, replaced by a stubborn determination and a touch of theatricality. It’s a poem about standing tall, both literally and figuratively, in the face of a changing world. The final lines offer a compelling image of the artist as an eternal figure, battling against the forces of convention.

The Artist's Burden: Demands and Superficiality

One of the primary themes is the artist's struggle against the demands of the audience and the allure of superficiality. The opening lines, "Processions that lack high stilts have nothing that / catches the eye," establish this tension immediately. Yeats critiques the public's preference for the sensational and visually striking over the genuinely profound. The "piebald ponies, led bears, caged lions" represent shallow entertainment, things that lack lasting value. The speaker, identified as "Malachi Stilt-Jack," feels pressured to conform, to provide the spectacle that "children demand" and the "women in the upper storeys demand." This section highlights the struggle artists face in balancing their creative vision with the expectations of society.

Legacy and Artistic Lineage: Standing on the Shoulders (or Stilts) of Giants

The theme of artistic legacy and the burden of the past is interwoven throughout the poem. The speaker's concern about his great-grandfather's "twenty foot high" stilts compared to his own "fifteen foot" ones suggests anxiety about measuring up to his artistic predecessors. The fear that someone stole them to patch up a fence or fire shows how art's legacy might become unappreciated or misused. The line "whatever I learned has run wild, / From collar to collar, from stilt to stilt, from father to child," reinforces the idea of artistic influence passed down through generations, but also perhaps a sense that this influence is uncontrolled and potentially diluted over time.

Metaphor and Persistence: Stalking Through the Dawn

The central symbol in "High Talk" is, of course, the stilts themselves. They represent artistic ambition, the artist's elevated perspective, and the need to stand out and be seen. The stilts, however, are also a metaphor for artifice and performance. The poem suggests that the artist's elevated position is partly a constructed one. The image of the "barnacle goose / Far up in the stretches of night" is a powerful symbol of the artist's solitary and somewhat precarious position. The final lines, "I, through the terrible novelty of light, stalk on, stalk on; / Those great sea-horses bare their teeth and laugh at the dawn," offer a vision of the artist as a defiant figure, continuing to create and challenge conventions even as the world changes around him. This vivid imagery leaves the reader wondering if the sea-horses' laughter is one of encouragement or scorn. The ambiguity allows for a view of the artist as either triumphant or perpetually embattled.

Conclusion: A Timeless Artistic Struggle

"High Talk" is a powerful exploration of the challenges and complexities of artistic creation and legacy. The poem uses striking imagery and symbolism to convey the artist's struggle against superficiality, the burden of the past, and the need to maintain one's artistic vision in a changing world. The final image of Malachi Stilt-Jack stalking through the dawn suggests that the artist's role is one of constant confrontation and reinvention, forever challenged by the tides of time and public taste. The poem is not just a personal statement by Yeats, but a reflection on the timeless artistic struggle to create meaningful work in a world often distracted by the superficial.