The Apparitions
The Apparitions - fact Summary
Late Reflections on Visions
This short poem mixes wry anecdote and calm reflection: the speaker recounts seeing fifteen apparitions, the most disappointing being a coat on a hanger, then praises chosen solitude and a companion who tolerates his unintelligibility. It concludes by linking deeper joy and increasing fear as age brings the "Night". The poem reflects Yeats's persistent interest in apparitions and appears in his collection Last Poems and Two Plays.
Read Complete AnalysesBecause there is safety in derision I talked about an apparition, I took no trouble to convince, Or seem plausible to a man of sense. Distrustful of thar popular eye Whether it be bold or sly. Fifteen apparitions have I seen; The worst a coat upon a coat-hanger. I have found nothing half so good As my long-planned half solitude, Where I can sit up half the night With some friend that has the wit Not to allow his looks to tell When I am unintelligible. Fifteen apparitions have I seen; The worst a coat upon a coat-hanger. When a man grows old his joy Grows more deep day after day, His empty heart is full at length, But he has need of all that strength Because of the increasing Night That opens her mystery and fright. Fifteen apparitions have I seen; The worst a coat upon a coat-hanger.
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