Context
This poem was written in 1938, just before Yeats’ death.
Structure
The poem is written as a conversation between the man and an echo. It is composed of rhyming couplets which is the simplest rhyme form.
Stanza 1
The word ‘Alt’ is a rocky fissure at Knocknarea, County Sligo. The phrase ‘broad noon has never lit’ suggests a dark, secluded place. This is an alliterative phrase ‘shout a secret to the stone’ ; ‘shout’ suggests a public declaration but by shouting at ‘the stone’ the man keeps his secret while making it public.
The phrase ‘all that I have said and done’ suggests making a confession. Why does the man ‘lie awake night after night’ – insomnia or guilt? The phrase ‘never get the answers right’ gives a sense of the man searching for some truth at the end of his life. ‘that play’ refers to ‘Cathleen ni Houlihan’ (1902), a one act play in which a woman, personifying Ireland, incites a young bridegroom to armed rebellion and death.
The phrase ‘certain men the English shot’ refers to the leaders of the Easter Rising; Yeats is wondering if he incited them to rebellion through the words of his play. ‘that woman’s reeling brain’ refers to the actress Margot Ruddock; Yeats had an affair with her and he and Georgie helped her when she went mad in Barcelona. Here is ‘a...
