Sailing to Byzantium

“Sailing to Byzantium” is a short poem of thirty-two lines divided into four numbered stanzas. The title suggests an escape to a distant, imaginary land where the speaker achieves mystical union with beautiful, eternal works of art. Poem deals with the nature of the human soul. The fate of the soul of the speaker is never confirmed. His soul may never reach into eternity. The hope in his fate lies in the monuments of art that inspired his journey. Others have succeeded before him and his task is not an impossible one. If he does succeed, then his promised song may inspire others to make the long journey as well.