William Butler Yeats was a famous Irish poet who lived from 1865 to 1939. He wrote many poems about Irish mythology, politics, and love. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923.
1) In dreams begins responsibility.
Our dreams and aspirations come with a sense of responsibility. Once we start dreaming about something, we feel responsible for making it happen. It's up to us to take action and turn those dreams into reality.
2) We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry.
When we argue with others, we use persuasive language, but when we argue with ourselves, we use poetic language. This means that our inner struggles can inspire beautiful and meaningful expressions, while our outer conflicts are often just about winning arguments.
3) An aged man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick unless soul claps its hands and sing, and louder sing for every tatter in its mortal dress.
An old man might not seem important, like a ragged coat on a stick, unless his soul is filled with joy and sings loudly, especially when his body is wearing out. Every imperfection adds to the beauty.
4) Too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart.
Sacrificing for too long can make us cold and indifferent. We need to take care of ourselves and not let our sacrifices harden our hearts towards others.
5) The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time.
Time is the only enemy of those who are innocent and beautiful. As we age, our physical appearance changes and our innocence may fade away. However, true beauty and purity of heart never truly disappear.
6) O's body swayed to music, O's brightening glance.
O moved their body to the rhythm of the music, while their eyes showed a growing excitement.
7) Think where man's glory most begins and ends and say my glory was I had such friends.
The greatest achievement in life is having good friends. When we look back on our lives, we will feel proud to have had such wonderful people in our lives who made it all worthwhile.
8) People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind.
Those who rely solely on logic and reason may miss out on using their imagination and creativity. By neglecting these parts of the mind, they may miss out on important insights and experiences.
9) It is so many years before one can believe enough in what one feels even to know what the feeling is.
It takes a long time to understand and trust our own feelings. We need to have enough life experience to really know what we're feeling and why. It's a process that takes time and patience.
10) I have spread my dreams beneath your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
My dreams are like a delicate carpet beneath your feet. Please be careful with them, because they mean a lot to me. Your actions could help my dreams come true, or crush them.
11) The soul of man is of the imperishable substance of the stars!
This quote means that people's souls are made of the same unchanging material as the stars, which have been around for billions of years. It suggests that there is something eternal and cosmic about human beings.
12) Life is a long preparation for something that never happens.
Life is like getting ready for something that never actually happens. We spend a lot of time preparing for the future, but things don't always turn out the way we expect them to, and sometimes we have to adjust our plans.
13) The mystical life is at the center of all that I do all that I think and all that I write.
The mystical life is the most important thing to me. It guides everything I do, think, and write about. It's like a compass that helps me find my way in the world.
14) What can be explained is not poetry.
Poetry is hard to explain because it's about feelings and emotions that can't always be put into words. If something can be fully explained, it's not really poetry because it's missing that special, hard-to-describe element.
15) The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.
There are many amazing things in the world that we can't see or feel until we develop our senses. We need to pay attention and sharpen our senses to appreciate all the magic around us.
16) Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric; out of the quarrel with ourselves, we make poetry.
When we argue with others, we use rhetoric to try and convince them we're right. When we argue with ourselves, we create poetry to express our inner thoughts and feelings.
17) Those that I fight I do not hate those that I guard I do not love.
This quote means that the speaker doesn't hate the people they fight against, and they don't necessarily love the people they protect. They are just doing their job without personal feelings getting in the way.
18) Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
Education is not just about memorizing facts, but about sparking curiosity and passion. It's not about filling up a bucket with information, but about igniting a flame of interest and enthusiasm for learning.
19) Let us go forth, the tellers of tales, and seize whatever prey the heart longs for, and have no fear.
We should be storytellers who fearlessly pursue what our hearts desire. We should go after what we want without worrying about failure.
20) There is another world, but it is in this one.
There's a whole other world out there, but it's right here in the same world we already know. It's just a matter of seeing things differently and discovering new possibilities.
21) Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.
Don't wait for the perfect moment to start something. Instead, make the moment perfect by taking action and working hard to achieve your goals.
22) For he would be thinking of love - Till the stars had run away and the shadows ate the moon.
This quote describes someone who is deeply in love, so much so that they can't stop thinking about it even until the stars disappear and the moon is covered by shadows. It shows the intensity of their feelings.
23) Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.
To be wise, it's important to think deeply and carefully. But when we talk to others, we should use words and ideas that everyone can understand, so that we can share our wisdom with others.
24) We taste feel and see the truth. We do not reason ourselves into it.
Our senses help us understand what is true. We don't always use our minds to figure things out - sometimes we just know because we can taste, feel, or see it for ourselves.
25) The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.
Good people often don't have strong beliefs, while bad people are very passionate about what they believe. This can be frustrating because it means that bad people often get what they want.
26) Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.
Happiness isn't just about being good or having fun, it's about getting better. We feel happy when we're learning and making progress.
27) All empty souls tend toward extreme opinions.
People who feel empty inside are more likely to have very strong opinions. This is because they may be trying to fill a void inside themselves by attaching themselves very strongly to certain beliefs or ideas.
28) Everything exists, everything is true and the earth is just a bit of dust beneath our feet.
This quote means that everything in the world is real and exists, and the Earth is just a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things. It's a reminder that there is so much more to the universe than just our planet.
29) I have believed the best of every man. And find that to believe is enough to make a bad man show him at his best, or even a good man swing his lantern higher.
If you believe in people, even bad ones will try to be better when they know someone trusts them. And good people will work even harder to be their best. Believing in someone can inspire them to be better.
30) I think it better that in times like these a poet's mouth is silent, for in truth we have no gift to set a statesman right.
During difficult times, it's best if poets don't speak up because they don't have the knowledge or skills to help leaders make the right decisions. They should leave it to the experts.
31) If suffering brings wisdom, I would wish to be less wise.
If we only gain wisdom through suffering, then the speaker wishes they were less wise. They don't want to go through difficult times just to gain knowledge or understanding.
32) I think you can leave the arts, superior or inferior, to the conscience of mankind.
Whether art is good or bad is up to each person's own opinion and feelings. It's not something that can be decided by one person or a group of people. Everyone can decide for themselves what they think.
33) The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober.
This quote means that some men are always unpleasant, whether they're drunk or sober. It's saying that alcohol doesn't make them behave badly - they're just not very nice people to be around.
34) We are happy when for everything inside us there is a corresponding something outside us.
We feel happy when what we feel inside matches something outside of us. For example, we might feel happy when we see a beautiful view because it matches the good feelings we have inside.
35) Every conquering temptation represents a new fund of moral energy. Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.
When we resist temptation, we gain strength to face future challenges. Every difficult situation we go through with the right attitude helps us grow and become better people than we were before.
36) Words are always getting conventionalized to some secondary meaning. It is one of the works of poetry to take the truants in custody and bring them back to their right senses.
Words can sometimes lose their original meaning and become something else. Poetry can help us remember the true meaning of words and bring them back to their original sense.
37) Englishmen are babes in philosophy and so prefer faction-fighting to the labor of its unfamiliar thought.
The quote suggests that English people don't have a strong tradition of philosophy, so they prefer arguing with each other rather than doing the hard work of thinking deeply about complex ideas.
38) The only business of the head in the world is to bow a ceaseless obeisance to the heart.
The job of our head (or mind) is to always listen to our heart (or feelings). We should pay attention to what our heart wants and needs, instead of just thinking logically all the time.
39) Designs in connection with postage stamps and coinage may be described, I think, as the silent ambassadors of national taste.
Stamps and coin designs show a country's taste and culture to the world without words. They silently represent a country and its people. So, they are like quiet ambassadors of a nation.
40) Let the caged bird and the cage bird mate and the wild bird mate in the wild.
It's best to let birds live their natural lives: let caged birds mate with other caged birds, and wild birds mate with other wild birds. Mixing them up can cause problems.
41) This melancholy London. I sometimes imagine that the souls of the lost are compelled to walk through its streets perpetually. One feels them passing like a whiff of air.
London can feel sad and gloomy sometimes. The writer imagines that the souls of the dead are forced to wander the streets forever. Sometimes you can feel their presence, like a quick gust of wind.
42) I wonder if anybody does anything at Oxford but dream and remember, the place is so beautiful. One almost expects the people to sing instead of speaking. It is all like an opera.
The speaker is in awe of Oxford's beauty and wonders if anyone actually works there. The place is so pretty, it feels like people should be singing instead of talking. It's like being in an opera.
43) Choose your companions from the best; Who draws a bucket with the rest soon topples down the hill.
Pick your friends wisely. If you hang out with people who aren't good for you, you'll end up in trouble. It's like someone trying to draw water from a well with a bad bucket - they'll end up falling down the hill.
44) Books are but waste paper unless we spend in action the wisdom we get from thought - asleep. When we are weary of the living, we may repair to the dead, who have nothing of peevishness, pride, or design in their conversation.
Books are only useful if we take action on what we learn. When we're tired of dealing with people who are cranky, selfish, or sneaky, we can turn to the words of those who have passed away, who offer us wisdom without any ulterior motives.
45) I know that I shall meet my fate somewhere among the clouds above.
These words mean that the speaker believes they will die soon, and they think it will happen up in the sky. They are prepared to face their fate, whatever it may be.
46) One should not lose one's temper unless one is certain of getting angrier and angrier to the end.
It's not a good idea to get angry unless you are ready to keep getting angrier and angrier until the end. Losing your temper can lead to saying or doing things you'll regret later.
47) The light of lights looks always on the motive, not the deed, the shadow of shadows on the deed alone.
The true importance of an action is not just in what is done, but in why it is done. The light of understanding shines on our motives, while the dark shadow of judgment falls only on our actions.
48) Take, if you must, this little bag of dreams, Unloose the cord, and they will wrap you around.
This quote is from a poem by William Butler Yeats. It means that if you take a bag of dreams and open it up, those dreams will surround and inspire you. Dreams can be powerful motivators.
49) Irish poets, learn your trade, sing whatever is well made, scorn the sort now growing up all out of shape from toe to top.
Irish poets, focus on your craft, write about things that are skillfully created, and don't waste time on poorly written works. Don't follow the trend of writing things that are disorganized and lack structure.
50) do not love too long, Or you will grow out of fashion like an old song.
Don't love someone for too long, or they may become less important to you, like an old song that no one listens to anymore. Keep your feelings fresh and don't let them fade away.
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