Study trail analysis

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• Step 1: Think about the poem
• Step 2: Analyse the poem
• Step 3: Relate the part you have studied to the text as a whole

Step 1: Think about the poem

What is the theme?

Head versus heart

Step 2: Analyse the poem

A phrase, or phrases, or some words, which led Nicholas Marsh to realise that head versus heart is a theme of this poem. What are they?

• ‘Thinks in a marrow-bone’ (4)
• ‘A foolish, passionate man’ (12)
• ‘thought men think / in the mind alone’ (1-2)

For each one, ask:

• What is the meaning (what does it say about the theme)?
• What is the ‘tone of voice’ (or the speaker’s ‘attitude’)? What kind of language is it (it may be legal language, or colloquial slang; it may be soft-sounding or clipped and harsh: try to describe the kind of language)?
• Is there an image, metaphor, simile, or symbol - which expresses or develops the meaning?
• ‘Thinks in a marrow-bone’ (4) The marrow is at the centre of the bone, and the bone is the physical centre of a limb, surrounded by flesh. This suggests thinking in a way that is inseparable from your physical nature, instincts, the way you feel. Not ‘intellectual’ thinking, but a kind of ‘whole-body’ or ‘emotional’ thinking. It is a metaphor, the ‘marrow-bone’ being a symbol of the core of physical, instinctual life. This quote asserts that there is a way of being that brings head and heart together. It is also almost an oxymoron, because ‘thinks’ and ‘marrow-bone’ belong on opposite sides of the traditional head / heart conflict. Putting the two together is unexpected.

‘A foolish, passionate man’ (12) I noticed this because it couples ‘foolish’ and ‘passionate’ - supporting the idea that you cannot serve both head and heart: if you are led by your passions, you will do unwise things. It is a bitter comment, and even more bitterly, it implies that the converse is also true: if you follow your ‘head’ wisdom, you have to suppress or deny your passions. However, the poet asks to ‘seem’ a ‘foolish . . . etc.’, so perhaps he will only appear foolish to others: he himself believes that being ‘passionate’ and thinking ‘in a marrow-bone’ is true wisdom.

‘Thoughts men think / In the mind alone’ (1-2) This is in contrast to ‘thinks in a marrow-bone’. It describes disembodied intellect, and implies useless theories detached from real experience. The poet begs God to ‘guard’ him from such vain thought, so his tone is rather contemptuous. Pure head, then, is of no use. I am beginning to think these cold and useless purely theoretical thoughts (‘in the mind alone’) are the real stupidity, in contrast to the true wisdom the poet suggests, of thinking ‘in a marrow-bone’ and seeming ‘foolish, passionate’.

Re-read your notes. What conclusions can you formulate about the theme? The poet begins by suggesting the traditional dualism of head and heart, thoughts and emotions. He then denies this dualism, saying head and heart can work as one. This is true wisdom, but will seem foolish to stupid people who think ‘in the mind alone’ and have no passion.

Yeats re-sets the terms of debate, dismissing traditional assumptions of head / heart opposition.

Tone and meaning suit each other: both are dismissive and express contempt for convention.

Step 3: Relate the part you have studied to the text as a whole

Write an explanation of how your theme relates to the whole poem.

Re-reading the poem, it is clear to see that Yeats's discussion is all in aid of his poetry: thinking with your emotions, or ‘in a marrow-bone’ is necessary if you wish to sing ‘a lasting song’; and if he seems a fool to others, he does this ‘for the song’s sake’. This is important because it expresses a proud dedication to the poet’s vocation. What other people think of him does not matter - even making a fool of himself, and being treated as a pathetic old man (‘though I die old, / A foolish, passionate man’) does not matter - if in the process he can create poetry that lasts.

Although the tone of the poem is dismissive and seems arrogant, you notice that Yeats is explicitly humble about poetry. His own sensitivity about seeming foolish is as nothing compared to the importance of ‘the song’. However, the head / heart theme is strong. Even among people who are not poets, we have the strong impression that Yeats prefers people who make passionate mistakes, and dislikes those cold fish who are always right.

It is also possible to read the poem as an excuse: Yeats cannot help being foolish and passionate, so he defends himself from criticism by saying ‘well, good poets have to be that way’.

This content has been taken from How to Begin Studying English Literature by Nicholas