Sailing to Byzantium

“Sailing to Byzantium” was written by Yeats at 60 or 61 and is his definitive critique of ageing, describing the agony of embodied existence as one inches toward death. His later works—from the 1920s on—are known for their occult orientations. In A Vision (1925), Yeats elucidates the intersection of his symbolism with various esoteric traditions, as well as his own philosophy, at the center of which is the “Great Wheel” or “gyre.” Hermetic traditions and societies were a cornerstone of the early 20th century, with many people conducting seances and attempting to connect with metaphysical beings. Yeats became well-known for his automatic writings in which spirits not only acted as muses for poetry, but were said to be channeled through the poet. In his essay "Magic" (1901), Yeats admitted he believes

[…] in the practice and philosophy of what we have agreed to call magic, in what I must call the evocation of spirits, though I do not know what they are, in the power of creating magical illusions, in the visions of truth in the depths of the mind when the eyes are closed (128).

“Sailing to Byzantium” also anticipates Yeats's foray into the world of eugenics, which he celebrated publicly in 1936 when he joined the Eugenics Society.