Hi can I anyone please help me out?

[SiddharthM]

Hi can I anyone please help me out? I am from India and live in a very remote part of the country, I am preparing for a state competetive exam I got thru the first round but now I am not able to get any annotated essays or anything on yeats' "The tower " beginning with the lines "What shall I do with this absurdity" - it sure sums up my dilemma here! and his other poems "Byzantium " and "Meru" , I will be most grateful if anyone help me out, anylink weblink, scanned paper, ur own interpretations , anything and everything might help me ,
thanks :)

[Vada Dagon]

Hello,

I don't know if this will help you but here is a website which lightly tackles Yeats symbolism.

http://www.englit.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergrd/english_lit_2/Handouts/ak_modern2yeats.htm

Also know that Byzantine Empire (you may know this already) is what was referred to, in the 19th Century in Europe, to denote the Roman Greek Empire Constantiople/Instanbul of the Middle Ages. You may want to read a little about Byzantium (the history and when it began to be called like that) to understand the meaning of the poem better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire

So when he writes Sailing to Byzantium and Byzantium he is referring to that country (although it was never actually named Byzantium).

http://homepages.wmich.edu/~cooneys/poems/wby.meru.html
As for Meru it is in reference to a Mystical mountain in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Here is Wikipedia again

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Meru_%28Mythology%29

The Tower is in reference (or seems to be) to that Children's story concerning Rapunzel
Here is a website with the story of Rapunzel
www.familymanagement.com/literacy/grimms/grimms09.html

Ok I'm done!