Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
hiya all, just new too this site but i have always loved this poem, will someone take the time to explain its meaning so i can enjoy it even more, thanks
Its a prayer invoking success on a friend as they pursue their destiny whether in golden (day) light or silver (moonlit) night. Or Blue (clear skies day).dark (cloudy nights) or and when life seems unknown/bleak (night) or certain clear (light) or when uncertain /undecided (half light). Then i wish u my friend success whatever life brings ur way. And since being mortal i can only make this prayer (dream) to the Almighty to grant u success. In psalms 104:3 God Makes the clouds his chariot. In Psalms 104:2 the clouds are referenced as a curtain. (Only angels and gods walk the clouds so to speak) And so the dream is a prayer of invocation. And the part tread softy for u walk on clouds or where angels tread carefully knowing that someone prayed this to be ur reality dont be proud or arrogant when u succeed. (Psalm 104 bears has similarities with this poem It is a very deep and profound poem for it captures much. Found 8-10 other impressions all relevant as they analayse the style used ti communicate this poem. However to see this as a prayer balances out all the elements captured in the 8 lines without holding all elements of the poem together. Next time u wish a friend well dedicate this poem to them as prayer and they will appreciate it deeply. Or u cld make this a prayer to yourself. Hope that helps..
I'll have a shot, Michael, at commenting on this wonderful poem. Aedh (i.e. Yeats) is looking for an image of maximum beauty to describe the gift he wishes to give to his beloved. Yeats creates this gift through his superb poetic use of language to make a priceless imaginary object, the cloth, which also stands for Aedh’s dreams. The irony is that the embroidered cloths already exist in the sky above the lovers, and therefore could be shared. What is imaginary is the way they are described, and it only needs a Cyrano de Bergerac, with his gift for poetic speech, to point out their beauty as the couple gaze upwards together.
The computer-generated voice reading this beautiful poem, completely wrecks the sentiments
I first read this poem at school as it was part of a collection to be studied for GCE 'O' level English Literature. It has lived with me since then and at 72 years of age remains to me as the most beautiful love poem. Forget all the deep analyses and academic explanations. What greater gift could anyone wish to give to another but their dreams, with the gentle hope that they would tread softly upon them? It was for my lady, now my wife, and we both cherish it. Peter Richardson 5.07.2016
I first read this poem at school as it was part of a collection to be studied for GCE 'O' level English Literature. It has lived with me since then and at 72 years of age remains to me as the most beautiful love poem. Forget all the deep analyses and academic explanations. What greater gift could anyone wish to togive to another but their dreams, with the gentle hope that they would tread softly upon them? It was for my lady, now my wife, and we both cherish it. Peter Richardson 5.07.2016
I first read this poem at school as it was part of a collection to be studied for GCE 'O' level English Literature. It has lived with me since then and at 72 years of age remains to me as the most beautiful love poem. Forget all the deep analyses and academic explanations. What greater gift could anyone give to another but their dreams, with the gentle hope that they would tread softly upon them? It was for my lady, now my wife, and we both cherish it. Peter Richardson 5.07.2016
Honest, sensitive, truly delightful. Where have genuine poets gone? ...
I love this poem! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Somebody watched the movie 'Equilibrium'? The first time I heard the words of poem from there and fall in love.......He is amazing poet!