The Song Of Wandering Aengus

by


William Butler Yeat's The Song of Wandering Aengus is often studied by middle school students. It presents ample opportunity to discuss literary devices, rhyming schemes, and music's literary form.
An illustration for the story The Song Of Wandering Aengus by the author William Butler Yeats
An illustration for the story The Song Of Wandering Aengus by the author William Butler Yeats
An illustration for the story The Song Of Wandering Aengus by the author William Butler Yeats
I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire a-flame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And someone called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done,
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

This poem is featured in our selection of Poetry for Students and 100 Great Poems.


8.5

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Return to the William Butler Yeats Home Page, or . . . Read the next poem; The Sorrow Of Love

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