Long-Legged Fly

That civilisation may not sink,
Its great battle lost,
Quiet the dog, tehter the pony
To a distant post;
Our master Caesar is in the tent
Where the maps are spread,
His eyes fixed upon nothing,
A hand upon his head.
Like a long-legged fly upon the stream
His mind moves upon silence.

That the topless towers be burnt
And men recall that face,
Move most gently if move you must
In this lonely place.
She thinks, part woman, three parts a child,
That nobody looks; her feet
Practise a tinker shuffle
Picked up on a street.
Like a long-legged fly upon the stream
Her mind moves upon silence.

That girls at puberty may find
The first Adam in their thought,
Shut the door of the Pope's chapel,
Keep those children out.
There on that scaffolding resides
Michael Angelo.
With no more sound than the mice make
His hand moves to and fro.
Like a long-legged fly upon the stream
His mind moves upon silence.

General

• "Generally, about art, beauty, and perfection"
• In this poem, each stanza represents a different area: Stanza 1, politics; stanza 2, mythology; and stanza 3, the arts.
• Yeats believed that pure art and pure genius are inseparable.
• "The 3 characters are taken out of the physical world and achieve transendence for a moment, like the fly defying gravity".

Stanza 1

• The "Political" stanza looks on Caesar as a military genius.
• Genius comes from within, hence his eyes fixed on nothing - He is not looking at his maps.
• The one important thing genius requires is silence. Hence Quiet the dog, tether the pony to a distant post.
• The last two lines have many interpretations associated. The imagery is beautiful, because the long-legged fly can move across the water effortlessly, without disturbing it, in the same way that genius can move effortlessly from one idea to the next.
• Note that if the water were disturbed, the fly would sink - it can only move when the water is still and calm.
• Water imagery is common in Yeats' poems, and relates to his idea of Spiritus Mundi, wherein resides every thought, idea and creation of the human race, which is accessible to only a few.

Stanza 2

• The "Mythology" stanza describes the beauty of Helen of Troy.
• The flow is interesting - basically, "So that she can play her dramatic part in mythology, Helen as a girl must be given peace to develop her genius." Here "genius" does not relate to intelligence, but grace and beauty - to Yeats, "Genius" conveyed all these things.
• Note the similarity of the stanzas even by the third and fourth lines: Move gently if move you must in this lonely place. Once again, genius thrives on silence and peace.
• part woman, three parts a child: Helen is at this stage only a girl, but is already displaying signs of genius.
• Her feet practise a tinker shuffle picked up on a street: The genius of Helen is that she can take a common dance (tinker shuffle) and interpret it with such grace and beauty as to make it unrecognisable. "It is her interpretation of a common experience that creates genius."
• Note that Helen's beauty is just as important as Caesar's military skill.

Stanza 3

• The "Arts" stanza describes the painting of the Sistine Chapel by Michaelangelo.
• That girls at puberty may find the first Adam in their thought: Apparently Michaelangelo's painting of Adam is important because such perfect representation of the male form will entice girls to have children. (To put things fairly bluntly.)
• Note the similarity to other stanzas: Genius will only function in silence.
• Michaelangelo's art brings discrimination. While Caesar and Helen determined the past, Michaelangelo determines the future.

General Notes

Study Questions

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