I lie awake night after night And never get the answers right Discuss Yeats presentation of knowledge

in Man and the Echo (30) In your answer explore the effects of language imagery and verse form and consider how this poem relates to other poems by Yeats that you have studied Yeats haunting contemplation of death and reflection of his life in Man and the Echo is successfully used as a platform to spite the concept of knowledge, which he had previously treasured. As the man argues with the echo an e!tention of himself" Yeats portrays his mind as an accumulation of internal conflicts, repenting for the controvertial actions he commited earlier in his life. Although written within a short period of time of each other, the poem #Among $chool %hildren e!presses the poets feeling of fullfillment with respect to his achievements in life& a contradiction to the notion of #'he Man and the Echo. Yeats denotes the purpose of each stan(a thematically& initally he descri)es the damage knowledge can )ring, which precedes the e!ploration of its necessity upon realisation of approaching death, and finally its vulnera)ility to distraction.

*nowledge is regarded as a treacherous gift )y Yeats in this poem, and is understood to have posed as a significant threat in his past. Yeats uses pathetic fallocy to open his poem, )ringing the reader to the dark and gloomy pit that )road noon never lit. A semantic field of inharmony is felt )y the use of ominous imagery, such as that of a )roken stone and the )ottom of a pit. 'his itself

indicates the negative perspective Yeats has from the start of this poem. 'his rather dismal description of the %ounty $ligo #Alt",

which is part of his native +reland, indicates to the reader that Yeats feels that his misuse of knowledge has tainted his outlook on even the purest and pictures,ue of places - rural +reland. Mimicing the fa)led .recian /ourney to the 0racle, Yeats faces a perilous voyage to discover what had )een his purpose, or his faults, in life. 'he o!ymoron of shout ing" a secret - where)y something that should )e kept ,uiet is cried out with conviction - indicates that this poem is a declaration of the negativity and true emotions he felt in regard to his past actions, which he does not hesitate to release, now that he is old and ill. Yeats proceeds to e!plain his fears that his play, %athleen ni 1oulihan )ased on the re)ellion and ultimate death of a personified +reland" may have ironically sparked the re)ellion and ultimate deaths of the iconic +rish leaders of the Easter 2ising. 'his sense of remorse for the romantic heroes con/oins with the sense of respect Yeats demonstrated towards the same party in his poem $eptem)er 3435. +n this instance, Yeats descri)es how knowledge can directly influence violence, death and destruction. 'he poet worries that his words caused negative action, such as inspiring men to commense conflict, and failed to cause positive action, such as stopping a house from )eing 6wrecked.6 Yeats continued use of rhetorical ,uestions )ased around the rule of three emphasises the profoundness of the link )etween knowledge and turmoil, shot7... )rain7... wrecked7 1is unanswered ,uestions, however, reflect the

impossi)ility of knowing the actual effect of his words.

8hile his

work certainly could have motivated certain men rise against the 6English 6, Yeats has no way of knowing that it actually did. 'his in turn provokes the reader to ,uestion the /ustification of Yeats involvement in the +rish revolutions - he ultimately does not have control over how readers interpret his words. 1e thereafter implies his fear that his words 6put too great strain6 on people9s minds, who su)se,uently fail to understand his intentions altogether. 0ne such e!ample in this poem was that woman )y the name of Margaret 2uddock, who went mentally ill during her stint as Yeats lover. 2egardless of how carefully he e!presses himself, a reader9s interpretation of these words can alter their intended meaning as easily as the Echo alters his spoken voice. 'he use of the particularly emotive word evil in the penultimate line of the first stan(a compliments the idea of a sleepless ghost, who foregoes his sins )y leaving life )ehind. 'he morose tone suggests that knowledge is a )ringer of sorrow, thus reinforcing the popular idea that #ignorance is )liss.

0nce esta)lishing the dangers of spiritual intellect, Yeats is critical of it in terms of its necessity with regards to leaving life in a fulfilling manner. 1e e!plains that if a man were to shirk an

acknowledgement of his spiritual intellects great work, he would not )e a)le to lay down and die without cleaning his dirty slate, or otherwise, recogni(ing and repenting for the sins he commited

through his knowledge. *nowledge, however, is viewed as a tool as opposed to an attri)ute, contrary to the wise and simple fisherman who was descri)ed in Yeats depiction of an ideal +rishman. 'he second half of this stan(a illustrates that one would retain their )ody if they turn to wine or love to e!perience temporary sleep, therefore implying that true rest and evasion from life is not possi)le without the intervention of knowledge without which there would not )e one clear view on his fate. +t, on the other hand, highlights Yeats avoidance of the task at hand& he can9t stress enough the importance of reflection and introspection )efore death, )ut /ust stand ing" in /udgement is wholly dissimilar to actually going through the said process. 'he implication of the

poets failure to act upon what he advocates as so important is that he truly wishes to avoid acknowledgement of his actions and would rather, as his own voice tells him in the form of an echo 6lie down and die.6 'his therefore suggests that the Echo is indeed not a separate entity from Man at all )ut rather a representation of his true, underlying desires. 'his concept of /udgement and

conse,uent reconciliation is contradictory to the idea of imminent destruction and an apocalypse in the form of a rough )east as a result of millenia of sin, as displayed in his poem #'he $econd %oming. Yeats true message aligns itself at the point he states

that only when intellect grows sure of ones treachory in the past, can a man arrange the thoughts in one clear view, which pursues the thoughts that Yeats" pursue, where)y the clima! is peaceful

death. 'he use of the phrase at last implies the un)eara)ly long wait he endured to e!perience peace, which was hampered )y his ,uest to achieve enlightenment. 'he epetition of +nto the night )y the mans echo shows that the poets true desire was always to escape life, along with its )urdens, and dissolve into the darkness away from speculation. 'he association of the word sinks with the notion of deflation and failure to keep afloat implies the de/ected manner in which he forfeits control over his life and lets nature take its course. Another way Yeats demonstrates the value of knowledge is through his effective poetic skills used to convey his thoughts. 'his poem is similar to many of Yeats other works which are dialectical, with two voices of de)ate such as #Easter 343: . 'his ensures that the reader e!periences two viewpoints on an argument, e!periencing Yeats nature of duality and internal confliction. +n this case, the Man and the Echo serve as the aforementioned roles. 'he language is presented with a slow and controlled pace made )y the meter and emphasised )y regular caesurae. 'his straightforwardness demonstrates Yeats attempt to use knowledge to assess his past and how he looks forward to death. 'he lucid AA;; rhyme scheme and <=4 sylla)le pentameter produces a rhythm which is )roken up )y the rashness of the Echo. 'his emphasises Yeats lack of control over his darker impulses, which speak out in )lunt sentences, >ie down and die? +nto the night. 'he ram)ling poet therefore appears hesitant and uneasy during his analysis of life, whereas the /u!taposing short phrases

said )y the Echo draws power to its words. 'his represents the im)alance of power within a person, and how knowledge and reason will always pave way to selfish desires.

'he highly evaluative approach Yeats has on his life in the first two stan(as has no )earing on the distractions he faces in the clima! of the poem. Yeats addresses his echo as a spiritual leader, 0 rocky voice imploring whether he has done enough to re/oice in the afterlife. 'he ignorance and naivity in the statement, 8hat do we know )ut? one another indicates that Yeats does not practise what he preaches& he appears to a)andon the concept of knowledge. Almost with immediate effect, Yeats uses the negative con/unction, ;ut as a turning point in which he starts to lose the theme. 'he successive lines draws Yeats attention to his superficial

surroundings, some hawk or owl? a stricken ra))it 'his dismissal of the ma/ority of the poem as )ut a dream undermines the conception of knowledge, revealing to the reader the weakness of the mind. 'his colla)orates with the idea )ehind #Among $chool %hildren, which indicates that in order for a soul to achieve enlightenment, the )ody must suffer )y ignoring distractions, thus implying that enlightenment does not solely root from the

application of knowledge, )ut rather through la)our. 8ritten at the age of @A, Yeats is nearing his death and acknowledges that his la)our may have disguised itself in the form of loneliness and guilt. Although the poet finally reali(es and confronts the rift )etween his

)ody and his voice, his Echo does not reply with a comforting reassurance of their connection and Man forgets what he has )een talking a)out when a stricken ra))it cries out. 'he poem ends with the )leak fate of a vulnera)le ra))it, reflecting the inevita)le destruction of Yeats pathway to peace, due to his vulnera)ility to the hawk of distraction. 'his rather wretched cry is the uninspiring answer to the Mans ,ueries and could )e read as an omen to a similar cry of hopelessness on Yeats )ehalf. 'he rapid evaporation of Yeats encounter with his soul mirrors the image of air he sees when fantasi(ing a)out his lover in ;roken Breams. +n )oth scenarios, a eutopian situation of reconciliation with ones soul and a kindreds soul respectively" is downplayed as a figment of Yeats imagination, preserving a som)re and unpromising tone.

Man and the Echo, to conclude, provides the reader with a rather unusual viewpoint on knowledge. A feature that is commonly coupled with spiritual enlightnement and fulfillment is regarded as nothing more than a )arrier to fullfillment. Yeats shows regret that he was an am)assador for knowledge as opposed to la)our during his life, and implores the reader to consider how they use knowledge in their life. 'he use of the word #Man causes the poem to )e applica)le to anyone, serving as a warning to others not to misuse knowledge to the e!tent that Yeats did. 1e finally uses the poem as a platform to demonstrate the rekindling )etween his two personas, discouraging the reader to sever ties )etween their

thoughts and soul.