Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

By William Butler Yeats

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.

Summary of Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

  • Popularity of “Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven”: Written by the Irish literary icon, William Butler Yeats, this poem first appeared in 1899. Later, he included it in his collection, The Wind Among the Reeds. Although the poem seems a bit romantic, the addition of Aedh and his desire for clothes of heaven for his beloved has rather made it an Irish-specific poetic piece. Herein lies the reason of its popularity when the readers understand who Aedh is and why he wishes so.
  • “Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven” As a Representative of Nationalism Couched in Love: The poem presents the thoughts of Aedh, a lovelorn who has fallen into the situation of la belle dame sans merci. Desire of Aedh is that he wants embroidered clothes wrought with gold and silver for almost every time of the day whether it is night or day or even dim light or half-light. Then he desires that had he those clothes, he would have spread them under the feet of his beloved. However, he feels sorry that he cannot afford those clothes due to his poverty. That is why he states that he has only dreams and pleads with his beloved that she should not tread harshly on his dreams. The reason is the crushing of dreams is tantamount to the crushing of mental capability as well as physical strength.
  • Major Themes in “Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven”: Dreams, love, and patriotism are three major thematic strands of this poem. Dreams are very important in life and national setting. Aedh, an Irish character, expresses his desire that he should bring heavenly clothes embroidered with golden and silver light, washed in blue and dim lights. This shows his love that despite his poverty, he still dreams of having such precious clothes for his beloved. In one sense, this is patriotism that the poet expresses heavenly blessings for his country undergoing turmoil but could not afford due to his physical and financial situations.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

William Butler Yeats, the great Irish icon, turns and twists literary devices to bedeck his poetic output. Some of the major literary devices.

  1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “Of night and light and the half-light” and the sound of /o/ in “But I, being poor, have only my dreams.”
  2. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “Of night and light and the half-light” and the sound of /r/ in “have spread my dreams under your feet.”
  3. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

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:

  1. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. William Butler Yeats used imagery in this poem such as “Of night and light and the half-light”, “would spread the cloths under your feet” and “Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
  2. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet has used the metaphor of a beloved for his country.
  3. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as embroidered clothes and golden and silver lights to show the love of the poet for his land.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Although poetic devices are part of literary devices, they differ in their functions. With the help of poetic devices, the poet sets the mood of the poem. The analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem is as follows.

  1. End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. William Butler Yeats used end rhyme in this poem, such as cloths/cloths and light/light. However, some critics are of the view that these are mere repetitions of the same words and that it is not a rhyme scheme. Yet, it seems that it is a good rhyme scheme.
  2. Quatrain: It is a Persian genre having four verses rhyming in different patterns. This poem has two quatrains.
  3. Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABAB rhyme scheme in all of its verses until the end.
  4. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas in this poem, with each comprising four verses.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote when somebody tramples upon your dreams or dreams of others and you want to stop in polite terms.

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.