William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet in the 20th century. He has written many notable poems and was one of the most respected figures in 20th century literature. he had on the Nobel prize for literature and even served on the Irish free state as a senator in the latter part of his life. Yeats spent is early years in England but always had pride in his Irish heritage and culture. Much of Yeats work is focused around the use of small symbolisms to summarize and relate to human civilization and culture as a whole. In this Poem Yeats refers to many different time periods and even references one from myth ( Helen of Troy) so that he may explain the scope of how humanity acts in general.