W. B. Yeats wrote "In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz" in 1927, soon after the deaths of Gore-Booth and Markievicz, two prominent sisters from an aristocratic family. Years earlier, Yeats had admired both sisters' dedication to Irish Nationalism, a movement that fought for Ireland's political and cultural autonomy from Britain. In this poem, Yeats laments the way the sisters' politics later diverged from his own (they fought for democracy, suffragism, and labor rights, while he gravitated more towards elitism and even authoritarianism). More than their clashing opinions, however, Yeats grieves "time" itself—and the way it makes fools out of everyone, whether their political causes are "wrong or right." The poem appeared in Yeats' 1933 collection The Winding Stair and Other Poems.
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The light of ...
... one a gazelle.
But a raving ...
... among the ignorant.
I know not ...
... the other out
and speak ...
... one a gazelle.
Dear shadows, now ...
... enemy but time;
Arise and bid ...
... the sages know.
We the great ...
... match and blow.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
A Biography of the Poet — Read about Yeats's life and career in this Poetry Foundation article.
The Political Beliefs of W. B. Yeats — A look at what ideals Yeats stood for in a shifting political landscape.
A Biography of Eva-Gore Booth — Read this Poetry Foundation article on Gore-Booth, who was a poet as well as an activist.
A Biography of Constance Markievicz — Read the Encyclopedia Britannica entry for Markievicz, who dedicated her life to political activism.
The Poem Aloud — Listen to "In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz" as read by broadcaster Marian Richardson.