Beggar To Beggar Cried
July 6, 2023At The Abbey Theatre
July 6, 2023Before The World Was Made
If I make the lashes dark
And the eyes more bright
And the lips more scarlet,
Or ask if all be right
From mirror after mirror,
No vanity’s displayed:
I’m looking for the face I had
Before the world was made.
What if I look upon a man
As though on my beloved,
And my blood be cold the while
And my heart unmoved?
Why should he think me cruel
Or that he is betrayed?
I’d have him love the thing that was
Before the world was made.
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was an Irish poet, playwright, and political activist who was one of the most important figures of the Irish literary revival. He is known for his use of Irish mythology and for his exploration of the themes of love, death, and rebirth. His most famous works include "The Tower" and "The Wild Swans at Coole." Yeats was also a senator in the Irish Free State and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923.