Friends by W.B. Yeats (1899)

Name: Friends
Author: W.B. Yeats

The work is a lyrical meditation in which the speaker examines the profound and contrasting influences of three distinct women on his life. He begins by celebrating one who has imprinted an unwavering joy into even the most troubled periods of his existence—a love that transcends the vicissitudes of time and remains a constant, unassailable source of delight. He then turns to a second figure whose very touch and presence have the power to unbind the constraints of ordinary life and youthful burdens. This woman's influence is transformative, infusing the speaker with an intense and almost ecstatic energy that redefines his experience of existence, suggesting that her impact is both liberating and mystifying. The final figure is portrayed with a more ambivalent tone. She is the one who took away the speaker’s youth with little apparent remorse or sentimentality. Despite the seeming callousness of her actions, her memory resurrects both delight and melancholy. In the quiet moments of dawn, her enduring influence surfaces in an “eagle look” that continues to evoke a bittersweet sweetness from deep within him—a reminder of both the cost and the lasting impression of their shared past. Overall, the work grapples with the themes of love, memory, and transformation. It contemplates the paradoxical nature of intimate relationships: how they can simultaneously bestow immense joy, provoke intense liberation, and inflict the pain of loss and irrevocable change. Through vivid imagery and carefully wrought metaphors, the piece explores the dynamic interplay between beauty and sorrow, celebrating the multifaceted impact of these relationships on the speaker’s inner life.

By W.B. Yeats · First published 1899 · Genre: Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry · 243 words

First lines

Now must I these three praise -- / Three women that have wrought / What joy is in my days; / One that no passing thought, / Nor those unpassing cares, / No, not in these fifteen / Many times troubled years, / Could ever come between / Heart and delighted heart; / And one because her hand / Had strength that could unbind / What none can understand, / What none can have and thrive, / Youth's dreamy load, till she / So changed me that I live / Labouring in ecstasy. / And what of her that took / All till my youth was gone / With scarce a pitying look? / How should I praise that one? / When day begins to break / I count my good and bad, / Being wakeful for her sake, / Remembering what she had, / What eagle look still shows, / While up from my heart's root / So great a sweetness flows / I shake from head to foot.

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Friends is listed on Textopian as a poem by W.B. Yeats, dated 1899 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: W.B. Yeats
Date: 1899 CE
Language: English
Genres: Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Symbolist Poetry
Length: 243 words
Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)

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Genres

Poetry — The work is composed entirely in verse, following structured poetic techniques.
Lyric Poetry — The poem expresses personal emotions and introspection, characteristic of lyric poetry.
Love Poetry — The focus on admiration and transformative relationships aligns it with themes typical of love poetry.
Symbolist Poetry — The use of abstract imagery and symbolic transformation reflects elements of Symbolist poetry.