The Players Ask for a Blessing on the Psalteries
The work is a meditation on the creative process, invoking a ritual blessing for those who perform and create art. Its structure interweaves three distinct voices that, despite differing attitudes, converge on the call to sanctify the hands that play and the voices that speak. One voice displays hesitation and melancholy at the burden of mortal existence, aware of the transience of life and the inevitable decay of the physical body. Another voice, full of urgency and certainty, urges the performers to proceed unhesitatingly, comparing them to birds drawn by an irresistible call. The final voice unifies these perspectives, emphasizing that while the physical presence of the artist will inevitably fade, the creations—the music, the spoken word, the art—will endure long after their making. The text establishes a duality between the ephemeral nature of human life and the enduring power of artistic expression. Its rich imagery contrasts the transient world of flags, trumpets, and towering ramparts with the eternal quality of art. The piece calls for transcendence beyond the limitations of time and mortality; it suggests that the moment of creation, imbued with passion and blessed through ritual, carries an inherent power to outlast the burdens of history. This notion is encapsulated in the refrain that while the human hands that create may "ebb away," the lasting impact of their work remains forever. The work also reflects on the communal nature of artistic endeavor. Although individual moments of doubt and hesitation are acknowledged, there is an overarching call for unity among creators—an invocation of a shared spiritual and creative identity. This unity is presented as essential for the perseverance of art, implying that the true legacy of creative work lies in its cumulative and communal memory rather than in individual fame or longevity. The voices serve as both individual confessions and collective affirmations of the artist’s struggle against the inexorable passage of time. Ultimately, the text asserts that while history may be heavy with the weight of mortal concerns and the decay of human hands, the act of creation itself is a kind of brief immortality. In blessing the instruments and the hands that produce sound and meaning, the work suggests that there is a profound, almost sacred, connection between art and life—a bond that ensures that, although the artists themselves may vanish, the spirit encapsulated within their art endures to witness a future beyond their mortal span.
By W.B. Yeats · First published 1925 · Genre: Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Symbolism · 222 words
First lines
Three Voices together / Hurry to bless the hands that play, / The mouths that speak, the notes and strings, / O masters of the glittering town!
O! lay the shrilly trumpet down, / Though drunken with the flags that sway / Over the ramparts and the towers, / And with the waving of your wings.
First Voice / Maybe they linger by the way; / One gathers up his purple gown; / One leans and mutters by the wall; / He dreads the weight of mortal hours.
Second Voice / O no, O no, they hurry down / Like plovers that have heard the call.
What this Textopian page supports
The Players Ask for a Blessing on the Psalteries and Themselves is listed on Textopian as a poem by W.B. Yeats, dated 1925 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: W.B. Yeats
- Date: 1925 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Symbolism, Spiritual/Religious Poetry, Dramatic Poetry
- Length: 222 words
- Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Players Ask for a Blessing on the Psalteries and Themselves by W.B. Yeats
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is structured in verse with lyrical language and artistic expression characteristic of poetic form.
- Lyric Poetry — Its emotive and musical qualities, along with its focus on personal and aesthetic expression, align it with lyric poetry.
- Symbolism — The poem's use of vivid imagery and metaphoric elements to convey deeper, abstract meanings reflects a symbolic approach.
- Spiritual/Religious Poetry — The invocation of blessing and ritualistic language imbues the work with spiritual and religious undertones.
Tags
poetic · dramatic · folkloric · symbolic · mystical · allegorical · ritualistic · performative · mythological · spiritual · theatrical · lyrical