This other man I had dreamed A drunken, vain-glorious lout. He had done most bitter wrong To some who are near my heart, Yet I number him in the song; He, too, has resigned his part In the casual comedy; He, too, has been changed in his turn, Transformed utterly: A terrible beauty is born.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Yeats admits he once judged an enemy harshly but recognizes they changed during a revolutionary event that birthed something terrible yet beautiful.
- In plain terms
- I thought this man was bad but he changed during a big event that was painful but also important.
- What can you take from it?
- Change can bring both terror and beauty.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can beauty justify terrible costs?
- How do you judge those who change?
Another view
It justifies violence by labeling it beautiful.
More from William Butler Yeats
All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born.
Permalink to quote #87 Hearts with one purpose alone Through summer and winter, seem Enchanted to a stone To trouble the living stream.
Permalink to quote #89 I have met them at close of day Coming with vivid faces From counter or desk among grey Eighteenth-century houses. I have passed with a nod of the head Or poli…
Permalink to quote #86
Related quotes
Now let me be clear: I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power.…
Barack ObamaBarack Obama quote #2 The struggle against war, properly understood and executed, presupposes the uncompromising hostility of the proletariat and its organizations, always and every…
Leon TrotskyLeon Trotsky quote #3 Roger Williams... successfully vindicated the right of private judgement in matters of conscience, and effected a moral and political revolution in all governm…
Roger WilliamsRoger Williams quote #28