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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


FALLEN MAJESTY by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

Poet Analysis

First Line: ALTHOUGH CROWDS GATHERED ONCE IF SHE BUT SHOWED HER FACE
Last Line: WHEREON A THING ONCE WALKED THAT SEEMED A BURNING CLOUD.
Subject(s): ROYALTY;

ALTHOUGH crowds gathered once if she but showed her face,
And even old men's eyes grew dim, this hand alone,
Like some last courtier at a gypsy camping-place
Babbling of fallen majesty, records what's gone.

The lineaments, a heart that laughter has made sweet,
These, these remain, but I record what's gone. A crowd
Will gather, and not know it walks the very street
Whereon a thing once walked that seemed a burning cloud.



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