Point of View

The poem is written in first-person perspective. This is apparent from the very first word, “We” (Line 1). Additionally, the rest of the phrase uses past tense and a specific moment in time, so the reader immediately knows that the speaker is narrating a personal memory in retrospect. The speaker occasionally expresses dialogue and action from the other characters in the poem, using the pronoun “she,” and also addresses one of the poem’s characters using the pronoun “you.” This combined perspective creates a feeling of intimacy as if the reader is living within the moment, watching the speaker’s memory unfold in real time.

Language and Meaning

The poem largely has a casual, conversational quality, which marks a turn from the more traditional styles Yeats favoured early in his career and towards the more modern verse he would explore later in life. There is some...