Time is hugely important to "The Song of Wandering Aengus." It's a poem about the passage of time, and also about the way that certain moments in time transform our whole lives. The speaker gives us a sense of the passage of time in a number of different ways. We see changes in nature taking place as time passes, we see the speaker himself growing old as time passes, and we also see how one particular moment in the speaker's life transforms him. In this way, the poem suggests that time is central to the speaker's experience of unrequited love.
Questions About Time
- In what ways does this poem give us a sense of the passage of time?
- Why are two out of three stanzas in this poem devoted to depicting the moment that Aengus meets the glimmering girl?
- The poem skips over a large period in Aengus' life. Why?
- What's the relationship between time and mortality in this poem?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
In this poem, Aengus is a victim of time.
In this poem, time is a buddy and actually gives Aengus the opportunity to find the glimmering girl.