Shana
Hi! What does "saving in" mean in Yeats' The Song of The Happy Shepherd? I think the poet expressed that one should always seek for truth, as truth won't be saved in heart eternally. It emphasizes the action of seeking, reflecting truth's dynamic state. But in other analyses, that line was interpreted to "There is no truth except in your heart". Here, the word "saving" in the poem was meaning "except", or "other than", but shouldn't only the original form (to function as a preposition) "save" have this meaning? Or can it mean so even in its gerund form?
Feb 4, 2025 6:37 AM
Answers · 15
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What a beautiful poem! As he often does, Yeats expounds on our smallness, as set against eternity. The poem elevates imagination above our mortal self and all that we can know. In the end, it is only "song" that we possess: "dream, dream". We can seek truth, we can study our past, we can write poetry, but for all we seek we succeed just in creating more dreams. Those who dreamt before us are gone, so it falls upon us to carry on the song: "But ah! she dreams not now; dream thou!" And yet, we try. We must. We try to collect wisdom, beauty, and poetry in our heart. We try to SAVE it there. But ultimately, that fails: "there is no truth / Saving in thine own heart." Eternity seems to mock us. Ultimately, we must relinquish. We can hold on to nothing. There is another fabulous poem that you will like: "The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Hopkins ponders a similar theme: that we cannot save what is beautiful. His answer is simple: Relinquish it and give it back to God.
Feb 4, 2025 2:33 PM
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Hello Shana! ok so the word "Save" can mean "except" example: " I could like pretty much all, save for, the last option you presented" and to be honest, if I had read your underlined message (there is no truth saving in thine own heart) , at first impression I wouldve interpreted as "there is no truth saving/holding stuff in your heart" Everytime I come across Shakespeare or any of this "old english" stuff, I know to not take lots of the meanings as it would be interpreted using modern language. It requires reading the context (and even googling) - which is what you did. so, another way I would write that underlined sentence (now that we know what it really means) is: "there is no truth, save for, what is in your heart" or just even "there is no truth, except what is in your heart" I could type a lot more, but ill pause for now. Til next time!
Feb 4, 2025 12:22 PM
Save your dreams in your heart (figuratively)
Feb 4, 2025 12:19 PM
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