A Man Young and Old: 3. the Mermaid
love
death
narrative poem
dark
A mermaid found a swimming lad, Picked him for her own, Pressed her body to his body, Laughed; and plunging down Forgot in cruel happiness That even lovers drown.
A Man Young and Old: 3. the Mermaid - meaning Summary
Desire with Fatal Consequence
Yeats' short lyric presents a brief, haunting scene of irresistible attraction and fatal consequence. A mermaid enamors a human youth, embraces him with ecstatic pleasure, and dives into the depths, unknowingly or indifferent to mortal danger. The poem compresses desire, innocence, and lethal consequence into a single moment, underscoring how joy and cruelty can coincide and how erotic temptation can carry unavoidable, tragic costs.
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