The Circus Animals' Desertion

[1] In the preface, Yeats suggests that he intended the poem to combine his personal views and impressions with the customs and beliefs of Christian Ireland.

"[4] Kurt Koenigsberger describes "The Circus Animal's Desertion" as the poet's attempt to "concede life's detritus," as the "beasts," which represent poetic imagination, disappear in his old age.

He argues that Yeats uses the analogy of the circus animal to take the place of poetic work and becomes a spectator of his own imagination as he finds himself unable to conjure up a new theme for his poetry.

[5] Michael O'Neill argues that the poem attempts to fill the gaps between Yeats's emotions and the poetry they had inspired over his lifetime, as he was in his seventies when it was composed.

O'Neill suggests that the poet is tired at the time the poem is written and is searching for a "new source of creativity," only in "The Circus Animals' Desertion," that inspiration comes from a critical analysis of his previous works.