The Winding Stair and Other Poems

[3] In a complete turnaround from his bleak outlook of eternity expressed in his previous volume (which the poet admitted that he was "astonished at its bitterness"[3]), Yeats now ponders over the possibility and desire of reincarnation after death.

An important insight on Yeats's concern of death lay in the poem "Byzantium" which further exploits the contrast of the physical and spiritual form and the final stanza concludes by differentiating the two.

This poem not only shows the poet's change of belief but also provides him with the comfort he desired while aging as he concludes with the vivid image of the spiritual world being connected with the sea of life.

The indecisive questions posed in "Sailing to Byzantium" are answered in "A Dialogue of Self and Soul" where Yeats chose reincarnation rather than resting in eternity.

"A Dialogue" opens with "Soul" climbing up the "winding ancient stair" which portrays the progression through life and the descent to non-existence.