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Cretan barb that pierced a star? What did Yeats mean?

  • 15-06-2016 11:46pm
    #1
    MichaelR
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 807 ✭✭✭


    Hello,

    I really really like Yeats' "Parnell's Funeral". Its worldview resonates strongly. But I would like to understand the big cultural reference there.

    "What is this sacrifice? Can someone there
    Recall the Cretan barb that pierced a star?

    Rich foliage that the starlight glittered through,
    A frenzied crowd, and where the branches sprang
    A beautiful seated boy; a sacred bow;
    A woman, and an arrow on a string;
    A pierced boy, image of a star laid low.
    That woman, the Great Mother imaging,
    Cut out his heart. Some master of design
    Stamped boy and tree upon Sicilian coin."

    What is the myth that Yeats is referring to? I failed to find it online...


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