--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: May we two stand, When we are dead…" description: "\"May we two stand, When we are dead, beyond the setting suns, A little from other shades apart, With mingling hair, and play upon one lute.\" — William B..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/william-butler-yeats-350_afterlife_may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond_2891655.png" --- # May we two stand, When we are dead, beyond the setting… ![“May we two stand, When we are dead, beyond the setting suns, A little from other shades apart, With mingling hair, and play upon one lute.” quote by William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/william-butler-yeats-350_afterlife_may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond_2891655.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/william-butler-yeats-350_afterlife_may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond_2891655.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/william-butler-yeats-350_afterlife_may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond_2891655.png) > “May we two stand, When we are dead, beyond the setting suns, A little from other shades apart, With mingling hair, and play upon one lute.” [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet envisions an eternal union beyond death, using celestial imagery to express longing for unity with a beloved. **In simple terms:** Beyond death, lovers may reunite under the sun. Key Takeaway Cherish love beyond physical life. Themes love eternity death union celestial Mood melancholic hopeful Type poetic romantic When to use this quote - memorial services - artistic expression - personal reflection Key Concepts afterlife spirituality memory Questions to Reflect On - What does eternal love mean to you? - How do you honor lost loved ones? A Different Perspective Interpretations may vary across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Apart Mingling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apart-mingling-4064670/) [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Lute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lute-588073/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mingling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mingling/) [Mingling Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mingling-hair-4064671/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) [Setting Suns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting-suns-925522/) [Settings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settings/) [Shade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shade/) [Shades Apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shades-apart-4064669/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [“My mind does not change with the rising and setting of a few suns”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-mind-does-not-change-with-the-rising-and-setting-of-a-few-suns/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/whose-dwelling-is-the-light-of-setting-suns/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“Setting suns always seem sad, beautiful but tragic in their way. It's another goodbye, a farewell to a day that can never be relived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmytry-karpov/setting-suns-always-seem-sad-beautiful-but-tragic-in-their-way-it-s/) [Dmytry Karpov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmytry-karpov/) > [Where the wave of moonlight glosses The dim gray sands with light, Far off by furthest Rosses We foot it all the night, Weaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/where-the-wave-of-moonlight-glosses-the-dim-gray-sands-with-light-far/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [You can have a silence full of words. A lute retains, in its bowl, the notes it has played. The viol, in its strings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/you-can-have-a-silence-full-of-words-a-lute-retains-in-its-bowl-the/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I give thee all,-I can no more, Though poor the off'ring be; My heart and lute are all the store That I can bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/i-give-thee-all-i-can-no-more-though-poor-the-off-ring-be-my-heart/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I like to play the lute full-bloodedly, with passion, as well as with delicacy and, I hope, refinement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/i-like-to-play-the-lute-full-bloodedly-with-passion-as-well-as-with/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [Who, of men, can tell That flowers would bloom, or that green fruit would swell To melting pulp, that fish would have bright mail,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/who-of-men-can-tell-that-flowers-would-bloom-or-that-green-fruit/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [If thou would'st have me sing and play As once I play'd and sung, First take this time-worn lute away, And bring one freshly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/if-thou-would-st-have-me-sing-and-play-as-once-i-play-d-and-sung/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Anybody who thinks the lute just came out of a vacuum doesn't know the history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhiannon-giddens/anybody-who-thinks-the-lute-just-came-out-of-a-vacuum-doesn-t-know/) [Rhiannon Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhiannon-giddens/) > [“There was nothing special about the dried apple, but in my opinion if you have a secret compartment in your lute case and don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/there-was-nothing-special-about-the-dried-apple-but-in-my-opinion-if/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Longing alone is singer to the lute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/longing-alone-is-singer-to-the-lute/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [As the strings of a lute are apart though they quiver the same music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-the-strings-of-a-lute-are-apart-though-they-quiver-the-same-music/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My lute, be still, for I have done.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-thomas-wyatt/my-lute-be-still-for-i-have-done/) [Sir Thomas Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-thomas-wyatt/) > [Maintain a state of balance between physical acts and inner serenity,like a lute whose strings are finely tuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/maintain-a-state-of-balance-between-physical-acts-and-inner-serenity/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) ## More by William Butler Yeats > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [You know what the Englishman's idea of compromise is? He says, Some people say there is a God. 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Unless you are immortal, both the soul and body are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yelle-hughes/death-is-predestined-for-all-mortals-souls-live-forever-but-the-body/) [Yelle Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yelle-hughes/) [Browse all 844 Afterlife quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "May we two stand, When we are dead, beyond the setting suns, A little from other shades apart, With mingling hair, and play upon one lute.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Butler Yeats" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond-the-setting-suns-a-little/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afterlife" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond-the-setting-suns-a-little/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/william-butler-yeats-350_afterlife_may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond_2891655.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/william-butler-yeats-350_afterlife_may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond_2891655.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/william-butler-yeats-350_afterlife_may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond_2891655.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“May we two stand, When we are dead, beyond the setting suns, A little from other shades apart, With mingling…” — William Butler Yeats", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Butler Yeats", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "May we two stand, When we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond-the-setting-suns-a-little/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/may-we-two-stand-when-we-are-dead-beyond-the-setting-suns-a-little/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```