"An aged man is but a paltry thing, a tattered coat upon a stick, unless soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing for every tatter in its mortal dress"

This quote by William Butler Yeats speaks to the idea that age alone does not define a person. It is the soul that enlivens the body and makes an individual truly alive. Without the soul, an aged male is nothing more than a worn-out coat on a stick. However, when the soul exists, it can bring happiness and life to the body, no matter how old it is. The soul can sing and clap its hands, and the louder it sings, the more it can offset the tattered dress of the body. This quote is a suggestion that age is not a constraint, which the soul can bring life and happiness to any scenario.