W. B. Yeats

W.B.YeatsLifeWilliamButlerYeats(13June1865–28January1939)wasanIrishpoetandDramatist,andoneoftheforemostfiguresof20thcenturyliterature.ApillarofboththeIrishandBritishliteraryestablishments,inhislateryearsYeatsservedasanIrishSenatorfortwoterms.HewasadrivingforcebehindtheIrishLiteraryRevival,andalongwithLadyGregoryandEdwardMartynfoundedtheAbbeyTheatre,servingasitschiefduringitsearlyyears.AbbeyTheatreonOldAbbeyStreetandonDecember27th1904.In1923hewasawardedtheNobelPrizeforLiteratureforwhattheNobelCommitteedescribedasinspiredpoetry,whichinahighlyartisticformgivesexpressiontothespiritofawholenation.HewasthefirstIrishmansohonored.YeatsisgenerallyconsideredoneofthefewwriterswhocompletedtheirgreatestworksafterbeingawardedtheNobelPrize;suchworksincludeTheTower(1928)andTheWindingStairandOtherPoems(1929).YeatsandtheIrishmythandFolkloreOneofthemajorcontributionstomodernIrishliteratureinEnglishwastherediscoveryoftheoldIrishLegends.Thiscanbetracedbacktothe1500’sandseemsfresh,unexploredandvirtuallyinexhaustible–“themostplentifultreasureoflegendinEurope”.(Yeats:Letters,308)TheIrelanddepictedintheoldtexts,fullofbeautyandepicheroism,appearedextremelyattractive;thecontrastinfactmadethatearlierperiodseemfarmorenobleandidealisticthanitreallywas.PersonalencounterwithLegendsIwrite[thepoem“ThemadnessofKingGoll”]forboysandgirlsoftwentybutI’malwaysthinkingofmyselfatthatage–theageIwaswhenmyfatherpaintedmeasKingGoll,tearingthestringsout[of]aharp,beinginsanewithyouth,butlookingverydesirable–alasnowomennoticeditatthetime–withdreamyeyesandagreatmassofblackhair.Ithangsinourdrawing-roomnow–apatheticmemoryofareallydreadfultime.----Yeats:Letters,p.705YeatsandIrishRenaissanceTheearliestandnoblestpartof[ancientIrish]literaturewasnational,butnotnationalist.ItwasfullyIrish,writtenoutoftheheartofherownpeople.Itwasbutlittleinfluencedbyotherliterature;andinit,atleast,wecanforgetourquarrelsofpartyandquarrelsofreligion.ItisnotsoeasytoforgetaboutquarrelswhenwereadtheliteraturewhichfollowedtheinvasionofIrelandbytheEnglish…Thatliteraturemaybesaidtobenationalistaswellasnational.ItwasforcedtoconceiveIrelandasawholeandassetoveragainstEngland.----StopfordBrooke:TheNeedandUseofGettingIrishLiteratureintotheEnglishTongue,(London,1893)pp.11--12StyleYeatsisgenerallyconsideredtobeoneofthetwentiethcentury'skeyEnglishlanguagepoets.HecanbeconsideredaSymbolistpoetinthatheusedallusiveimageryandsymbolicstructuresthroughouthiscareer.Yeatschosewordsandassembledthemsothatinadditiontoaparticularmeaningtheysuggestotherabstractthoughtsthatmayseemmoresignificantandresonant.Hisuseofsymbolsisusuallysomethingphysicalwhichisusedbothtobeitselfandtosuggestother,perhapsimmaterial,timelessqualities.WhileYeats'earlypoetrydrewheavilyonIrishmythandfolklore,hislaterworkwasengagedwithmorecontemporaryissues,andhisstyleunderwentadramatictransformation.Hisworkcanbedividedintothreegeneralperiods.Theearlypoemsarelushlypre-Raphaeliteintone,self-consciouslyornate,and,attimes,accordingtounsympatheticcritics,stilted.YeatsbeganbywritingepicpoemssuchasTheIsleofStatuesandTheWanderingsofOisin.Yeats'laterworkfoundnewimaginativeinspirationinthemysticalsystemhebegantoworkoutforhimselfundertheinfluenceofspiritualism.Inmanyways,thispoetryisareturntothevisionofhisearlierwork.Theoppositionbetweentheworldly-mindedmanoftheswordandthespiritually-mindedmanofGod,thethemeofTheWanderingsofOisin,isreproducedinADialogueBetweenSelfandSoul.WhileYeats'earlypoetrydrewheavilyonIrishmythandfolklore,hislaterworkwasengagedwithmorecontemporaryissues,andhisstyleunderwentadramatictransformation.Hisworkcanbedividedintothreegeneralperiods.Theearlypoemsarelushlypre-Raphaeliteintone,self-consciouslyornate,and,attimes,accordingtounsympatheticcritics,stilted.YeatsbeganbywritingepicpoemssuchasTheIsleofStatuesandTheWanderingsofOisin.TheLakeIsleofInnisfreeTheLakeIsleofInnisfreeisapoemwrittenbyYeatsin1888.ThepoemwaspublishedfirstintheNationalObserverin1890andreprintedTheCountessKathleenandVariousLegendsandLyricsin1892.OneofYeats'earlierpoems,TheLakeIsleofInnisfreewasanattempttocreateaformofpoetrythatwasIrishinoriginratherthanonethatadheredtothestandardssetbyEnglishpoetsandcritics.Thepoem,unlikemanyothersfromtheera,doesnotcontaindirectreferencestomysticismandtheoccult.ThepoetdeclaresthathewillariseandgotoInnisfree,wherehewillbuildasmallcabin“ofclayandwattlesmade.”There,hewillhaveninebean-rowsandabeehive,andlivealoneinthegladeloudwiththesoundofbees(“thebee-loudglade”).Hesaysthathewillhavepeacethere,forpeacedropsfrom“theveilsofmorningtowherethecricketsings.”Midnightthereisaglimmer,andnoonisapurpleglow,andeveningisfulloflinnet’swings.Hedeclaresagainthathewillariseandgo,foralways,nightandday,hehearsthelakewaterlapping“withlowsoundsbytheshore.”Whilehestandsinthecity,“ontheroadway,oronthepavementsgrey,”hehearsthesoundwithinhimself,“inthedeepheart’score.”“TheLakeIsleofInnisfree”iswrittenmostlyinhexameter,withsixstressesineachline,inalooselyiambicpattern.Thelastlineofeachfour-linestanzashortensthelinetotetrameter,withonlyfourstresses:“