W.B. Yeats' Poetry Many literary critics have observed that over the course of W. B. Yeats’ poetic career, readers can perceive a distinct change in the style of his writing. Most notably, he appears to adopt a far more cynical tone in the poems he generated in the later half of his life than in his earlier pastoral works. This somewhat depressing trend is often attributed to the fact that he is simply becoming more conservative and pessimistic in his declining years, but in truth it represents a far more significant change in his life. Throughout Yeats’ career, the poet is constantly trying to determine exactly what inspires him; early on, in such poems as “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” and “The Wild Swans at Coole,” Yeats obviously looks towards nature to find his muse, thereby generating idyllic pastoral scenery that is reminiscent of the nature-based poetry of Wordsworth. However, his later works are darkened not by his own perspective, but by the fact that he is no longer certain that nature is truly the fountain that he taps for inspiration. A number of his later poems, such as “Leda and the Swan” and “The Circus Animals’ Desertion,” employ symbolism and metaphor in order to reflect the author’s battle to find his true source. Yeats spends his career dealing with this conflict, and he eventually concludes that while nature itself may have been the source of the general ideas for many of his poems, the works themselves came to life only after he reached into the depths of his heart and sought the fuel of pure human emotions and experiences. Ultimately, he discovers that the only true inspiration comes from the trivial and mundane influences found in everyday life; the purest poetic inspiration is humanity itself. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ho came before him. To accomplish this, he had to determine where to find inspiration beyond, and thereby stronger than, nature. He ultimately realizes that he was looking at this inspiration the entire time without actually seeing it. It does indeed lie “in the deep heart’s core,” where he finally discovers “the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart.” Primary Sources M.H. Abrams et al, eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 7th ed. NY: Norton, 2000. Pgs. 2092-2120. Secondary Sources Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. “Principles of the Mind”: Continuity in Yeats’s Poetry. MLN, Vol. 83, No. 6, Comparative Literature. (Dec., 1968). David Ward. Yeats’s Conflicts With His Audience, 1897-1917. ELH, Vol. 49, No. 1. (Spring, 1982). Virginia Pruitt. Return from Byzantium: W.B. Yeats and “The Tower.” ELH, Vol. 47, No. 1. (Spring, 1980).
Keats, John. “The Eve of St. Agnes”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic
The tales were rediscovered around 1880 inspiring the Irish literary revival in romantic fiction by writers such as Lady Augusta Gregory and the poetry and dramatic works of W.B. Yeats. These works wer...
Almeida, Hermione de. Critical Essays on John Keats. Boston, G.K. Hall & Co., 1990. 97-327.
In these lines from "All Things can Tempt Me" (40, 1-5), Yeats defines the limitations of the poet concerning his role in present time. These "temptations" (his love for the woman, Maude Gonne, and his desire to advance the Irish Cultural Nationalist movement) provide Yeats with the foundation upon which he identifies his own limitations. In his love poetry, he not only expresses his love for Gonne, he uses his verse to influence her feelings, attempting to gain her love and understanding. In regard to the Nationalists, he incorporates traditional Irish characters, such as Fergus and the Druids, to create an Irish mythology and thereby foster a national Irish identity. After the division of the Cultural Nationalists, Yeats feels left behind by the movement and disillusioned with their violent, "foolish" methods. He is also repeatedly rejected by Gonne. These efforts to instigate change through poetry both fail, bringing the function of the poet and his poetry into question. If these unfruitful poems tempt him from his ?craft of verse,? then what is the true nature verse and why is it a ?toil? for the poet? Also, if Yeats cannot use poetry to influence the world around him, then what is his role as a poet?
“William Butler Yeats.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 09 May 2014.
William Butler Yeats was born on June thirteenth, eighteen sixty-five, at ten-forty pm, in Sandymount, Dublin (Foster, 13). He grew up lanky, untidy, slightly myopic, and extremely thin. He had black hair, high cheek bones, olive skin, and slanting eyes (Foster, 34). It was presumed he was Tubercular. As a child he was ridiculed, mainly because of his Irish heritage (Foster, 16). He accomplished many things in his life time.
...me. The ideas Yeats presents his readers with is the fact that change and changelessness coexist with one another and one cannot be without the other. He is able to explain this very well in his poems including When You Are Old, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, The Wild Swans at Coole, The Second Coming, and Sailing to Byzantium. Each of these poems has its own way of approaching this idea yet each and every one does express the ideas of change and changelessness even when the ways in which they do so are not entirely obvious to the readers. In the simple poetic lines and observations that Yeats presents his readers are able to gain insight into his own life as well as a deeper understanding of how the world around they could possibly work and also become more willing to accept changes when they happen and be happy with the stability they can see present in their lives.
In conclusion, Yeats enjoys the idea of change and changelessness within the world. Yates of course approaches the idea of change and changelessness differently in each of the poems. Some of the ways that the idea of change is used can be optimistic more like the poem of The Wild Swans at Coole and some are more pessimistic and quite an eye opener like the poem on The Second Coming or Sailing to Byzantium. Either way, the critic Richard Ellmann was correct in his statement discussed before.
Keats, John. Ode to Autumn. The Norton Anthology of English Lit. Ed. M. H. Abrams, et al. 7th ed. Vol 2. New York: Norton, 2000.
Keats, John. “Letters: To George and Thomas Keats.” The Norton Anthology: English Literature. Ninth Edition. Stephen Greenblatt, eds. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 967-968. Print.
Just as animals feel entrapped by the circus, there is much evidence to suggest that Yeats was entrapped by his passion that of poetry. In his poem, ‘The Choice’ (Yeats 1933) he muses that, ‘The intellect of man is forced to choose perfection of the life, or of the work’(Yeats1933:1+2), which bearing in mind his constant seeking for higher ideals within his art form this is a clear indication that he is directly conveying a frustration with poetry. This notion is reinforced by the line, ‘Players and painted stage took all my love,’ (Yeats 1939: 22) which informs the reader of Yeats complete immersion in his
All in all, Yeat’s poems: “When you are Old”, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”, “The Wild Swans at Coole”, “The Second Coming”, and “Sailing to Byzantium” all show the struggle and opposition between change and stability in the world. Yeats uses imagery, language, and ideas to represent change and changelessness just like the critic, Richard Ellmann, said. Yeats’ philosophy on the conflict of opposites by using gyres shows us how different forces struggle against one another, just like the development of a personality or the rise and fall of a new civilization.
“Sailing to Byzantium”, published in 1928, “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death”, published in 1919, and “The Second Coming”, published in 1920, are all some of the most highly regarded works of William Butler Yeats. Although each poem seemingly contains its own personal ideas and focus on particular topics, one common theme is found throughout all three: death. In “Sailing to Byzantium” Yeats discusses the matter of growing old and attempting to find a way to live eternally after death has taken its toll, while in “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” he creates an internal dialogue of an Irish airman as he feels he is about to take his final flight into death, and lastly in “The Second Coming” he creates an allegory for post-war Ireland by alluding to the Apocalypse. Each of these poems is popular not only due to the incredible manner in which they were written, but rather, due to the voice in which Yeats discusses each of the poem’s respective subjects. Through his modernist style, yet traditional form, William Butler Yeats wrote “Sailing to Byzantium”, “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death”, and “The Second Coming” as an attempt to answering the difficult questions that surround death in a way which resonated so strongly onto the audience that continues its legacy to this day.
W. B. Yeats is one of the foremost poets in English literature even today. He was considered to be one of the most important symbolists of the 20th century. He was totally influenced by the French movement of the 19th century. He was a dreamer and visionary, who was fascinated by folk-lore, ballad and superstitions of the Irish peasantry. Yeats poems are fully conversant with the Irish background, the Irish mythologies etc. Yeats has tried to bring back the “simplicity” and “altogetherness” of the earlier ages and blend it with the modern ideas of good and evil. Almost all his poems deal with ancient Ireland ...
Yeats' poetry is very dramatic because he usually creates dramatic contrasts within his poems and because his tone changes regularly. When he wasn't in conflict with the world around him he was in conflict with himself. He was never satisfied with modern Ireland, even when he was younger. As he grew older, his dissatisfaction became even greater.