W.B. Yeats and History Essay

Consequently, “Who Goes with Fergus?” is a very complex poem. It presents a stimulus for the young people to give up on their political struggle and instead find the mysteries of nature: “Who will go with Fergus now,/ And pierce the deep wood’s woven shade,/ And dance upon the level shore?”. Moreover, the poem also represents the poet’s own frustration over his own lapsed romance. He is decided to leave his love behind and try to amend his situation by following Fergus: “And no more turn aside and brood/ Upon love’s bitter mystery;”. But more than anything, as was stated above, this poem symbolizes an analogy in order to stimulate the young into fighting for a better Ireland – showing in this poem, once again, Yeats’ own sense of nationalism.

When Yeats moved back to London to pursue his interest in Arts, he met famous writers like Maud Gonne. The Poem “To Ireland in the Coming Times” is one of the poems Yeats wrote in 1892 and was published in The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends. “Know, that I would accounted

By simply reading the title of the poem, one realizes that Yeats is giving out a warning to never love wholeheartedly. In the opening lines of the poem, “Never give all the heart, for love / Will hardly seem worth thinking of”, the speaker continues his warning.

Abstract: W.B.Yeats has certainly not suffered lack of critical attention, but the Yeats-Nietzsche connection has not been dealt with fully. Yeats’s later work can, more accurately be read and understood in the light of Nietzsche’s role in the development of Yeats’s thought. Yeats’s connection with Nietzsche is not simply a matter of literary influence; both of them are united by a common philosophic temperament and way of understanding the world. This paper is an attempt to study the influence that Nietzsche had upon Yeats, and what made it possible: the underlying kinship of a similar disposition.

There is a strong contrast in this poem between the old, weary, lonely poet and the apparently ever-youthful, energetic and powerful swans. Yeats’ journey to Byzantium in “Sailing to Byzantium” is due to the fact that he wishes to become immortal, to flee the dreaded progression of ageing. He rejects Ireland as it is “no country for old men” and criticizes those who get too caught up in the wonders of life and who have no concerns about growing old “Caught in that sensual music all neglect, Monuments of unageing intellect”. The poet claims that one, namely, “an aged man”, can only break free from the spell of ageing if he is allow his spirit to break free “A tattered coat upon a stick, unless soul clap its hands and sing and louder sing”. Yeats obviously wants to bypass old age and become immortal in this poem and begs the “sages” to allow him to break away from his body, “a dying animal”, and to gather him “into the artifice of eternity”. In both “The Wild Swans at Coole” and “Sailing to Byzantium, a strong contrast is made. However, in “The Wild Swans at Coole”, Yeats merely seems envious of the youthful swans, in contrast to “Sailing to Byzantium” where he seems angry with the young who appear to waste their youthfulness. I found this theme very thought-provoking and therefore an entertaining theme to read about.

    In the first two lines of the poem, Yeats writes "Now as at all times I can see in the mind’s eye, / In their stiff,

The work of William Butler Yeats is full of descriptive, evocative imagery, deep personal feelings and strong political opinions. Yeats sets up dynamic contrasts in every one of his poems which for me makes his poetry interesting and thought-provoking. I found these traits particularly evident in “The Circus Animals’ Desertion” as Yeats discusses a variety of poems, prose and plays written by himself throughout his life. These works of art represent the full breadth of Yeats’ work - The themes of life, death immortality and of conflicting dualities. Bloom (1970) proposes the theory that Yeats shares with the Romantic poets “a conviction that the most poetic images are necessarily those of ‘unfulfilled and unfillable desire” and according to Bloom Yeats shares with Shelley his deepest fear of growing old and losing his ability to write beautiful meaningful poetry and to be immortalised through his work. This genuine self-doubt in his ability is particularly evident in this poem. The resignation and fear is implicit in the concluding rhyming couplet in each stanza.,

William Butler Yeats is one of the most esteemed poets in 20th century literature and is well known for his Irish poetry. While Yeats was born in Ireland, he spent most of his adolescent years in London with his family. It wasn’t until he was a teenager that he later moved back to Ireland. He attended the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin and joined the Theosophical Society soon after moving back. He was surrounded by Irish influences most of his life, but it was his commitment to those influences and his heritage that truly affected his poetry. William Butler Yeats’s poetry exemplifies how an author’s Irish identity can help create and influence his work.

Yeats works drew heavily on Irish mythology and history, he never fully embraced his Protestant past nor joined the majority or Ireland Roman Catholics but he devoted much of his life to the study in myriad other subjects. The Irish writer’s James O’ Grady and Sir William Ferguson were the most influential. Through his writing Yeats found his voice to speak up against the harsh nationalist policies of the time, his early dramatic works conveyed his respect for Irish legend and fascination with occult. Yeats mother was the first introduce him and his sisters to the Irish folktales he grew to love so much but little did you know that his brother jack and father was also an accomplished artist and they both helped William in his writing and it's the reason he found his own interest in the wonderful arts as he called them. In 1894 Yeats met friend and patron Lady Augusta Gregory and thus began their involvement with The Irish Literary Theatre which was founded in 1899 in Dublin. Along with literature, he also loved the theater and wrote several plays. He collaborated with the likes of Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn and George Moore to establish the Irish Literary Theatre for the purpose of performing Irish and Celtic plays. As a dramatist, his successful works included ‘The Countess Cathleen’ (1892), ‘The Land of Heart’s Desire’ (1894) and ‘The King’s Threshold’

The two historical documents, Narrative of Lavinia Bell written by an anonymous author in the Montreal Gazette and the Letter to an English Abolitionist by James Henry Hammond, shared their strong opinions on the important issue of slavery. These documents were written in the 1800’s during an era of progressive changes. One can identify similarities and many differences in their opinions, motives, and goals for their writings. I believe Bell’s account was written to show the perspective of slaves’ brutal view, compared to Hammond’s letter justifying slavery and the rights of the slaveholders.

The poem begins in a manner suggestive of a lover scorned. Yeats talks about how passionate women, which at this point in time is not necessarily a compliment, don’t consider love that is a sure thing worth their time and energy. Essentially it is a poetized version of the “Nice guys finish last” argument, along with the idea that people only desire what

Yeats was a confessional poet - that is to say, that he wrote his poetry directly from his own experiences. He was an idealist, with a purpose. This was to create Art for his own people - the Irish. But in so doing, he experienced considerable frustration and disillusionment. The tension between this ideal, and the reality is the basis of much of his writing. One central theme of his earlier poetry is the contrast

Poets often use figurative language to help readers understand what theme they are trying to reveal. In the poems “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth and “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by W.B. Yeats, poets are able to convey the idea that nature can bring peace, serenity and joy. The two poets utilize the readers sense of sight by depicting beautiful and detailed pictures of nature with imagery.   Wordsworth also uses personification to give life to inanimate aspects of nature to help get across his central idea. On the other hand, Yeats makes use of sound imagery to clearly describe the scenery and the soft tones that come with it.

W.B. Yeats's career started with a heavy influence of Ireland’s very own mythology and folklore. Although, not only Ireland’s mythological culture influenced Yeats's work, personal influences stuck as well. "A potent influence on his poetry was the Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne, whom he met in 1889, a woman equally famous for her passionate nationalist politics and her beauty." (Poets: W.B. Yeats) Lasting as a strong personage in Yeats' verse, Maud Gonne’s appearance was not forgotten. Receiving a proper introduction to some of the poetic greats, Yeats's father showed him the works of Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, John Donne, William Blake, and Percy Byshe Shelley to find his own emerging creativity. "notwithstanding, poets of the

The twenty-four old romantic poet John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” written in the spring of 1819 was one of his last of six odes. That he ever wrote for he died of tuberculosis a year later. Although, his time as a poet was short he was an essential part of The Romantic period (1789-1832). His groundbreaking poetry created a paradigm shift in the way poetry was composed and comprehended. Indeed, the Romantic period provided a shift from reason to belief in the senses and intuition. “Keats’s poem is able to address some of the most common assumptions and valorizations in the study of Romantic poetry, such as the opposition between “organic culture” and the alienation of modernity”. (O’Rourke, 53) The irony of Keats’s Urn is he likens