Born in 1865, died in 1937. he was born in Dublin but spent most of his early childhood in London. In the mid 1880s he started studying the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin, however did not finish, because he started publishing poems. Yeats was a big believer in Ireland's right for freedom and supported the Irish nationalist movement. He also wanted to save the Irish culture, and with Lady Gregory he wrote many plays based on Irish myths and tales. In 1917 he married Georgie Hyde-Lees. She was very interested in the supernatural and paranormal, and together with Yeats they believed in Automatic writing. Yeats believes that automatic writing had a great influence on his poetry. Yeats also had a different view on history. He saw history in a more symbolic way and believed that the dead were speaking through the living. He saw history in the form of cycles, which is referred to in 'The Second Coming'- 'gyre'. He thought that one historical cycle was coming to an end and was questioning what will happen in the future. He believed that the modern society was falling apart and that Ireland was in the wrong hands. In his opinion, Ireland was in need of revitalisation.