Wiliam Butler Yeats 1865-1939

life

works

involved in the nationalist cause.

1922 became senator in Irish free State

born in dublin, by protestant parents.

middle period: more modern and flexible, more symbolism; "In the seven woods" and "The green helmet and other poems"

later period: maturity and intensity

early period: romantic and decadent atmosphere

themes

tradition and Irish nationalism

beliefs

occultism: he joined a mistical society studying:

symbolism: "great memory"

the role of artist

Easter 1916

initial distance

written after the Easter rising in Dublin

passionate about Celtic tradition, especially the themes of mystical and occult.

1899: founded the Abby theatre in Dublin

1923 won the nobel price

"The Wind among the reeds"

"The Rose"

death

beauty and eternity of art

heroic individual, that enters a mythical world

he must create new culture, based on national loyalty and history

magic

esoteric symbols (the gyre)

buddism

a collective unconscious where symbols have a visionary dimension.

conflict captured by a political reluctant poet

turns into involvement after British reaction

style

rhyming scheme ABAB

thecniques: metaphors, oximorons, irony