Rabia 1 Rabia Ashraf M. Phil (English Literature Sem I) Submitted To: Prof.

Shafaat Yar Khan British Poetry Term Paper

W.B Yeats as an Irish Poet

I am of Ireland, And the Holy Land of Ireland, And time runs on," cried she. "Come out of Charity, Come dance with me in Ireland. (W.B Yeats I am of Ireland)

The first half of the twentieth century was one of the most volatile periods in history, which became manifest in the politics and the arts of that time. Specifically, Ireland is a country that was characterized by its artists as being absorbed in civil strife, due to British imperial and mercantile dominance. The conflict between the native Irish and the British colonists in Ireland caused a rise of Irish nationalism. The theme of Irish nationalism, including the lack thereof, is common among, especially, the Irish Modernist writers. William Butler Yeats is one such name. William Butler Yeats is a modern Irish poet, a dramatist and a prose writer- one of the greatest English-language poets of the twentieth century. His early poetry and drama acquired ideas from Irish fable and arcane study. Yeats used the themes of nationalism, freedom from oppression, social division, and unity when writing about his country. His themes, images, symbols, metaphors, and poetic sensibilities encompass the breadth of his personal experience, as well as his nations experience during one of its most troubled times.

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Yeatss fascination for Irish elements in his poetry was a result of his meetings with the Irish nationalist, Fenian John OLeary in 1985. John OLeary was also instrumental in arranging for the publication of Yeatss first poems in The Dublin University Review. Under the influence of Leary, Yeats took up the cause of Gaelic writers when much Irish native literature was in danger of being lost as a result of Englands attempts to anglicize Ireland through a ban on the Gaelic language. Yeatss connection with another society, The Contemporary Club also brought him in contact with a circle of nationalist intellectuals. By the early years of the twentieth century, Yeats had risen to international prominence as a proponent of the Gaelic Revival and had published numerous plays and poems. Yeats got the idea to found a literature based on mythology and legends also from John O'Leary. Another notable influence was Maud Gonne who incited Yeats' nationalist feelings through her beauty and enthusiasm, turning her into his Muse. Then there was Douglas Hyde who, after working with Yeats and then going his own way founded the Gaelic League and became the first President of Ireland. One of Yeats's closest friends, Lady Gregory, reworked a number of his plays by paying specific attention to the peasants' speech, co-founded the Abbey Theatre, and was always there when Yeats needed advice. Finally, J. M. Synge is described by Yeats as a genius and the prototype of a cultural nationalist. He also wrote a great deal of the Abbey's plays. All these people have each in their own individual way influenced Yeats and are largely responsible for his vision. W.B Yeats was able to help begin a tradition of another sort, the Irish literary tradition. By placing importance on the Irish culture in his work, Yeats fulfilled his own sense of national pride to the delight of his readers and audiences and to the chagrin of many of his English contemporaries who felt that nothing of value or worthy of study could come out of Ireland. Irish

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poetry was considered to be non-English poetry essentially and this was thought to be the first step towards Irish originality of Yeats and his following younger poets. However, at that time, Irish tradition did not have a definite shape and a firmly established continuity. These writers had nowhere to look for as their tradition and continuity which could provide a framework to their art. This task, of establishing an Irish tradition was taken up by Yeats. In the decade of 1980s he looked for Irish diction. This is how he established a sense of continuity for the younger poets and created a successful incorporation of Celtic myths and legends into his poetry. This was basically done to provide a medium to purely Irish poetry. (Garratt 17-43). In Explorations, Yeats himself says How much of my reading is to discover the English and Irish originals of my thought, its language, and, where no such originals exist, its relation to what original did. I seek more than idioms for thoughts become more vivid when I find they were thought out in historical circumstances which affect those in which I live, or, which is perhaps the same thing, were thought first by men my ancestors may have known. (Derrickson 179) The poetry of W.B. Yeats often takes subject matter from traditional Celtic folklore and myth. His poetry is mythopoeic thematically. By incorporating into his work the myths, stories and characters of Celtic origin, Yeats endeavored to encapsulate something of the national character of his beloved Ireland. The reasons and motivations for Yeats's use of Celtic themes can be understood in terms of the authors own sense of nationalism as well as an overriding personal interest in mythology and the oral traditions of folklore. During Yeats' early career, there was an ongoing literary revival of interest in Irish legend and folklore. Immersing himself

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in the rich and varied world of Celtic myth and folklore, Yeats contributed to the literary world of poems that embrace his native legends while promoting his own sense of nationalism. (Riley) Yeatss notable interest in Irish materials is seen in one of his early poems called, The stolen child (1889). The poem has an Irish setting and is based on an Irish legend. In another poem, To Ireland in the Coming Times (1893), Yeats again draws upon Irish folklore and mythic symbols and sets against the backdrop of national identity. He writes in the poem

When time began to rant and rage The measure of her flying feet Made Irelands heart begin to beat

Here, Yeats speaks of the serious after affects of industrial revolution. He highlights how the pre industrial rhythm of life had been interrupted by the hourly wage in the cities as opposed to the pastoral life which was governed by the change of seasons. This sentiment is touched upon again further along in the poem, though this time Yeats brings Celtic imagery into it. Yet he who treads in measured ways May surely barter gaze for gaze. Man ever journeys on with them After the red-rose-bordered hem Ah, faeries, dancing under the moon, A Druid land, a Druid tune! "

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These lines restate the "measured" way of life in England, its obsession with commerce, and how the English way of life has spread beyond its borders. Yeats feels a kind of distaste of current English life and he keeps on referring to passions that still for him, could be largely found in Ireland. In another of Yeatss notable collection of poems, The Rose(1893) , the poet largely emphasizes upon Irish imagery; the rose, the fairies and the Druid that are all closely associated with Ireland and are used to disparage the rigid and structured English world view. The Song of Wandering Aengus(1899) is another such poem that illustrated how Yeats melds Irish folklore and nationalism to create a conspicuously Irish literature. The subject matter of the poem alone helps in illustrating Yeats profound sense of nationalism. By choosing a Celtic god over the more traditional use of Greek or Roman gods in poetry, he attempts to elevate Irish mythology in the world of literature. In Yeatss poem, At Galway Races, it becomes evident how the poets work was evolving, but the theme of Ireland was still the most lasting message in his poems. He says in At Galway Races(1910)

Sing on: somewhere at some new moon, Well learn that sleeping is not death Hearing the whole earth change its tune Its flesh being wild, and it again Crying aloud as the racecourse is, And we find hearteners among men That ride upon horses

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Here, Yeats not only celebrates horse racing which is national sport of Ireland but he also celebrates the endurance of Ireland during its troubles with Great Britain. The poem literally breathes Ireland in every line. He loved his native land and shares its uniqueness with people all over. Yeats other poems like The Wild Swans at Coole (1919), Coole Park and Coole Park and Ballylee(1931) also largely bear Irish nationalism. Swan is used as a symbol of beauty, pride and tranquility which is a typical Irish characteristic of his poems. These poems also contain descriptions of Irish landscape.

The folklore, myth, and legends of ancient Celtic traditions gave Yeats a rich well of inspiration to draw from. By not falling into the trap of overly romanticizing his work, as many other authors of the time would do, Yeats was able to help begin a tradition of another sort, the Irish literary tradition. By placing importance on the Irish culture in his work, Yeats fulfilled his own sense of national pride to the delight of his readers and audiences and to the chagrin of many of his English contemporaries who felt that nothing of value or worthy of study could come out of Ireland. (Bell)

The poem, Easter 1916, has been called one amongst the public poems of Yeats (Garratt.) It expresses Yeats's grief and horror at the events of Easter Week. Yeats began writing the poem within weeks of the executions in May 1916, and completed it two months later. Yeats

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acknowledges early in the first stanza of the poem that despite the hum-drum middle-class identity which was a frequent target for Yeats' criticism, the rebels' vivid faces betray a vibrant idealism and youthful enthusiasm, their eyes fixed on a changing future. Yeats cannot help but notice how the men stand out starkly against the background of an age gone by, the aristocratic and orderly world of Yeats. He says in the poem

I have met them at close of day Coming with vivid faces From counter or desk among grey Eighteenth-century houses.

In the second stanza Yeats publicly apologizes and expresses his new-found respect for the middle-class. The author is compelled to revise his earlier ideas expressed in September 1913 (1914).Yeats pays humble tribute to the executed leaders as he one by one establishes their place in history. Although Yeats cannot forget MacBride's shortcomings and brutal treatment of Maude Gonne, he begrudgingly admits that the heroic sacrifice redeems any clown that has "resigned his part" in the "casual comedy" of Irish life in these lines:

This other man I had dreamed A drunken, vain glorious lout. He had done most bitter wrong To some who are near my heart? Yet I number him in the song;

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Yeats in the poem uses imagery to establish two opposing concepts, one of life, full of dynamic and constant change, and its counterpart, a lifeless embedded rock. He discloses the downside of the heroics and blood sacrifice of Easter Week. Yeats compares their single-minded devotion for the cause of Irish freedom, to a stone unaffected by the sights, sounds and beauty of everchanging nature. All is meaningless to hearts that reject all of life's little pleasures, but possess one reason only to beat onward

Hearts with one purpose alone Through summer and winter seem enchanted to a stone To trouble the living stream. (September 1913)

The "living stream" of pragmatism faces an endless conflict with the symbolic "stone" of singleminded devotion to Irish nationalism. Yeats leaves no doubt that the "stone" has permanently altered the course of Irish history. The "stone" remains implanted "in the midst of all." Paradoxically, the ideology that gave birth to the Irish Free State, also anchored Irish nationalists to one rigid and unyielding political objective, a free and independent United Ireland. Consequently, the "stone" in the "living stream" represents a double status obliged to subsequent questioning of the rebellion's role in Irish history. In the closing stanza of the poem, Yeats begins to inject sceptism, and possibly criticism into his commemorative poem by saying in the poem

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Too long a sacrifice/ can make a stone of the heart Yet, Yeats's admiration for the rebels' deed seems untainted by any sense of an unnecessary loss of life. He extends to them an eternal place in Irish history and sheds light upon his own Irish patriotism.

Irish history after 1916 confirms Yeats' fear of a cultic immortalization of the leaders' blood sacrifice. The middle- class rebels whom Yeats held in such contempt, were responsible for all that was "utterly changed" and the "terrible beauty" that was born. The executed patriots did indeed leave behind a legacy. The memory of their sacrifice continues to rise from their graves and inspire future generations to the cult of martyrdom.

Now and in time to be, Where ever green is worn, are changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born. (Easter 1916)

Thus, Yeats poem Easter 1916(1916) is specifically a response to a political event in Ireland. As the Norton editors footnote explains, the title, Easter 1916, is referring to the 1916 Easter Rebellion of the Irish nationalists against the British colonists. Yeats captures the essence of the passionate nationalists.

From cloud to tumbling cloud, Minute by minute change;

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A shadow of a cloud on the stream Changes minute by minute. (Easter 1916)

As expressed here by Yeats, the fact is that the nationalist faction is one of high emotion and whimsical political passion. Consequently, there is little reason guiding the nationalists cause, but, rather, the nationalists change their political attack and course minute by minute, which is an effect of a radical faction being compelled by the force of pathos. Moreover, Yeats also states of the nationalists in his poem, Enchanted to a stone / to trouble the living stream (Easter 1916, 43-44). The stone, representing the nationalist unity and adherence, impedes the flow of the stream, which is the nationalists cause. Thus, Yeats applauds the nationalists, or who are the enchanted stones; however, he is also criticizing some of them for being too emotionally motivated in following the nationalists faction, when they really have no rationalization or idea as to why they are fighting to preserve the Irish culture and identity. Yeats also communicated the passionate nature of politics in Ireland during the early part of the twentieth century. The high sense of nationalism in Yeatss works is obvious, and it is clear that his beliefs are reflected in his works. The Irish question affected Yeats and motivated him to write many poems that are considered one of the best written poems in the twentieth century. (Fakia)

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Yeatss poetic vision of an ideal Irish nature, with its basis in aristocratic heroic and peasant ideals, remained with the poet forever even as his attitude towards Ireland varied as e matured. Beginning with a celebration of the Irish past, its mythology and tradition, Yeats gradually began taking interest in the political life of Ireland. But as he entered deep into the political matters, and as he got further embroidered in nationalist issues and came to understand the public and relate with them, he was disillusioned with what he experienced. Yeats appreciated the visible beauty and mirth of the people and on the other hand talked of the good and evil in Irish life like all vigorous life. Yeats was aware that majority of the Irishmen needed education. He saw the proponents and followers of Irish nationalism utter commonplace opinions; as he wrote in 1907, Immediate victory, immediate utility became everything. He disapproved strongly their recourse to violence. He was discontent with the Irish politicians for they practiced hollow of reason and hypocrisy. Yeatss differences with the nationalist movement only served to strengthen his own personal ideal of Ireland; glorification of its heroes persisted even as he grew frustrated in the later period by the peoples hollowness and their failure to respond to his ideals so even while he says:

Out of Ireland have we come Great hatred, little room, Maimed us at the start. I carry from my mothers womb A fanatic heart. (A Remorse for the Intemperate Speech 1933)

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We can rather see the execution of a slow process in which Yeats became more realist and even pessimist under the strain of what goes on and around his life. There are a number of events that cause Yeats to question his missionlooking for alternatives to accomplish his dream of Irish Independence. (Feys) Yeats continues to be proud as an Irishman as in The Statues, he says: We Irish, born that ancient sect But thrown upon this filthy modern tide Climb to our proper dark,that we may trace The lineaments of a plummet-measured face He also advises Irish poets by saying:

Learn your trade, Sing whatever is well made, Scorn the sort now growing up

So that we in coming days may be Still, the indomitable Irishry. (Under Ben Bulben 1938)

He attracts such an interest because, as T. S. Eliot suggested about him, his history is also the history of his time. Yeats had a high sense of nationalism which becomes more evident when his work is compared with that of T.S Eliot. Eliot took Europe and its war-fragmented

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culture as its Wasteland. The English poets became disillusioned with their country after the First World War but Yeats who had spent two thirds of his life out of Ireland still retained Ireland as his imaginative homeland and this is truly depicted in his poetry. Yeats stands on a high footing as a modern poet who cultivated his patriotic feelings into his aesthetic genius and by doing so did a great nationalist service to his nation. Robert F. Garratt says about him

His idiom was too different for there to be any danger of imitationThe influence of which I speak is due to the figure of the poet himself, to the integrity of his passion for his act and craft which provided such an impulse for his extraordinary

development. (Garratt 20)

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Bibliography
Bell, Methew. Writing @ CSU. n.d. Web. 20 December 2012.
Derrickson, Ann L. 'Pindar and Yeats: The Mythopoeic Vision Pindar and Yeats:', Colbey Quarlerly 24(1998), 176-187. Web

Ellman, Richard. The Identity of Yeats. Faber & FAber, 1965. Print. Fakia, Cheboub. "Irish Nationlaism in the Later Peotry of William Butler Yeats." The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Ministry of Higher Education and Research (2009): 6465. Feys, Sander. "Cultural Nationalism in the Life and ork of W.B Yeats: The Man behind the Myth." Ghent University, Faculty of Arts and Philosophy (August 2012): 44. Garratt F. Robert. "Modern Irish Poetry: Tradition and Continuity from Yeats to Heaney". London: University of California Press Ltd, 1986. Print Parkinson, Thomas. W.B Yeats: The later Poetry. London: University of California Press Ltd, 1964. Print. Riley, Brendan. Nationalism of W.B Yeats and James Joyce. n.d. 21 December 2012. The 1916 Rising: personalities & Perspectives. n.d. Web. 25 December 2012.