William Butler Yeats: A Reputable Irish Poet Hero of the 20th Century - Research Paper

Introduction

William Butler Yeats is a reputable poet hero of the 20th century. Born on June 13, 1865, in Dublin, Butler belonged to a minor group of Anglo-Irish Protestants who had control of the social-political, economic, and cultural activities of Ireland starting from the mid-17th century. As many of his homeland associates claimed to be English citizens who originated from Ireland, William Butler Yeats was very loyal to his nationality (Kitishat, 2019). For 14 years, Yeats followed his cultural roots in England, where he had relocated together with his family. His poems were Irish, portraying him as an elitist. However, elitism was the reason behind his magnificent history.

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The life of William Butler Yeats is quite mysterious and of great interest. He was very independent and followed his mind. Despite being born in a protestant group of Roman Catholics, Yeats separated himself from their faith as well as their historical Irish traditions. He felt the protestants were very much into material wealth - the reason he turned down their faith. Instead, Yeats strived to create a pagan culture more superficial than that of Roman Catholics, rooting it from the anthropological evidence of Irish traditions, customs, and holy practices (Kitishat, 2019). Yeats's separation from Protestants and Roman Catholics was essential in transforming his thoughts into poetry.

In his Kenyon Review Essay of 1948, W.H Auden- a fellow poet, highly praised William Butler Yeats of his boldness to adopt the modern necessity of making deliberate and lonely decisions which he believed was best for him (Massoudi, 2016). Further, Auden acknowledges Yeat's poetry as an exclusive art that represented his people and the country at large. Today, Yeat's poetry is highly recognized and appreciated in many English-speaking countries.

Together with his parents, they traveled back to their hometown in 1880 and enrolled for high school education. In 1883, he joined the Metropolitan School of Art at Dublin to associate with other poets and artists who played a crucial role in shaping his career. Meanwhile, Butler started his writing job. He managed to publish his first work, two belief lyrics, which featured in the Dublin University Review in 1885 (Massoudi, 2016). Later in 1887, Yeats's family moved again to London. He then took the initiative to become a professional write afterward ever. Yeats joined a Theosophical Society whose mysticism consisted of an imaginary life exclusive from the real world. Moreover, Yeats loved associating himself with poetic images and reading prophetic works of William Brake. Consequently, he became aware of other visionary traditions like Platonic and Swedenborgian.

Yeats's pioneer lyrics feature in The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems of 1889. The verses portray his high sensitivity to the beauty of art and nature. As time went by, Yeats adopted the life of London as he came across his equals, Arthur Symons and Lionel Johnson. In 1889, William Butler met Maud Gonne from Ireland, and at that period, he wrote, "The Troubling of my Life Began" (Ramusino, 2012). Yeats hopelessly loved Maud as she did not love him; she only admired his work. Maud convinced Yeats to join an Irish nationalist cause she was taking at that time. Although Yeats was partly convinced, love compelled him most.

Irish nationalists group had lost one of the most controversial leaders by name Charles Stewart Parnell in 1891. Consequently, the loss was severe to the group as it led to a rapid decline in its political life (Kitishat, 2019). Contrarily, the political death created an opportunity for Yeats to rally his career. He thought of filling the political vacuum by use of art, drama, poetry, and literature. Following his thoughts, Yeats documented The Celtic Twilight of 1893, which comprised of several verses (Ramusino, 2012). However, his efforts experienced little progress until 1898 when he came across Augusta Lady Gregory, who was an aristocrat. Furthermore, she became a playwright and the closest associate.

Lady Gregory was a great fan of old stories, having gathered several under one cover. Moreover, she was the lore of the West of Ireland- the reason Yeats liked her. According to Ramusino (2012), Yeats believed that if he could combine the wisdom with his true feelings of the past rituals, he could establish more genuine poetry, in personal terms, that would propel him to his identity (Oliveira, 2016). Yeats's thirst for Lady Gregory's wisdom made him spent most of his summers in her home in Cool Parke, Galway. Eventually, Yeats bought an old Norman Castle named Thoor Ballylee in the neighborhood.

Yeats proposed to in 1899, but she refused and married an Irish soldier (Major John MacBride) four years later (Oliveira, 2016). As a result, Yeats decided to devote his time to literature, drama, and art with the belief that his work would breed national cohesion and spiritualize Irish country. Together with Lady Gregory, they pioneered the Irish literary Theatre staging its first play at Dublin in 1899 (Kitishat, 2019). Yeats played Countess Cathleen. He was very dedicated to seeing his work thrive as he remained the director of the theatre till his death. Later, in 1994, Irish Literary Theatre changed to Abbey Theatre.

The period running from 1899 to 1907 was very crucial for Yeats as he managed the affairs of the theatre. Among many of his plays at the Abbey Theatre include The Land of Heart's Desire of 1894, Cathleen ni Houlihan of 1902, The Hour Glass of 1903, The King's Threshold of 1904, On Bailes's Strand of 1905, and Deirdre of 1907. Also, Yeats went ahead and published most of his volumes during this moment (Kitishat, 2019). The Poems of 1895 and the Wind Among the Reeds of 1899 were his first work to print. In The Seven Woods of 1903 and The GreenHelmet of 1910 followed suit with some editions.

Years from 1904 to 1914 signals Yeats's change of mind about his poetry work. Yeats clears the enchanting ambiance of the old lines and replaces them with more light and resonant imagination, which he uses to face reality and its imperfectness directly (Oliveira, 2016). Poems and a Play (1904) show this change of style. Yeats printed The Wild Swans at Coole in 1917, which helped him reach his height of achievements (Oliveira, 2016). The piece of work proved his mastery of a perfect technique in English Poetry. The Tower of 1928, showed that Yeats was an accomplished artist through a severe transformation from a long-life experience.

Subsequently, Yeats made another great piece of his work, The Winding Stair of 1929. Both of these poems show Yeats's advanced styles, such as the Easter Rising and the Irish Civil War, the Byzantine Empire, and its mosaics, including Plato, Plotinus, and Porphyry, and his incorporation of contemporary research. Addiitionally, A Vision (1925) as the piece that explains Yeats's philosophy, which addresses the relation between imagination, the occult, and history. All these three pieces marked a high turnover for William Butler Yeats as they marked his top achievements, which were to exist ever since (Kitishat, 2019). Also, Yeats became less involved in the theatre but still in charge.

The year 1913 was another crucial moment for Yeats as he spent several months at Stone Cottage, Sussex, with Ezra Pound, who was an American Poet. Ezra Pound acted as Yeats's secretary. Ezra Pound was very resourceful and useful in translating Japanese no plays, which provided Yeats with a framework to design drama for a small audience, mimicking the use of masks and dance moves (Massoudi, 2016). Adopting and applying such styles in his theatre played a significant role in attracting more viewers and also adding flavor to his plays. Four Plays for Dancers of 1921 and At the Hawk's of 1916 were some of the dramas that adopted the use of masks and dances.

William was still in love with Maud, but he could not marry her. She had raised a family by then. Instead, he proposed to Iseult Gonne, Maud's daughter. However, just like her mother, she declined the proposal. After a few weeks, Butler approached another lady Miss George Hyde-Lees, and she accepted him. They got married and raised a son and a daughter. Later, in 1922, Butler received an invitation to the Irish Free State Foundation, offering him a position in the newly formed Irish Senate (Massoudi, 2016). He worked in the Senate for six years. Yeats won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923. As a result, he earned himself an excellent reputation for poetry during the era.

During his senate term, Yeats produced poems that were personal, general, local, public, Irish, and even universal. In his nineteen hundred and nineteen verse, Yeats says he experienced profuse sweating, which was terrific at night because of the violence that surrounded him often (Potter, 2017). However, he could generalize the scaring facts by combining them with his history as well as the rest of the World. Writing poems addressing such terrific moments gave him the power to survive (Massoudi, 2016). Some of the poems he wrote to ease the moments include Michael Robartes and the Dancer (1921), The Tower (1928), which was rated best, The Wild Swans at Coole (1917),The Tower, The Winding Stair (1929), and Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems (1932).

Additionally, Butler's poems portray some elements which recognized the old age. Butler's romantic ballads of the 1890s contain several mentions of gray hair and weariness. Such pieces were his work at a young age. However, aging was really after him causing his health to depreciate as he neared death. His phrase "bodily decrepitude" shows that aging had finally become a reality and was no longer an imagination (Ramusino, 2012). Even though he was very aware of his health decline, his last 15 years signals his continual desire for life. His appetite is witnessed in his continued work to write plays. They include Sophocle's King Oedipus and Sophocle's Oedipus at Colonus and The Words Upon the Window Pane (1934), a long-detailed work regarding spiritualism (Potter, 2017). Additionally, Yeats documented several poems after his recovery from a warning illness. One of his poems entitled " The Wild Old Wicked Man" features in the 1938 New Poems of his own.

Yeats aged to witness Ireland changing in ways he disliked. Firstly, the Anglo-Irish Protestant minority lost its control over the culture of Irish people. Secondly, the death of his playwright Lady Gregory in 1932 lead to the desertion of the Coole Park Estate. Consequently, he felt detached from the great success of the Anglo-Irish tradition. According to his view, Yeats said that the greatness of Anglo-Irishmen like George Berkeley and Jonathan Swift opposed the normality of Irish society (Ramusino, 2012). Furthermore, his opinions on the subject appear in his plays; Purgatory (1938) and the essays of On the Boiler (1939).

The year 1936 marked another notable victory for William Butler Yeats. His collection of poems, Oxford Book of Modern Verse, 1892-1935, was published to the World. However, Butler was weary at this age. Yeats made The Herne's Egg (1938). His last work included New Poems and Last Poems and Two Plays, which appeared in 1938 and 1939, respectively (Potter, 2017). He died courageously and happily for his heroism in Ireland both in the old times and in the 18th century. In a smiling face, he talked with his famous stern sound and concluded his last poem, "Under Ben Bulben," "Cast a cold eye/On life, on death. Horseman, pass by!"

Throughout his final moment, William Butler Yeats maintained his creative imagery and distinguished it from the contemporary styles of poetry despite his association with many modern poets (Potter, 2017). He had no interest in Literary modernism except in cases where it was g...