William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

• Prominent Irish literary figure

• Member of Rhymers Club

• Fascinated with myth

• Wants to re-make myths and symbols

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William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

• Begins to see his poetry linked to Irish culture

• Becomes fascinated with Irish lore

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William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

• Comes to detest the middle classes

• Likes the rich and the peasants

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

• Becomes invested in Irish politics

• Becomes Senator of Irish Free State

Maud Gonne

• Yeats’s long-time obsession

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Lady Gregory

• Important figure in creating Irish National theatre

• Collaborates with Yeats

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Irish National Theatre• Important site for

Irish literary politics• Dramatists like

Yeats and Lady Gregory re-tell Irish history and stories

• Plays often included political overtures

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Celtic Renaissance

• 1885-1939—death of Yeats• Return to Irish history, legend,

folklore, and native literary models• Most of the writing was still in English• AE (George Russell), Lady Gregory,

John Millington Synge, Sean O’Casey, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Edna O’Brien, Eavan Boland

“Easter 1916” (1920)

• Vital poem to Modern Irish politics• Recalls prominent event in Modern

Irish politics—Easter Rebellion• Haunting Imagery

“Easter 1916” (1920)

• “They lived minute by mine”• “Too long a sacrifice—makes stone of

heart”

“The Second Coming” (1921)

• 2106: “uncontrollable falcon”• Allusion to Mid-Summer Night’s

Dream by William Shakespeare• Second coming at hand

“Leda and the Swan” (1928)

• Recalls mythical rape of Leda by Zeus disguised as swan

• Sexual encounter becomes assault• Recalls fall of Troy

T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)

• American born—becomes English

• Dominant voice in Modernist Age

• Formal poetic experimentation

• 1922: Wasteland—may be the most important poem of the 20th century

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T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)• Felt poetry must

become comprehensive

• Sought to revive poetry that had become dead

• Has close ties to Romanticism

• Really wants to revive classic aesthetic

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T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)

• Many allusions and literary references

• Early poetry concerned with wasteland imagery

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T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)• Late poetry and

drama concerned with religious matters

• Later poems have much calmer poetic

• “Tradition and Individual Talent”

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“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1917)

• “sky like etherized patient”• Women coming and going

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“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1917)

• 2365: “Time for indecisions”• Time to wonder, “Do I dare?”• 2366: “Should I force the moment?”• Reference to John the Baptist myth

“Journey of the Magi” (1927)

• Dramatic monologue/lyric• 2386: “worst time of year to travel”• Hard journey

“Journey of the Magi” (1927)

• “Was it for birth or death?”• “This birth was like death for us”• Returned to native land with alien

people clutching their gods