The Poetry and Life of William Butler Yeats

Today, the world of poetry looks on William Butler Yeats as one of its own masters, a paragon of the craft. Ireland now turns to one of her own native sons for one of the most respected contributions to poetry that has ever made. Yeats, it turns out, is rightfully regarded as a one of the best there ever was when it comes to poetry, and with good reason. Before one can begin to understand Yeats's poetry, however, the complexities of the author must be taken into consideration.

William Yeats was born on June 13, 1865, in Dublin (Bloom, 11). Throughout the course of his life, two factors would come to dominate both his life and his work. Naturally enough, for the time period, the first of these was Irish Nationalism (Bloom, 11-12). Like many Irish at the time, he was staunchly in favor of Ireland's eventual separation from England and self-government. While this may seem like a mere political platform now, it was, at the time, a very personal conviction, and one which was bitterly held. So great was this nationalism that to overlook it would be like overlooking Socrates' adherence to his own philosophy, even in the face of death.

Yeats's other great passion, which, unlike his first, was actually quite different from the mainstream Irish population of the time, was occultism (Bloom, 11). Rather than being the unwavering Catholic that most Irish (and especially Irish nationalists) at the time were, he was held captive by a fascination with all things mystical and supernatural, with things both unexplained and unknown. This uncommon enchantment with the taboo was brought on largely by his father's having given up the family's long-held Christian beliefs (Yeats's great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather had both been ministers) when William was still a child (Ibid.). This, of course, left him open to explore what religious ideas he saw fit, and the history of Ireland, the nation which he loved so dearly, is for centuries entangled in ancient Celtic pagan myths, which bare a certain similarity to modern occultism.