William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

1. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

2. W. B. Yeats Life • He was born in Dublin, Ireland, into a middle-class family belonging to the Protestant minority. • When he was nine the family moved to London and made friends with the remaining members of the Pre-Raphaelites. • He studied painting. O’Connell Street Bridge in 1910

3. W. B. Yeats Life In 1889, when he was 24, he published his first book, The wanderings of Oisin (a dialogue between the aged Irish hero Oisin and St. Patrick)… … fell in love with an Irish actress and an ardent nationalist, Maud Gonne … who, some years later, married another man. Maud Gonne

4. W. B. Yeats Life 1890s: he met Lady Augusta Gregory. They founded the Irish Dramatic Movement, which settled in the Abbey Theatre, in Dublin. Lady Gregory The Abbey Theatre He published a series of essays,The Celtic Twilight,to promote an Irish renaissance.

5. W. B. Yeats Life After a period of frustration, depression and disillusionment, the Easter Rising of 1916,in Dublin, restored his faith in the heroic character of his country … …and he wrote the poem Easter 1916 to celebrate the sacrifice of the Irish rebels. Dublin, Easter Rising of 1916

6. W. B. Yeats Life In 1917 he married Georgie Hyde-Lees, who was a spiritualist medium and made experiments in automatic writing.

7. W. B. Yeats Life • He wrote poems, plays and prose works. • He was a member of the Irish Senate from 1922 to 1928. • In 1923 he was the first Irish author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.

8. W. B. Yeats Life • He died in Menton, France in 1939. • In 1948, his body was moved to Drumcliff, County Sligo,Ireland. "Cast a cold eye/ On life, on death/ Horseman, pass by."  from Under Ben Bulben (William Butler Yeats, 1939)

9. W. B. Yeats The phases of Yeats’s art 1stphase(1889 – 1900) languid and sensual atmospheres  use of Irish folklore  influence of the Pre-Raphaelites and William Blake. 2ndphase (1900 – 1914) realistic language dramatic and realistic themes 3rdphase (1914 – 1929)  interest in the occult  metaphysical themes  personal vision of the world 4th phase (1929 – 1939)  cold, detached serenity

10. W. B. Yeats Yeats’s vision of history According to Yeats, history is a mirror of the life of Man (from childhood to old age and finally death) and is formed by opposite cycles (like Vico’s “corsi e ricorsi”). Each age is the opposite of the previous one; an age of rule and authority will be followed by an age of anarchy and violence Eachcyclelastsabout 2000 years. Ithas a circulardevelopment, like a climbing spiral (gyre), whichgraduallyascends, reaches a climax, descends, isdestroyed and issoonreplaced by the followingcycle.

11. W. B. Yeats The Great Wheel A wheel with 28 spokes representing the twenty-eight phases of the lunar month. Every civilization passes through all twenty-eight phases of the wheel. One historical revolution of the wheel takes 2000 years.

12. W. B. Yeats The Gyre A single gyre resembles a funnel, which begins at a fixed point. At this climax, the single gyre “begins to retrace its path in the opposite direction”. From this point the spiral grows wider and wider until it reaches its maximum growth.

13. W. B. Yeats Yeats’s symbolism The most recurrent symbols in Yeats’s works are: the gyre process of birth, growth and dissolution the rose beauty, spiritual love, harmony the stone eternity, serenity the tree fertility, life birds the soul of man, youth the sea the unknown Byzantium the world of art and artistic creation

14. Easter 1916 The poem refers to the Irish rebellion against English rule, known as Easter Rising, which took place during World War I. On Easter Monday (April 24th) 1916, a group of Irish nationalists seized key points in Dublin (e.g. the central Post Office) and proclaimed a republic. Theyfoughtbravely, butwereoutnumbered and aftersixdaystheywerecompelled to surrender. Some of themdied in the rising, otherswereimprisoned or deported to England and sixteenwereexecuted. After the executions the rebelswereturnedintomartyrs.

15. Easter 1916: text analysis ll. 1-16 Poet’s recollection of the people who would later contribute to change the history of Ireland. He meets them at twilight, while on their way from work. He greets them and passes by in a general apathetic attitude and dull atmosphere ll. 17 – 40 Introduction of some of the people who took part in the revolt, describing them as ordinary people rather than heroes. What is underlined is the simplicity of their lives. These ordinary people devoted themselves to a cause.

16. Easter 1916: text analysis ll. 41-56 The central symbol of the stone represents the purpose which united the anonymous heroes to sacrifice themselves to the Irish cause. The inanimate object stands still in the stream, with resolution and determination. ll. 57 – 80 The stoniness of the heart is the result of a sacrifice imposed on the insurgents. The poet can only remember them and keep their memory alive by calling each by name. They died for their dreams and for an «excess of love» for their country.