William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was a famous Irish poet and writer who lived from June 13, 1865, to January 28, 1939. He played a crucial role in the Irish Literary Revival and co-founded the Abbey Theatre with Lady Gregory, where he served as the chief in its early years. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923 and later became a Senator of the Irish Free State.

He was born in Sandymount, Ireland, and came from a Protestant Anglo-Irish background. His father was both a lawyer and a successful portrait painter. He was educated in Dublin and London and spent his childhood holidays in County Sligo. He developed a fascination with Irish legends and the occult, and his interest in poetry started early. While in London, he became part of the Irish literary revival, influenced by poets like John Keats, William Wordsworth, and William Blake. His early works, published in 1889, showed inspiration from poets like Edmund Spenser and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

As the 20th century began, Yeats's poetry became more physical, realistic, and political. He moved away from his earlier transcendental beliefs but continued to explore cyclical theories of life. Yeats played a crucial role in the Irish Literary Theatre and supported younger poets like Ezra Pound. Some of his significant works include "The Land of Heart's Desire" (1894), "Cathleen ni Houlihan" (1902), "Deirdre" (1907), "The Wild Swans at Coole" (1919), "The Tower" (1928), and "Last Poems and Plays" (1940).

Early Years

William Butler Yeats was born in Sandymount, County Dublin, Ireland. His dad, John Butler Yeats, came from a family with a history in the military, business, and painting. His mom, Susan Mary Pollexfen, was from a wealthy merchant family in Sligo, and they moved there after William's birth. The family was artistic, with his brother Jack becoming a painter and his sisters Elizabeth and Susan Mary getting involved in the Arts and Crafts movement.

Yeats grew up as part of the Protestant Ascendancy, a minority group in Ireland facing identity challenges. His family supported changes in Ireland, but the nationalist movement affected their heritage. Yeats's early life was shaped by the shift in power away from the Protestant Ascendancy. His childhood coincided with significant changes in Ireland, including the rise of nationalist movements.

In 1867, the family moved to England to support John Yeats's career as an artist. William and his siblings were initially taught at home, where their mother shared Irish folktales. William started school in 1877 but struggled academically. He had difficulty with subjects like math and languages, but he loved biology and zoology. The family returned to Dublin in 1880 for financial reasons, and Yeats continued his education in various schools. During this time, he began writing poetry and exploring his artistic interests.

In 1888, the family moved to Bedford Park, where Yeats continued his education at Dublin's Erasmus Smith High School. He spent time in his father's studio, meeting artists and writers. Yeats started publishing poems in 1885, and between 1884 and 1886, he attended the Metropolitan School of Art.

Yeats began writing at seventeen, heavily influenced by poets like Percy Bysshe Shelley. His early works drew on Irish folklore, mythology, and the writings of William Blake. He published a novella and a story in 1891, showing the influence of Oscar Wilde in his aesthetics theory. Yeats's later plays reflected Wilde's ideas, with a focus on masks and sensuality.

Young Poet

The family went back to London in 1887. In March 1890, Yeats joined a group called the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He, along with Ernest Rhys, started the Rhymers' Club in London, where poets gathered to share their work. Yeats later referred to this group as the "Tragic Generation" and published two anthologies of their poetry in 1892 and 1894. He also collaborated on the first complete edition of William Blake's works.

Yeats had a deep interest in mysticism, spiritualism, and occultism throughout his life. He was a member of the paranormal research organization "The Ghost Club" and drew inspiration from the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. As early as 1892, he wrote about how his studies in magic influenced his writing, stating that the mystical life was central to everything he did.

One of Yeats's early poems was "The Island of Statues," a fantasy work inspired by poets like Edmund Spenser and Shelley. It was serialized in a magazine but was considered too long to be included in his first collection. His first solo publication was a pamphlet called "Mosada: A Dramatic Poem" in 1886, followed by the collection "The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems" in 1889. This collection included poems dating back to the mid-1880s.

In simpler terms, after returning to London in 1887, Yeats became part of a mystical group and co-founded a poetry club. He explored mysticism, spiritualism, and the occult throughout his life, influencing his poetry. His early works were published in pamphlets and collections, showcasing his interest in fantasy and mythology.

"The Wanderings of Oisin" is a poem inspired by Irish mythology, specifically the Fenian Cycle. It reflects the influence of Sir Samuel Ferguson and the Pre-Raphaelite poets. Yeats spent two years completing this work, and unlike some of his other works from that time, he didn't disown it later. The poem introduces a theme that became important in Yeats's writing: the preference for a contemplative life over an active one. After this poem, Yeats didn't attempt another long one. Some of his early poems explore themes of love, mysticism, and esoteric subjects, including collections like Poems (1895), The Secret Rose (1897), and The Wind Among the Reeds (1899). The covers of these volumes were illustrated by Yeats's friend Althea Gyles.

In 1885, Yeats played a role in forming the Dublin Hermetic Order. He got involved with the Dublin Theosophical Lodge in 1885, attending his first séance the next year. Yeats became deeply interested in Theosophy and hermeticism, especially the Rosicrucianism of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He joined the Golden Dawn in March 1890, taking the magical motto "Daemon est Deus inversus," which translates to 'Devil is God inverted.' He actively recruited members for the sect's Isis-Urania Temple, bringing in his uncle George Pollexfen, Maud Gonne, and Florence Farr. Despite his distaste for abstract and dogmatic religions centered around personality cults, he found like-minded individuals in the Golden Dawn. Yeats was involved in the Order's power struggles, including conflicts with Farr and Macgregor Mathers. He played a role when Mathers sent Aleister Crowley to reclaim Golden Dawn paraphernalia during the "Battle of Blythe Road." After the Golden Dawn disbanded and split into different groups, Yeats stayed with Stella Matutina until 1921.

Yeats Proposed Maud Gonne.

In 1889, Yeats met Maud Gonne, a 23-year-old English heiress and passionate Irish nationalist. Gonne, who admired Yeats's poem "The Island of Statues," sought to befriend him, and this sparked Yeats's intense infatuation with her. Their age difference was only eighteen months, and Gonne's influence had a significant and lasting impact on Yeats's poetry and his life. Yeats later acknowledged that Gonne brought excitement and intensity into his life.

However, Yeats's love for Gonne was not reciprocated, partly because he hesitated to join her in nationalist activities. In 1891, he visited Gonne in Ireland and proposed marriage, but she turned him down. This rejection marked a turning point in Yeats's life, and he admitted that it brought considerable turmoil. Despite three more proposals in 1899, 1900, and 1901, Gonne declined each time. To Yeats's disappointment, she married the Irish nationalist Major John MacBride in 1903. During this period, Yeats had another romantic involvement with Olivia Shakespear, whom he met in 1894 and separated from in 1897.

Yeats strongly criticized Major John MacBride in letters and poems after Maud Gonne married him. He was upset about losing his inspiration to another man, especially since Gonne converted to Catholicism before the marriage, which clashed with Yeats's Protestant/agnostic beliefs. He feared that priests might influence Gonne.

Gonne's marriage to MacBride turned out to be a disaster, which pleased Yeats. After the birth of their son, Seán MacBride, in 1904, Gonne and MacBride decided to end their marriage, but they couldn't agree on their child's well-being. Despite attempts at mediation, a divorce case took place in Paris in 1905. Gonne, with Yeats as her main supporter, made accusations against MacBride, but the only one that held up in court was that he had been drunk once during the marriage. The court granted a separation, with Gonne having custody of the baby and MacBride having visitation rights.

In 1895, Yeats moved to 5 Woburn Walk, where he lived until 1919. Despite the end of Yeats's friendship with Gonne, in Paris in 1908, they finally became intimate. One of Yeats's other lovers described it as the reward for years of fidelity. However, Yeats, less sentimental, later remarked that the tragedy of sexual intimacy is the perpetual innocence of the soul. By January 1909, Gonne was writing letters to Yeats praising the benefits for artists who refrain from sex. Almost twenty years later, Yeats recalled that night with Gonne in his poem "A Man Young and Old."

Marriage to Georgie Hyde-Lees

In 1916, at 51 years old, Yeats was determined to marry and have a child. With his rival John MacBride executed, he hoped that Maud Gonne, MacBride's widow, might reconsider marriage. Yeats proposed to Gonne one last time in mid-1916. Gonne's history of political activism and personal struggles, including addiction and a troubled marriage, made her potentially unsuitable. Yeats's proposal to Gonne seemed more a sense of duty than a genuine desire to marry her.

Yeats proposed to Gonne with conditions, expecting and hoping she would refuse. However, when she did, Yeats quickly shifted his interest to her daughter, Iseult Gonne. Iseult, Maud's second child, had a difficult life, initially presented as her mother's adopted niece. When Gonne divorced MacBride in 1905, allegations surfaced that he had assaulted Iseult when she was eleven. At fifteen, she proposed to Yeats in 1917, but he was rejected.

In September of that year, Yeats proposed to 25-year-old Georgie Hyde-Lees, known as George. Despite warnings from friends, she accepted, and they married in October 1917. Despite the age difference and Yeats's initial remorse, their marriage was successful. They had two children, Anne and Michael. While Yeats had other romantic relationships later on, Georgie expressed her understanding and loyalty. During their early years of marriage, they explored automatic writing, communicating with spirits, and developing a complex system of philosophy. This material became Yeats's book "A Vision" in 1925. In 1924, he acknowledged its significance, considering it his "book of books."

Death

In his later years, William Butler Yeats stayed important in Irish literature and politics. He served as a Senator in the Irish Free State for two terms, where he shared his thoughts in debates. Even though the political times were tough, Yeats stayed focused on his writing, creating important works. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923, recognizing his lasting influence on poetry.

As he got older, Yeats dealt with declining health, and he didn't feel as creative. The deaths of close friends, like Lady Gregory and his wife, George Hyde-Lees, were emotionally hard for him. In 1939, at 73 years old, Yeats passed away in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, due to complications from pneumonia.

Yeats didn't just leave behind poetry; he had a big impact on Irish culture and politics. His work in the Irish Literary Revival and the founding of the Abbey Theatre showed his dedication to Irish cultural identity. Even with his complex personal life and involvement in politics, Yeats's poems continue to show his deep understanding of human experiences and his ability to capture the essence of an era filled with social and political changes. His influence on literature and Irish identity remains strong, making him a significant figure in 20th-century literature.

Legacy

In Sligo town, a statue was made in 1989 to honor Yeats. Sculpted by Rowan Gillespie, it stands outside the Ulster Bank on Stephen Street and Markievicz Road. Yeats, on receiving his Nobel Prize, once remarked that the Royal Palace in Stockholm looked like the Ulster Bank in Sligo. The Yeats Memorial Building, home to the Sligo Yeats Society, is situated across the river. In Dublin's W. B. Yeats Memorial Garden at St Stephen's Green, you can find Henry Moore's sculpture "Standing Figure: Knife Edge."

Composer Marcus Paus created a choral work titled "The Stolen Child" in 2009, inspired by Yeats's poetry. Critics have praised it for capturing the enchanting mystery, danger, and melancholy of Yeats's words. Another composer, Julia Stilman-Lasansky, based her Cantata No. 4 on Yeats's text.

A blue plaque at Balscadden House in Howth commemorates Yeats's cottage home from 1880-1883. In London, a plaque was installed by the London County Council in 1957 at his former residence on 23 Fitzroy Road, Primrose Hill.

Conclusion

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), the renowned Irish poet and Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, led a life marked by literary brilliance and political engagement. A central figure in the Irish Literary Revival, Yeats's poetry evolved from romanticism to modernism, delving into themes like mysticism, nationalism, and love. Instrumental in establishing the Abbey Theatre, he actively engaged in Irish cultural and political affairs, even serving as a senator. Yeats's notable works, such as "The Tower" and "The Second Coming," reflect his profound reflections on the tumultuous times. His lasting impact on literature and Irish cultural identity ensures his enduring legacy.