W.B. Yeats and the Irish Renaissance

Paper Summary:

W.B. Yeats was instrumental in the Irish Renaissance theater and literary movement, but critics claim that much of the movement has more to do with fairies and folklore than the hard reality of Irish history. This paper discusses these issues and concludes that, whether the works from the Irish Renaissance were idealized versions of Ireland's history written by leprechaun fanciers, or whether the literary movement's authors were attempting to bend history to suit their political tastes, the fact remains that the Irish Renaissance did help to reshape the Irish people's view of their past and how they saw themselves in the present.

From the Paper:

"Blair-Ewart's argument is twofold. First, he sees the interpreters of Irish mythology and ancient chronicles as having only a superficial, subjective knowledge of Irish history that has no deep understanding of the causes or context of historically significant events. Blair-Ewart argues the Irish Renaissance authors interpreted events out of context with little or no historical evidence. This can be seen in Yeats' gleaning of folktales from peasants and publishing them as genuine Irish mythologies with little substantiation. Second, Blair-Ewart contends that the people behind the Irish Renaissance were attempting to use the past to help solve the problems of the present."

More papers on W.B. Yeats and the Irish Renaissance:

• Analytical Essay # 60504 : "W. B. Yeats: The Masked Poet"
• Poem Review # 111952 : "W.B. Yeats' "Leda and the Swan"
• Research Paper # 19964 : "W.B. Yeats and Ireland"

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