Yeats's Poetry

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the use of magic, myth, and folklore in the poetry of W.B. Yeats, specifically in his book, "The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems". It specifically looks at how, in order to justify his views of the Irish independence movement and the value of Irish history, Yeats created his own form of elegiac verse. It explains that this verse both recreated the ancient forms of Irish epic myths based upon old folkloric tales and also created a new self-enclosed schema of mythology within the framework of the poet's own individualistic vision.

From the Paper:

"In contrast to his later, more famous works, this period of Yeats largely centered on Irish mythology and themes of the past, rather upon the individualistic, internal concerns of the human self, as was commensurate with modernism and Yeats later modernist attitudes and concerns. These poems often have a mystical, slow-paced, and lyrical style and quality. Among the best-known poems of the period are "Falling of Leaves", "When You Are Old", and particularly, "The Lake Isle of Innisfree". The last poem is one of the few that continues to be popular in the contemporary Irish and modernist canon, perhaps because of its greater emphasis on internal, rather than external concerns. Also, the speaker of this poem is quite self-evidently "the poet" as opposed to the assumed dramatic character of "The Wanderings of Oisin". "Innisfree" makes use of a harsh beginning, "And now I will go?" that jarringly takes the reader into the poet's vision and world in a way that would be stressed to an even greater degree in Yeats later more symbolic and modernist works."

More papers on Yeats's Poetry:

• Analytical Essay # 142230 : "Romanticism In Yeats' Poetry"
• Analytical Essay # 142242 : "Romanticism in William Butler Yeats' Poetry"
• Analytical Essay # 142243 : "Romanticism in Yeats' Poetry"
• Analytical Essay # 142458 : "Romanticism in William Butler Yeats' Poetry"

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