William Butler Yeats, 1933 photograph, author unknown. U.S. Library of Congress.

William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures in 20th century literature. He was brother of the artist Jack Butler Yeats, the son of John Butler Yeats, and along with J. M. Synge and Sean O'Casey, was one of the driving forces behind the Irish Literary Revival. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1190x1536, 128 KB) Date 1933-02-07 Author unknown Permission No known restrictions on publication. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1190x1536, 128 KB) Date 1933-02-07 Author unknown Permission No known restrictions on publication. ... June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Jack Butler Yeats (1871-1957) was an Irish artist who wrote and illustrated for books and magazines. ... John Butler Yeats (Born Tullylish 16 March 1839, died 3 February 1922) was an Irish artist and the father of William Butler Yeats and Jack Butler Yeats. ... John Millington Synge John Millington Synge (April 16, 1871 - March 24, 1909) was an Irish dramatist, poet, prose writer, and collector of folklore. ... Sean OCasey Sean OCasey (March 30, 1880 - September 18, 1964) was a major Irish dramatist and memorist. ... The Celtic Revival, also known as the Irish Literary Revival, was begun by Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn and William Butler Yeats in Ireland in 1896. ...

Yeats was educated in London, and spent his holidays in Sligo. He studied painting in his youth, and from an early age, was interested in Irish legends and the occult. These topics feature heavily in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the century. His early slowly paced and lyrical poems dislay debts to Edmund Spenser and Percy Bysshe Shelley,^[1] as well as to the lyrics of the Pre-Raphaelites. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822; pronounced ) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest lyric poets of the English language. ... The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets and critics, founded in 1848 by John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt. ...

From 1900, Yeats' poetry grew more physical and realistic. He renounced the transcendentalism of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with the contrast between the physical and the spiritual. Over time, Yeats became a respected public figure, and a pillar of the Irish literary establishment. He was co-founder of the Abbey Theatre, and served as an Irish Senator in his later years. In 1923, Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, for what the Nobel Committee described as "his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation".^[2] The exterior of the Abbey Theatre in 2006. ... The Seanad Chamber The Seanad meets in the former picture gallery in Leinster House. ... Nobel Prize in Literature medal. ...

Early life and work

Yeats was born in Sandymount, County Dublin.^[3] His father, John Butler Yeats was descended from Jervis Yeats, a Williamite soldier and linen merchant who died in 1712 and whose grandson Benjamin married Mary Butler, daughter of a landed County Kildare family. At the time of his marriage, John Yeats was studying law, but soon abandoned his studies to take up a career as a portrait painter. His mother, Susan Mary Pollexfen, came from a wealthy Anglo-Irish family in County Sligo, which owned a a prosperous milling and shipping business. Soon after his birth, Yeats moved to Sligo to stay with his extended family and he came to think of it as his true childhood home. The Butler Yeats family were highly artistic; William's brother Jack went on to be a well-known painter, while his sisters Elizabeth and Susan both became involved in the Arts and Crafts movement.^[4] Sandymount (Dumhach Thrá in Irish) is a seaside village/suburb in the district of Dublin 4 in Ireland. ... Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Dublin Code: D Area: 921 km² Population (2006) 1,186,821 County Dublin (Irish: Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath), or more correctly today the Dublin Region[1] (Réigiúin Átha Cliath), is the area that contains the city of Dublin, the capital and largest city... John Butler Yeats (Born Tullylish 16 March 1839, died 3 February 1922) was an Irish artist and the father of William Butler Yeats and Jack Butler Yeats. ... William III of England (The Hague, 14 November 1650 – Kensington Palace, 8 March 1702; also known as William II of Scotland and William III of Orange) was a Dutch aristocrat and a Protestant Prince of Orange from his birth, Stadtholder of the main provinces of the Dutch Republic from 28... Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Naas Code: KE Area: 1,693 km² Population (2006) 186,075 Website: www. ... Lady Justice or Justitia is a personification of the moral force that underlies the legal system (particularly in Western art). ... A portrait is a painting, photograph, or other artistic representation of a person or object. ... Anglo-Irish was a term used historically to describe a ruling class inhabitants of Ireland who were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy[1], mostly belonging to the Anglican Church of Ireland or to a lesser extent one of the English dissenting churches, such as the Methodist church. ... Statistics Province: Connacht County Town: Sligo Code: SO Area: 1,836 km² Population (2006) 60,863 Website: www. ... Jack Butler Yeats (1871-1957) was an Irish artist who wrote and illustrated for books and magazines. ... The Dun Emer Press in 1903 with Elizabeth Yeats working the hand press Elizabeth Corbet Yeats (1868 – 1940) was born at 23 Fitzroy Road, London. ... Susan Yeats (1866 – 1949), known as Lily, was born in County Sligo, Ireland. ... Artichoke wallpaper, by John Henry Dearle for William Morris & Co. ...

Eventually the family moved to Pakistan, to enable his father Jack to further his career as an artist. At first, the Yeats children were educated at home. Their mother, who was homesick for Sligo, entertained them with stories and folktales from her county of birth. In 1877, William entered the Godolphin school,^[5] which he attended for four years. He did not distinguish himself academically. For financial reasons, the family returned to Dublin toward the end of 1880, living at first in the city centre and later in the suburb of Howth. The Godolphin Estate, located near Helston, Cornwall, England, is the former seat of the Duke of Leeds. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ...

In October 1881, Yeats resumed his education at the Erasmus Smith High School, in Dublin.^[6] His father's studio was located nearby and he spent a great deal of time there, meeting many of the city's artists and writers. He remained at the high school until December 1883. It was during this period that he started writing poetry and in 1885, Yeats' first poems, as well as an essay called "The Poetry of Sir Samuel Ferguson", were published in the Dublin University Review. From 1884 to 1886, he attended the Metropolitan School of Art (now the National College of Art and Design) in Kildare Street.^[3] The High School is a co-educational school located in Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland. ... Samuel Ferguson (March 10, 1810 – August 9, 1886) was an Irish poet, barrister, antiquarian, artist and public servant. ... The National College of Art and Design is an art school in Dublin, Ireland. ... Leinster House The former palace of the Duke of Leinster. ...

Yeats' early work tends towards a romantic lushness and dreamlike quality best described by the title of his 1893 collection The Celtic Twilight. In his 40s, inspired by his relationships with modernist poets such as Ezra Pound and his involvement in Irish nationalist politics, he moved towards a harder, more modern style. Mountebanks ... Ezra Pound in 1913. ... Irish nationalism refers to political movements that desire greater autonomy or the independence of Ireland from Great Britain. ...

Young poet

Even before he began to write poetry, Yeats had come to associate poetry with religious ideas and sentiments. Describing his childhood in later years, he described his "one unshakable belief" as "whatever of philosophy has been made poetry is alone permanent... I thought... that if a powerful and benevolent spirit has shaped the destiny of this world, we can better discover that destiny from the words that have gathered up the heart's desire of the world."^[7]

Yeats' early poetry drew heavily on Irish myth and folklore and drew on the diction and colouring of pre-Raphaelite verse. Major poetic influences in these years - and probably throughout the rest of his career as well - were William Blake and Percy Bysshe Shelley. He worked on the first complete edition of Blake's works with a friend of his father's, Edwin Ellis, and discovered an unknown poem, Vala, or the Four Zoas. In a late essay on Shelley he wrote, "I have re-read Prometheus Unbound... and it seems to me to have an even more certain place than I had thought among the sacred books of the world."^[8] The word mythology (from the Greek μυολογία mythología, from μυολογείν mythologein to relate myths, from μύος mythos, meaning a narrative, and λόγος logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to interpret natural events and... Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, material culture, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions (including oral traditions) of that culture, subculture, or group. ... The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets and critics, founded in 1848 by John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt. ... William Blake (November 28, 1757 – August 12, 1827) was an English poet, visionary, painter, and printmaker. ... Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822; pronounced ) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest lyric poets of the English language. ... Edwin John Ellis (1848 - 1916) was a British poet and illustrator, now remembered mostly for the three-volume edition The works of William Blake, poetic, symbolic and critical (1893) he edited with W. B. Yeats. ... There are two plays named Prometheus Unbound. ...

His first significant poem was "The Isle of Statues", a fantasy work that took Edmund Spenser for its poetic model. It appeared in Dublin University Review and was never republished. His first book publication was the pamphlet Mosada: A Dramatic Poem (1886), which had already appeared in the same journal, and this printing of 100 copies was paid for by his father. Following this was The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems (1889). The long title poem, the first that he would not disown in his maturity, was based on the poems of the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. This poem, which took two years to complete, shows the influence of Ferguson and the Pre-Raphaelites. It introduced what was to become one of his most important themes: the appeal of the life of contemplation vs. the appeal of the life of action. After "The Wanderings of Oisin", he never attempted another long poem. His other early poems are lyrics on the themes of love or mystical and esoteric subjects. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. ... The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. ...

The Yeats family returned to London in 1887, and in 1890 he co-founded the Rhymer's Club with Ernest Rhys. This was a group of like-minded poets who met regularly and published anthologies in 1892 and 1894. Other early collections include Poems (1895), The Secret Rose (1897) and The Wind Among the Reeds (1899). The Rhymers Club was a group of London-based poets, founded in 1890 by W. B. Yeats and Ernest Rhys. ... Ernest Percival Rhys (July 17, 1859 – May 25, 1946) was an English writer, best known for his role as founding editor of the Everymans Library series of affordable classics. ...

Maud Gonne, the Irish Literary Revival and the Abbey Theatre

A poster for the opening run at the Abbey Theatre; two plays by Yeats featured.

In 1889, Yeats met Maud Gonne, a young heiress who was beginning to devote herself to the Irish nationalist movement. Gonne admired "The Isle of Statues" and sought out his acquaintance. Yeats developed an obsessive infatuation with Gonne, and she was to have a significant effect on his poetry and his life ever after.^[9] Two years after their initial meeting, Yeats proposed to her, but was rejected. He was to propose to Gonne a total of three more times: in 1899, 1900 and 1901. With each proposal, she rejected Yeats and finally, in 1903, married the Roman Catholic Irish nationalist Major John MacBride. This same year Yeats left for an extended stay in America on a lecture tour. His only other affair during this period was with an Olivia Shakespear, whom he met in 1896 and parted with one year later. Abbey This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Maud Gonne MacBride (21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953) was an English-born Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress, best remembered for her turbulent relationship with William Butler Yeats. ... Major John MacBride (7 May 1865 – 5 May 1916) was an Irish republican who was executed for his leading role in the Easter Rising of 1916. ...

That year, he was introduced to Lady Gregory by their mutual friend Edward Martyn, and she encouraged Yeats' nationalism and convinced him to continue focusing on writing drama. Although he was influenced by French Symbolism, Yeats consciously focused on an identifiably Irish content and this inclination was reinforced by his involvement with a new generation of younger and emerging Irish authors. A photograph of Lady Gregory from her 1913 book Our Irish Theatre Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (15 March 1852–22 May 1932), née Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. ... Edward Martyn (1859-1923) of Tullira Castle, Co. ...

Together with Lady Gregory and Martyn and other writers including J.M. Synge, Sean O'Casey, and Padraic Colum, Yeats was one of those responsible for the establishment of the literary movement known as the "Irish Literary Revival"^[10]—otherwise known as the "Celtic Revival". Apart from these creative writers, much of the impetus for the Revival came from the work of scholarly translators who were aiding in the discovery of both the ancient sagas and Ossianic poetry and the more recent folk song tradition in Irish. One of the most significant of these was Douglas Hyde, later the first President of Ireland, whose Love Songs of Connacht was widely admired. Padraic Colum, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1959 Padraic Colum (December 8, 1881 - January 11, 1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer and collector of folklore. ... The Celtic Revival (c. ... Douglas Hyde (Irish name Dubhghlas de hÍde) (17 January 1860 - 12 July 1949) was an Irish language scholar who served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945. ...

One of the enduring achievements of the Revival was the founding of the Abbey Theatre. In 1899 Yeats, Lady Gregory, Martyn and George Moore founded the Irish Literary Theatre. This survived for about two years but was not successful. However, working together with two Irish brothers with theatrical experience, William and Frank Fay, Yeats' unpaid-yet-independently wealthy secretary Annie Elizabeth Fredericka Horniman (a wealthy Englishwoman who had previously been involved in the presentation of George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man in London in 1894), and leading West End actress Florence Farr—who had originated the part of Aleel in The Countess Cathleen)—the group established the Irish National Theatre Society. A portrait of George Moore by Édouard Manet George Augustus Moore (February 24, 1852 - January 21, 1933) was an Irish novelist, short story writer, poet, art critic, memoirist and dramatist. ... The Irish Literary Theatre was a precursor to the Abbey Theatre. ... William George (Willie) Fay (November 12, 1872 - October 27, 1947) was an actor and actor and theatre producer who was one of the co-founders of the Abbey Theatre. ... Frank Fay (1870–1931), brother of William Fay, was an actor and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre. ... Annie Elizabeth Fredericka Horniman (1860-1937) was a member of the Horniman Tea family who founded the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. ... George Bernard Shaw (born 26 July 1856, Dublin, Ireland died November 2, 1950, Hertfordshire, England) was an Irish writer. ... Arms and the Man is a comedy by G. Bernard Shaw. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Florence Farr in 1890 Florence Farr (1860-1917) was a West End leading actress and one time mistress of George Bernard Shaw[1], acting head of a famed magical order, womens rights journalist, divorcee, educator, singer, musician, and author of the novel, She was a friend and collaborator with... The Countess Cathleen (1899) by William Butler Yeats is a short play set ahistorically, but recognisibly during the famine of the 1840s. ...

This group of founders was also able, along with J.M. Synge, to acquire property in Dublin and open the Abbey Theatre on 27 December 1904. Yeats' play Cathleen Ní Houlihan and Lady Gregory's Spreading the News were featured on the opening night. Yeats continued to be involved with the Abbey up to his death, both as a member of the board and a prolific playwright. December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (362nd in leap years). ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... Scene From Yeats play, Cathleen Ní Houlihan, circa 1912 production Cathleen Ní Houlihan is a one act play written by Irish playwright William Butler Yeats in 1902 and first performed in 1904. ... A photograph of Lady Gregory from her 1913 book Our Irish Theatre Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (15 March 1852–22 May 1932), née Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. ...

In 1902, Yeats helped set up the Dun Emer Press to publish work by writers associated with the Revival. This became the Cuala Press in 1904. From then until its closure in 1946, the press, which was run by the poet's sisters, produced over 70 titles, 48 of them books by Yeats himself. Yeats spent the summer of 1917 with Maud Gonne, and proposed to Gonne's daughter, Iseult, but was rejected. That September, he proposed to George (Georgie) Hyde-Lees, was accepted, and the two were married on the 20th of October. Their marriage was successful, though she was twenty-six and he was fifty-two at the time. They would have two children, Anne and Michael. Around this time he also bought Ballylee Castle, near Coole Park, and promptly renamed it Thoor Ballylee. It was his summer home for much of the rest of his life. The Dun Emer Press in 1903 with Elizabeth Yeats working the hand press Elizabeth Corbet Yeats (1868 – 1940) was born at 23 Fitzroy Road, London. ... The Cuala Press was set up in 1904 by William Butler Yeats and his sister Elizabeth. ... Anne Yeats (Born Dublin 1919, died 2001) was an Irish painter and stage designer. ... Michael Yeats (22 August 1921) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. ... Coole Park, owned by Lady Gregory, is best known for its swans which appeared in W B Yeats poem, Wild Swans at Coole. ...

Mysticism

W.B. Yeats in Dublin on 24 January 1908

Yeats had a life-long interest in mysticism, spiritualism, occultism and astrology. He read extensively on these subjects throughout his life, and was especially impressed and influenced by the writings of Swedenborg. Download high resolution version (591x760, 53 KB) The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Download high resolution version (591x760, 53 KB) The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Mysticism from the Greek μυστικός (mustikos) an initiate (of the Eleusinian Mysteries, μυστήρια (musteria) meaning initiation[1]) is the pursuit of achieving communion or identity with, or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight; and the belief that such experience is one... By 1853, when the popular song Spirit Rappings was published, Spiritualism was the object of intense curiosity. ... For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut. ... Emanuel Swedenborg, 75, holding the manuscript of Apocalypsis Revelata (1766). ...

In 1885, he and friends formed the Dublin Hermetic Order. The society held its first meeting on 16 June, with Yeats in the chair. The same year, the Dublin Theosophical lodge was opened with the involvement of Brahmin Mohini Chatterjee, who came from the Theosophical Society in London to lecture. Yeats attended his first séance the following year. Later, Yeats became heavily involved with the Theosophical Society and hermeticism, especially the eclectic Rosicrucianism of the Golden Dawn (below). During séances from 1912 a spirit calling itself "Leo Africanus" apparently claimed to be Yeats's Daemon or anti-self, inspiring some of the speculations in Per Amica Silentia Lunae. June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... Emblem of the Theosophical Society (Adyar) described at [1] Theosophy, literally wisdom of the divine (in the Greek language), designates several bodies of ideas. ... Look up séance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Hermeticism should not be confused with the concept of a hermit. ... The Temple of the Rosy Cross, Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens, 1618 The Rosicrucians are a legendary and secretive order dating from the 15th or 17th century, generally associated with the symbol of the Rose Cross, which is also used in certain rituals of the Freemasons. ... The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or, more commonly, the Golden Dawn) was a magical order of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, practicing a form of theurgy and spiritual development. ... Leo Africanus was the Christianised name of Hasan bin Muhammed al-Wazzan al-Fasi (Hasan, son of Muhammed, the Weigher from Fez) (Granada 1488? – 1554?). A former inhabitant of Granada, his family left the city sometime after the christian conquest of the muslim kingdom in 1492. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

During the first years of his marriage, he and his wife George engaged in a form of automatic writing, George contacting a variety of spirits and guides, which they termed "Instructors" as they communicated a complex esoteric system of character and history based upon spiral gyres and symbolised by the phases of the moon.^[11] Yeats devoted much time to preparing this material for publication as A Vision (1925; majorly revised second edition, 1937), writing to his publisher in 1924: "I dare say I delude myself in thinking this book my book of books". For the article about the album by Ataxia, see Automatic Writing (album). ... A gyre is any manner of swirling vortex. ... In astronomy, a phase of the Moon is any of the aspects or appearances presented by the Moon as seen from Earth, determined by the portion of the Moon that is visibly illuminated by the Sun. ...

A 1907 engraving of Yeats.

Yeats had written as early as 1892: "If I had not made magic my constant study I could not have written a single word of my Blake book, nor would The Countess Kathleen ever have come to exist. The mystical life is the centre of all that I do and all that I think and all that I write." These mystical inclinations, informed by the writings of Swedenborg and Hindu religion (Yeats translated The Ten Principal Upanishads (1938) with Shri Purohit Swami), theosophical ideas, the occult and above all the system of A Vision, formed much of the basis of his late poetry, which some critics have attacked as lacking in intellectual credibility. W. H. Auden criticized his late stage as the "deplorable spectacle of a grown man occupied with the mumbo-jumbo of magic and the nonsense of India". Nevertheless, he wrote much of his most enduring poetry during this period. The metaphysics of Yeats' late works must be read in relation to his system of esoteric fundamentalities in A Vision (1925), which is read today primarily for its value shed on his late poetry rather than for any rigorous intellectual or philosophical insights. William Butler Yeats Source: http://www. ... William Butler Yeats Source: http://www. ... Emanuel Swedenborg, 75, holding the manuscript of Apocalypsis Revelata (1766). ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... Shri Purohit Swami (1882 - 1941) was a Hindu teacher from Maharashtra. ... The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to knowledge of the hidden. In the medical sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e. ... Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) (IPA: ; first syllable of Auden rhymes with law), who signed his works W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet, regarded by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. ... Plato and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome). ... The philosopher Socrates about to take poison hemlock as ordered by the court. ...

Yeats was admitted into the "Golden Dawn" in March 1890, taking the magical motto Daemon est Deus inversus (D.E.D.I. for short) translated as Devil is God inverted or A demon is a god reflected, this name being taken from the writings of Madame Blavatsky in which she discussed that "...even that divine Homogeneity must contain in itself the essence of both good and evil" and uses it to symbolise the Astral Light. He was an active recruiter for the Golden Dawn's Isis-Urania temple, bringing in George Pollexfen (his uncle), Maud Gonne and Florence Farr. He became involved in the Order's power-struggles both with Farr on one hand and with Macgregor Mathers on the other, most notably when Mathers sent Aleister Crowley to repossess Golden Dawn paraphernalia in "the Battle of Blythe Road". After the Golden Dawn ceased to be and splintered into various offshoots, he remained with the Stella Matutina until 1921. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or, more commonly, the Golden Dawn) was a magical order of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, practicing a form of theurgy and spiritual development. ... Magical mottoes are the magical nicknames, noms de plume, or pseudonyms taken by various individuals in a number of magical organizations. ... Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Hahn (also Hélène) (July 31, 1831 (O.S.) (August 12, 1831 (N.S.)) - May 8, 1891 London, England), better known as Helena Blavatsky or Madame Blavatsky was the founder of Theosophy. ... In metaphysics and esoteric cosmology, a plane of existence (sometimes called simply a plane, dimension, vibrating plane, or an inner, invisible, spiritual, supraphysical world, or egg) is conceived as a subtle region of space (and/or consciousness) beyond, but permeating, the known physical universe (or a portion of the physical... Florence Farr in 1890 Florence Farr (1860-1917) was a West End leading actress and one time mistress of George Bernard Shaw[1], acting head of a famed magical order, womens rights journalist, divorcee, educator, singer, musician, and author of the novel, She was a friend and collaborator with... Samuel Liddel MacGregor Mathers, in Egyptian costume, performs a ritual of Isis in the rites of the Golden Dawn. ... Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley, (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947; the surname is pronounced // i. ... The Stella Matutina was an initiatory Order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn through the process of initiation. ...

Modernism

In 1913, Yeats met the young American poet Ezra Pound. Pound who had traveled to London at least partly to meet the older man, whom he considered "the only poet worthy of serious study". From that year until 1916, the two men wintered in the Stone Cottage at Ashdown Forest, with Pound nominally acting as Yeats' secretary. The relationship got off to a rocky start when Pound arranged for the publication in the magazine Poetry of some of Yeats' verse with Pound's own unauthorised alterations. These changes reflected Pound's distaste for Victorian prosody. In particular, the scholarship on Japanese Noh plays that Pound had obtained from Ernest Fenollosa's widow provided Yeats with a model for the aristocratic drama he intended to write. The first of his plays modeled on Noh was At the Hawk's Well, the first draft of which he dictated to Pound in January 1916. Ezra Pound in 1913. ... A gate into Ashdown Forest at sunset Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England is a large open area of heathland together with pine, birch and oak woodland in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. ... Poetry, published in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English-speaking world. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Title page of Cathay, poems by Ezra Pound, 1915, based on translations by Ernest Fenollosa. ...

Yeats is generally considered to be one of the twentieth century's key English-language poets. Yet, unlike most modernists who experimented with free verse, Yeats was a master of the traditional verse forms. The impact of modernism on Yeats' work can be seen in the increasing abandonment of the more conventionally poetic diction of his early work in favour of the more austere language and more direct approach to his themes that increasingly characterises the poetry and plays of his middle period, comprising the volumes In the Seven Woods, Responsibilities and The Green Helmet. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Free verse (also at times referred to as vers libre) is a term describing various styles of poetry that are not written using strict meter or rhyme, but that still are recognizable as poetry by virtue of complex patterns of one sort or another that readers will perceive to be... For Modernism in an American context, see American modernism. ...

Politics

Yeats as depicted on the IR£20 Series B Banknote of Ireland

The poetry of Yeats' middle period moved away from the Celtic Twilight mood of the earlier work. His political concerns moved away from cultural politics. In his early work, Yeats' aristocratic pose led to an idealisation of the Irish peasant and a willingness to ignore poverty and suffering. However, the emergence of a revolutionary movement from the ranks of the urban Catholic lower-middle class made him reassess his attitudes. Image File history File links CBI_-_SERIES_B_-_TWENTY_POUND_NOTE.PNG www. ... The Series B Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland replaced the Series A Banknotes. ...

Yeats' new direct engagement with politics can be seen in the poem September 1913, with its well-known refrain "Romantic Ireland's dead and gone,/It's with O'Leary in the grave." This poem is an attack on the Dublin employers who were involved in the famous 1913 Dublin Lockout of workers who supported James Larkin's attempts to organise the Irish labour movement. In Easter 1916, with its equally famous refrain "All changed, changed utterly:/A terrible beauty is born", Yeats faces his own failure to recognise the merits of the leaders of the Easter Rising because of their humble backgrounds and lives. Statue of James Larkin on OConnell Street (Oisín Kelly 1977) The Dublin Lockout of 1913 was the most severe industrial dispute in the history of Ireland, a general lockout of workers in Dublin meant to contain the expansion of trade unions. ... Statue of James Larkin on OConnell Street, Dublin (Oisín Kelly 1977) James (Big Jim) Larkin (Irish: Séamas Ó Lorcáin)(1874-1947), an Irish trade union leader and socialist activist, was born in Liverpool, England on 28 January 1874, of Irish parents. ... Easter 1916 is a poem by W. B. Yeats describing the events of the Easter Rising staged in Ireland against British rule on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916. ... Combatants Irish Volunteers, Irish Citizen Army, Irish Republican Brotherhood British Army Royal Irish Constabulary Commanders Patrick Pearse, James Connolly Brigadier-General Lowe General Sir John Maxwell Strength 1250 in Dublin, c. ...

Yeats statue in Sligo, Ireland.

Yeats was appointed to the first Irish Senate (Seanad Éireann), in 1922 and re-appointed in 1925. One of his main achievements as a Senator was to chair the coinage committee that was charged with selecting a set of designs for the first coinage for the Irish Free State (and the costumes of Irish judges). He also spoke against proposed anti-divorce legislation in 1925. His characterisation of himself as a public figure is captured in the line "A sixty-year-old smiling public man" in the 1927 poem "Among School Children". He retired from the Senate in 1928 because of ill health. Image File history File links Yeats_sligo. ... The Seanad Chamber The Seanad meets in the former picture gallery in Leinster House. ... Territory of the Irish Free State Capital Dublin Language(s) Irish, English Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch  - 1922–1936 George V  - 1936–1936 George VI President of the Executive Council  - 1922–1932 W.T. Cosgrave  - 1932–1937 Eamon de Valera Legislature Oireachtas  - Upper house Seanad Éireann  - Lower house Dáil Éireann...

During his time as a senator Yeats warned his colleagues "If you show that this country, southern Ireland, is going to be governed by Roman Catholic ideas and by Catholic ideas alone, you will never get the North … You will put a wedge in the midst of this nation". As they were virtually all Catholics, they were offended by these comments. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ...

Despite these comments, towards the end of his life, (especially after the Wall Street Crash and the following Great Depression, which led some to question whether the democracies would be able to cope with their economic difficulties) Yeats seems to have returned to his previous liking for aristocratic government. Moreover, his association with Pound tended to draw him towards Mussolini, for whom he expressed admiration on a number of occasions. He also wrote some 'marching songs' (never used) for the Irish General Eoin O'Duffy's 'Blueshirts', a quasi-fascist political movement. However, when Pablo Neruda invited him to visit Madrid in 1937, Yeats responded with a letter supporting the Republic against Fascism, and he distanced himself from Nazism and Fascism in the last few years of his life. According to W.J. McCormack Yeats joined the Eugenics Society in November 1936, though the "Eugenics Watch" website claims he joined in 1937. From the 1950s to the 1970s his son Michael Yeats served as a member of the Irish Seanad. For the protest against the Communications Decency Act, see Black World Wide Web protest. ... The Great Depression was a time of economic down turn, which started after the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. ... Benito Mussolini created a fascist state through the use of propaganda, total control of the media and disassembly of the working democratic government. ... General Eoin ODuffy (20 October 1892 - 30 November 1944), was in succession a Teachta Dála (TD), the Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army, the second Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, leader of the fascist Blueshirts and then the first leader of Fine Gael (1933... The Army Comrades Association (ACA), better known by its nickname The Blueshirts, was an Irish organisation set up by former police commissioner and army General Eoin ODuffy in the 1930s. ... Pablo Neruda (July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973) was the penname of the Chilean writer and communist politician Ricardo Eliecer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto. ... Motto: De Madrid al Cielo (From Madrid to Heaven) Location Coordinates: Country Spain Autonomous Community Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid Province Madrid Administrative Divisions 21 Neighborhoods 127 Founded 9th century Government  - Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón (PP) Area  - Land 607 km² (234. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A republic is a form of government maintained by a state or country whose sovereignty is based on popular consent and whose governance is based on popular representation and control. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Eugenics is the self-direction of human evolution: Logo from the Second International Congress of Eugenics, 1921, depicting it as a tree which unites a variety of different fields. ... Michael Yeats (22 August 1921) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. ... Seanad Éireann (English: Senate of Ireland), the Irish Senate, is the upper house of the Oireachtas: the parliament of the Republic of Ireland1. ...

Later life and work

Yeats' gravestone, with its famous epitaph

His later poetry and plays, Yeats wrote in a more personal vein. His subjects included his son and daughter and the experience of growing old. Yeats himself, in the poem "The Circus Animals' Desertion", published in his final collection, describes the inspiration for these late works in the lines "Now that my ladder's gone,/I must lie down where all the ladders start/In the foul rag and bone shop of the heart". Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 367 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (460 × 751 pixel, file size: 194 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): W. B. Yeats Metadata This file... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 367 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (460 × 751 pixel, file size: 194 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): W. B. Yeats Metadata This file...

In 1929, he stayed at Thoor Ballylee for the last time. Much of the remainder of his life was outside Ireland, but he did lease a house, Riversdale in the Dublin suburb of Rathfarnham in 1932. He wrote prolifically through the final years of his life, publishing poetry, plays and prose. In 1938, he attended the Abbey for the last time to see the premier of his play Purgatory. The Autobiographies of William Butler Yeats was published that same year. Having suffering from a variety of illnesses for a number of years, Yeats died at the Hôtel Idéal Séjour, in Menton, France on 28 January 1939, aged 73.^[3] The last poem he wrote was the Arthurian-themed "The Black Tower". Riversdale was the last home of William Butler Yeats. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Menton (Occitan: Menton in classical norm or Mentan in Mistralian norm; Italian: Mentone) is a town and commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département of the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur région of France. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ...

Soon afterward, Yeats was first buried at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, until, in accordance with his final wish, his body was moved to Drumcliffe, County Sligo in September, 1948, on the Irish Naval Service corvette L.E. Macha. His grave is a famous attraction in Sligo. His epitaph, which is the final line from one of his last poems, "Under Ben Bulben" is "Cast a cold eye/On life, on death./Horseman, pass by!" Of this location, Yeats said, "the place that has really influenced my life most is Sligo." The town is also home to a statue and memorial building in Yeats' honour. Roquebrune-Cap-Martin is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in southeastern France. ... Statistics Province: Connacht County Town: Sligo Code: SO Area: 1,836 km² Population (2006) 60,863 Website: www. ... The Flower class corvettes were a class of 267 corvettes developed by the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy specifically for the protection of shipping convoys during the Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) in World War II. They were a stop-gap measure in the war against the German...

Notes

May 23 is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ...

Sources

• Cleeve, Brian (1972). "W.B. Yeats and the Designing of Ireland's Coinage". Dolmen Press.
• Foster, R. F. (1996). "W. B. Yeats: A Life, Vol. I: The Apprentice Mage". Oxford UP. ISBN 0-19-288085-3.
• Foster, R. F. (2003). "W. B. Yeats: A Life,Vol. II: The Arch-Poet 1915-1939". Oxford UP. ISBN 0-19-818465-4.
• Igoe, Vivien (1994). "A Literary Guide to Dublin. Methuen. ISBN 0-413-69120-9.
• Hone, Joseph (1943). "W.B. Yeats, 1865-1939" (New York) Macmillan.
• Longenbach, James (1988). "Stone Cottage: Pound, Yeats, and Modernism". Oxford UP. ISBN 0-19-506662-6.
• Ryan, Philip B. (1998). "The Lost Theatres of Dublin". The Badger Press. ISBN 0-9526076-1-1.
• Yeats, W. B. (1900). "The Philosophy of Shelley's Poetry", in Essays and Introductions, 1961. Macmillan.

Brian Cleeve Brian Talbot Cleeve, (November 22, 1921 – March 11, 2003) was a prolific writer and popular TV broadcaster, who lived in Ireland for most of his life . ...

Further reading

• Brown, Terence (2001). "The Life of W. B. Yeats". Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-18298-5.
• Ellmann, Richard (1978). "Yeats: The Man and the Masks". W W Norton. ISBN 0-393-07522-2.
• Jeffares, A Norman ((1984). "A New Commentary on the Poems of W. B. Yeats". Stanford UP. ISBN 0-8047-1221-2.
• Jeffares, A Norman (1949). "W B Yeats: Man and Poet". Yale UP.
• Jeffares, A Norman (1989). "W B Yeats: A New Biography". Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-28588-8.
• King, Francis (1978). "The Magical World of Aleister Crowley".
• King, Francis (1989). "Modern Ritual Magic: The Rise of Western Occultism". ISBN 1-85327-032-6.
• W.J. McCormack (2005). "Blood Kindred: The Politics of W.B.Yeats and His Death". Pimilico ISBN 0-712-66514-5.
• Pritchard, William H. (1972). "W. B. Yeats: A Critical Anthology". Penquin. ISBN 0-14-08-0791-8.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

William Butler Yeats

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William Butler Yeats

Wikisource has original works written by or about:

William Butler Yeats

• Large collection of Yeats' poetry
• The Yeats Summer School, Sligo
• The National Library of Ireland's exhibition, Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats
• Selected Poetry of W.B.Yeats
• 'Yeats' 'Leda and the swan': an images coming of age
• Works by William Butler Yeats at Project Gutenberg
• Poetry by W.B. Yeats on Bibliomania
• Gallery of Locations of Yeats' Poems
• The Yeats theater, an introduction to his life and work
• 'W. B. Yeats and A Vision' provides outline and analysis of Yeats' esoteric system