Yeats: Easter Rising and Ideal World
‘Yeats’s poetry is driven by a tension between the real world in which he lives and an ideal world that he imagines’
The poetry of Yeats gives a deep, profound and though-provoking experience. His sweepingly broad thematic focus deals with issues that are timeless and universal. We realise Yeats both is a very public and a very private poet, his work ranging from the personal and political, to Irish history and his own life experiences and emotions. He grew up in a very transitional time, where a world war and a civil war were both fought. This he captured in words such as ‘September 1913’, ‘Easter 1916’ and ‘The Stares Nest by my Window’. Later in life his preoccupation shifted and his work dealt with his obsession with immortality and the passing of time, until he eventually came to accept the inevitability of death. This is conveyed through ‘Sailing to Byzantium’.
The transitional years 1909-1914 were explored by Yeats in the anthology by ‘Sept 1913’. In this poem Yeats expressed his outrage at the middle class Catholic society, whom he felt were what was wrong with the way of life at the time. In a daring move he decided to deal with a political issue of that time that he felt so strongly about. He chastises the people for ruining the world that the great past heroes had fought so hard for.
His sarcastic tone in the opening stanza works well. He portrays his disgust at their actions
‘But fumble in a greasy till and add the half pence to the pence, and prayer to shivering prayer, for men were born to pray and save’.
He condemns these people for their actions. Not truly believing in what they do, but praying for the sake of it to save their souls in the next life. I completely agree with this assessment as I feel hypocrisy is the most unflattering of traits.
‘Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone’ is a lament for the patriots of old, who heroically fought for a better life. His anger is palpable at these miserly middle-class
The poetry of Yeats gives a deep, profound and though-provoking experience. His sweepingly broad thematic focus deals with issues that are timeless and universal. We realise Yeats both is a very public and a very private poet, his work ranging from the personal and political, to Irish history and his own life experiences and emotions. He grew up in a very transitional time, where a world war and a civil war were both fought. This he captured in words such as ‘September 1913’, ‘Easter 1916’ and ‘The Stares Nest by my Window’. Later in life his preoccupation shifted and his work dealt with his obsession with immortality and the passing of time, until he eventually came to accept the inevitability of death. This is conveyed through ‘Sailing to Byzantium’.
The transitional years 1909-1914 were explored by Yeats in the anthology by ‘Sept 1913’. In this poem Yeats expressed his outrage at the middle class Catholic society, whom he felt were what was wrong with the way of life at the time. In a daring move he decided to deal with a political issue of that time that he felt so strongly about. He chastises the people for ruining the world that the great past heroes had fought so hard for.
His sarcastic tone in the opening stanza works well. He portrays his disgust at their actions
‘But fumble in a greasy till and add the half pence to the pence, and prayer to shivering prayer, for men were born to pray and save’.
He condemns these people for their actions. Not truly believing in what they do, but praying for the sake of it to save their souls in the next life. I completely agree with this assessment as I feel hypocrisy is the most unflattering of traits.
‘Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone’ is a lament for the patriots of old, who heroically fought for a better life. His anger is palpable at these miserly middle-class