Ireland and Irish Nationalism in the Poetry of William Butler Yeats

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Ireland and Irish Nationalism in the Poetry of William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, a dramatist, and a prose writer - one of the greatest English-language poets of the twentieth century. (Yeats 1) His early poetry and drama acquired ideas from Irish fable and arcane study. (Eiermann 1) Yeats used the themes of nationalism, freedom from oppression, social division, and unity when writing about his country. Yeats, an Irish nationalist, used the three poems, “To Ireland in the Coming Times,” “September 1913” and “Easter 1916” which revealed an expression of his feelings about the War of Irish Independence through theme, mood and figurative language.

The theme of nationalism dominates in “To Ireland in the Coming times” and in “Easter 1916.” In the former poem, Yeats suggested the idea of Irish brotherhood to achieve justice for Ireland, “True brother of a company, that sang, to sweeten Ireland’s wrong” (Finneran 50). Although he wanted to fight for Ireland’s freedom, he did not participate in any military activities. Instead, he used songs and poems to reflect the situation in Ireland:
I cast my heart into my rhymes,
That you, in the dim coming times,
May know how my heart went with them (Finneran 51)

In the latter poem, he mentioned the names of the national heroes such as MacDonagh who died for the rebellion (Abrams 2308) and said, “Now and in time to be, / Whenever green is worn,” (Finneran 182). Green, being the colour of the soldiers’ uniforms and also the national colour of Ireland, alluded that the war was still going on in Ireland.

The theme of freedom from oppression was introduced in “September 1913.” Although Yeats loved his country, he often criticized it. He left Ireland after he publish...

... middle of paper ...

...d support the themes and moods that he used in different poems and he persuaded his readers to believe what he said was true. When comparing these three different elements in the poems, mood is the most effective technique since nationalism is based on the emotions one feels for one’s country. The mood is what links the themes and figurative language that attract readers’ attention.

Bibliography:

Works Cited List

Abrams, M. H. et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 5th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1986.

Eiermann, Katharena. “Katharena’s ‘The Magic of Yeats’.” Yeats: Life and Times http://members.aol.com/KatharenaE/private/Pweek/Yeats/YLife.html (17 Feb. 2001).

Finneran, Richard J. The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats. 2nd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1996.

“Yeats, William Butler”. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1996 ed.

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