W. B. Yeats Research Paper

“Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.”

-William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) is one of many men who have experienced the pains of life and gave them new voice on the world stage for the benefits of others but W.B. Yeats was not like any ordinary writer. On his shoulders was the responsibility to tell the history of an abused puppet plagued with war, suffering, and foreign meddling. Yeats is thought to be one of the most influential poets and playwrights of the 20th century. Analyzing his trail across history you will see a literary movement bursting with the revival of Irish culture. Born Protestant, Yeats was part of the minority that had been in control of

While Yeats is a part of that structure, born into a Protestant Anglo family, he dislikes everything about it. Yet Yeats at first did not move to upend this order. Yeats, an intelligent young man, struggled with the desire of being authentically Irish but not Catholic. He was trying to find a framework to live by. It is without a doubt that Yeats believed Ireland could be culturally independent from Britain, which could lead to a political independence. Ireland, like much of its history, was divided between the ruling Protestant minority and Catholic majority. This division became a powder keg as the centuries went on, finally hitting its breaking point at the end of the 19th century. Yeats became a part of a handful of writers that pushed the narrative reflecting a cause while also being on the sidelines. Yeats became a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood whose goal was to establish an independent republic of Ireland. The IRB was a propionate of the Home Rule Act which gave Ireland independence while still remaining under British law, such as countries like Canada. Nationality was the name of the game and both the Unionist (favored toward Britain) and the Irish nationalists were worried about the future of their home whether or not they believed in the same path. Yeats made to bridge this gap through literature by not

Leaders of both the Unionists and Nationalists called for volunteers to join the British Army with Nationalists claiming their future independence was in jeopardy. Irishman and Englishman fought alone side each other yet when they returned home things were no different. The IRB forged a plan to stage an uprising before the war’s end. While war raged in Ireland Yeats remained hidden on the sidelines holding back his poetry for as long as 4 years after the Rising. Yeats was torn by these events and ultimately used his poetry to commemorate the fallen figures of the movement. Yeats’ poem “Easter, 1916” creates an image of a new Ireland. Hidden within his poem is the idea of the rebirth of “Romantic Ireland”; the heroes returned and the glory restored. While Yeats was inspired by the Rising, critics wonder whether his feelings were truly that a rightful path was taken. Though the years after the Rising was hard the words of Yeats inspired those to look at what they accomplished and move forward. Though the leaders of the Rising were executed Yeats’ poem could be seen as a precursor to the fight that must be