William Butler Yeats’ literary career spans over 50 years during

which he produced remarkable poems and plays. Yeats’ family

was formative influence in moulding poet’s mental outlook. His
father was an artist and author and through his father William
developed a liking for Blake, Shelly, Keats, Morris and Pre-
Raphaelites which again was due to his father’s liking of this
school of painting. The influence of Blake and his mysticism was
most profound and it greatly shaped up the poetic output of Yeats.
From her mother, young William developed deep love for Irish
mythology and countryside especially Sligo where is spent his
early years. The Irish folklore also inculcated an interest in fairies
and ghosts.
Yeats is essentially a poet of Irish tradition and writes a great deal
about past and present of Ireland and its dreams and aspirations
in his poetry. It is quite appropriate that he is the national poet of
Ireland and the poet of Celtic Twilight, drawing themes from local
traditions and Gaelic mythology and from his knowledge of
mysticism, magic and the occult. His poetry calls for highlighting
the tradition of Ireland that found reflection in surviving customs,
beliefs and folklores.
In 1867 when Yeats was only two, his family moved to London.
Nonetheless, he spent much of his boyhood and school vacations
in Silgo with his grandparents. It was the scenery, folklore and
legends of the land that coloured Yeats’ work and served as the
backdrop his several poems. The first volume of his poetry
appeared in the Dublin University Review in 1885. The early
poetry of Yeats such as “The Island of Statues” was largely
influenced by Spenser, Shelly and Pre-Raphaelites. But soon he
turned to Irish mythology and folklore.
In Yeats’ time politics was a force in Ireland and the spirit of
nationalism was on high. The Irish leaders were often exalted and
glorified amidst the struggle and bloodshed for independence.
Not able to keep himself aloof from the political situation, Yeats as
a nationalist evoked Irish traditions and lifestyle through his
poems.
In 1885 Yeats met John O’Leary who stirred in him the desire of
intellectual leadership in Ireland. O’Leary was a patriot who had
returned to Ireland from exile and imprisonment of 20 years for
revolutionary activities. The period from 1885-1891 Yeats took
an active part in the national movement. Though the family
moved back to London in 1887, it was under the influence and
guidance of O’Leary that Yeats started producing poems such as
The Wandering of Osin on Irish themes and settings. His poetry in
1890s continued to reflect his interest in Irish subjects and in
1890 he co-founded Rhymers Club poet Lionel Johnson and
Arthur Symonns. In 1893 he published Celtic Twilight a collection
of lore and reminiscences from Ireland. Yeats was also a member
of Irish Republican Brotherhood and even served as its President
in 1898. Nonetheless, due to political turmoil he distanced himself
from active politics amidst the Eater Rising of 1916 and even
restrained himself from penning down poems inspired by the
event to a great extent. His distance from active politics continued
until 1922 when he was appointed as the Senator for Irish Free
State.
Yeats’ nationalism was also fostered by his meeting with Lady
Gregory in 1896. She convinced him to focus on writing drama
and along with Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn Yeats published a
manifesto for Irish Literary theatre in 1897 with a view to
establish a national theatre for Ireland. In 1899 the trio with the
assistance of George Moore founded Irish Literary Theatre. Yeats
wrote Countess Cathleen for Irish Theatre which also saw
contributions in form of plays from writers such as JM Synge and
Sean O’Casey. The manifesto written by Yeats declared that it was
an attempt to “find in Ireland an uncorrupted and imaginative
audience trained to listen by its passion of oratory...and that
freedom to experiment that is not found in theatres of England
and without which no movement in art or literature can succeed.”
The theatre focused towards fostering a national unity capable of
transfiguring Ireland. Yeats spent much time at Lady Gregory’s
place in Coole Park Galway that influenced his famous poems
such as ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ and ‘Leda and Swan’.
In 1903 Yeats, Lady Gregory, George Russell, Edward Martyn and
Synge founded the Irish National Theatre Society with financial
backing from Annie Horniman. The society went on to start the
Abbey Theatre in 1904 with Yeats and Lady Gregory as its
directors.
Perhaps the most profound influence on Yeats’ personal and
professional career was that of Maud Gonne an English heiress
and ardent Irish Nationalist whom Yeats met in 1889 in London.
He soon fell in love with Gonne under the influence of Gonne a
rather reluctant Yeats participated actively in national movement.
She also shared Yeats’ interest in occultism and spiritualism.
Gonne augmented Yeats’s interest in national movement. It was
under Gonne’s influence that Yeats produced plays such as ‘The
Countess Kashleen’ (1892) that had Irish nationalism as its theme.
The play was dedicated to Gonne while Yeats personified her as
Ireland in the play ‘Cathleen ni Houlihan’ (1902). Despite knowing
the fact that Gonne had two children from her long affair, Yeats
could never resist himself from falling for her. However, his love
remained unrequited as Gonne turned down Yeats’ proposal for
marriage not once but four times in 1891, 1899, 1900 and 1901.
Gonne’s marriage with Irish nationalist Major John MacBride in
1903 was a jolt to Yeats and he jeered MacBride in his poems.
Nonetheless, the marriage failed resulting in separation in 1905
that gave a brief stint of togetherness to Yeats and Gonne in 1908
that preceded the end of their relationship. The execution of
MacBride in his role in Easter Rising of 1916, led to yet another
proposal that was rejected by Gonne in 1916. Despite of this
unrequited love, Gonne had a major influence on Yeats poems and
personality.
The development of Yeats as a poet can be traced down in three
phases over the span of 50 years during which his poetic genius
evolved. The early poetry of Yeats shows strong influence of
William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites along with that of
Spenser and the Romantics. Critics often call this period of Yeats’
poetic output as the ‘Celtic Twilight Period’ wherein he made use
of Celtic legends, folklore and Irish peasantry for the subject
matter of his poetry. This period covers works such as The
Wanderings of Osin, The Island of Statues, and the collection
called the Rose, The Land of Heart’s Desire, The Lake Island of
Innisfree and The Wind among the Reeds among others. His play
Countess Cathleen that makes use of Irish mythology was also
written in during this period. It was the phase when poetry
provided spiritual comfort to Yeats amidst his religious crisis and
disillusionment from science and growing industrialization,
human suffering and impermanence of youth and beauty. These
poems reflect blend of symbolism, (under influence of symbolist
movement) Irish mythology and his love experience with Maud
Gonne. The Wind Among the Reeds (1899) exhibits deep
influence of symbolists such as Mallarme and Villiers. However,
the symbols were still drawn from Irish themes. Yeats’ interest in
occultism, magic, theosophy and esoteric ideas are also reflected
in these poems. His love and knowledge for Indian thought find
voice in poems such as The Indian Upon God, Anashuya and
Vijaya. Yeats’ early poetry is an escape from reality and he
emerges as a myth maker through his use of Irish legends and
traditions.
The second phase (1900-1915)
The Wind among the Reeds is considered as a turning point in
Yeats’ career as it marks a transition from in his previous poetic
ideals. The transition was triggered by personal, political and
literary factors. Maud Gonne’s marriage to MacBride and his own
involvement in public controversies as a participant in Irish
national movement accounted for a note of frustration in Yeats’
poetry. The yearning for a mythical Ireland was now replaced by a
tone of bitterness. The poetry written in this period is not an
escape from the realities of life but rather exhibit an acceptance of
the same. Hence the poetry became more realistic and took up
events from day today life for its theme. The poems from The
Green Helmet (1910) make use of simpler expressions and the
emotions depicted are more direct and concrete. The tenor of the
poems written in this period is more complex due to Yeats’ own
mental state and use of occult imagery. The period shows a more
profound influence of Mallarme which further intensified by his
meeting with Ezra Pound in 1909, friendship with Arthur Symons
and a study of Symons’s The Symbolist Movement in English
Literature’. The mysticism of Yeats was further fostered in this
period by a deeper study of Blake’s poetry and ideas.
About Yeats it is often said that he did not write his best poetry
until he was over fifty. The last phase of Yeats’s poetic career
(1919-1933) produced his greatest works. The style became even
simpler and themes more complex. Works such as The Wild
Swans at Coole (1919), Michael Robartes and the Dancer (1921),
The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair (1933). The works in
this period reflect Yeats’s reading of philosophies of Plato and
Hegel at work. The poems such as The Second Coming, the two
Byzantium poems and The Tower put forth for the readers a
complex world of occultism and mysticism that he tried to explain
in his book A Vison (1925). The aftermath of First World War
further supplemented Yeats’s disillusionment from science and
religion. It was also a span of great personal achievements for
Yeats and is popularity and literary acumen was widely
acknowledged. He was appointed as a senator of Irish Free State
in 1922 and the prestigious Nobel Prize for literature was
conferred upon him in 1923. Almost all the poems in the
collection The Wild Swans at Coole are personal in tone and
revolve around the theme of love, life and death. The short
collection Michael Robartes and the Dancer (1921) contain
memorable poems such as Eater 1916, The Second Coming and A
Prayer for My Daughter. The Tower and The Winding Stair and
Other Poems include best of Yeats’s poems such as Sailing to
Byzantium, The Tower, The Winding Stair, Leda and the Swan and
A Dialogue of Self and Soul. The Second Coming distinctly puts
Yeats’s esoteric and occult ideas through use of highly evocative
images. Sailing to Byzantium in the collection The Tower displays
remarkable use of symbols and reflects upon transitory nature of
youth and life. The later poetry of Yeats is characterized by a
maturity in style, experimentation with verse. The images and
symbols are drawn from a wider range and are evocative and
functional. The poetry in this phase is also quite complex,
contemplative and intellectualized. A face up the crudities of life
and world around impart a bitter tone to some of the poems.
Yeats is chiefly regarded as one the major poets of symbolist
school in 20th century poetry. Arthur Symons dedicated his book
The Symbolist Movement in Literature (1889) to WB Yeats and
called him “the chief representative of that movement in our
country”. The book was a great influence on Yeats though Symons
made it clear that Yeats belongs less to the French Symbolist
Movement pioneered by Mallarme and Villiers and recognized
more with its effects o European literary scene. However, critics
such as WY Tyndall do consider Yeats a follower of the symbolist
creed of Mallarme’s school. Nonetheless, Yeats’s earlier poetry
itself abounds in use of symbolism which is reflected in poems
such as The Wanderings of Oisin (1888) and The Wind among the
Reeds (1899). Yeats’s use of allusive imagery and symbolism
combined with his occult and esoteric ideas often poses difficulty
for readers. His symbols are also drawn from his Gaelic legends
and mythologies which again poses a difficulty for reader not
familiar with Celtic folklore. Even before getting familiar with
French symbolist movement, Yeats’s poetry made rich use of
symbols under the influence of Blake, Shelley and Rossetti along
with study of books on the occult. Meeting with Ezra Pound in
1909 also shaped up his interest in symbols. His association with
Madame Blavatsky, theosophy and the Order of Golden Dawn
further affected his symbolism.
Understanding the complex use of symbols by Yeats is directly
related to his even complex mysticism and occult philosophy
which he tried to explicate in his book ‘A Vision’. Yeats had a life-
long interest in mysticism, spiritualism, occultism and astrology.
He was greatly influenced by Gaelic legends and he himself
believed in existence of fairies and ghosts. In a letter wtitten to O’
Leary Yeats said “If I had not made magic my constant study I
could not have written a word of my Blake Book nor would
Countess Cathleen 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.”
In a statement he says “I had an unshakable conviction, arising
how or whence, I cannot tell, and that invisible gates would open
as they opened for Blake.”
Yeats was also inspired by Hinduism and Vedantic philosophy
under the influence of Mohini Chatterjee and Purohit Swami. He
was also involved with Theosophical Society and with
Rosicrucianism of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Moreover, a study of Liddle Mather’s The Kabbalah Unveiled and
Yeats’s use of symbols and cosmos visions are also attributed to
Mathers. Yeats married Georgia Hyde-Lees in 1917 who shared
his interest in occult. Together they started psychic process called
‘automatic writing’ which was a sort of interaction with the
spirits. Much of the theories about life and history as formulated
by Yeats were based on these automatic writing sessions which
he later studied and organized. On the basis of this study, Yeats
believed in cyclic view of history represented by certain
geometric patterns such as cones and gyres.