In What Ways Is Yeats a Political Poet
In What Ways is W.B. Yeats a Political Poet
William Butler Yeats is political poet in many ways. Indeed, there is much correlation between his political beliefs and his written work. He was first and foremost a student of nationalism under the tutelage of the great Irish separatist and Fenian John O’ Leary and it is clear how durable O’Leary’s influence is on Yeats as he is so often referred to in his work. He was a vital figure in the Anglo-Irish literary revival and the creation of a popular Irish theatre. However, to paint him as a devout nationalist in the vein of Arthur Griffith would be a disservice. Yeats’s own beliefs regarding Ireland is quite complex which is seen in his obsession with the Ascendency. Complex still is his reaction to the Easter Rising of 1916.
What I intend to prove in this essay is that Yeats is a deeply political poet. Indeed, Yeats himself writes about politics not as an observer but as a participant. I will show how the Romantic Nationalism Yeats subscribed to in his early years is present throughout his body of work. His attempt to create a national cultural identity can be seen as sowing the seeds for independence from Britain. This cultural nationalism allowed Yeats to obtain a Shellayan bard public status which regards a poem or a play as a political act (Culingford, 1984). I also intend to prove how complex his political beliefs were and how they drastically changed in his career. Finally, I hope to prove that though W.B. Yeats did not directly contribute to the Independence he was still an important figure in its establishment.
The influence of John O’Leary upon the young W.B. Yeats cannot be ignored. The Irish nationalism that O’Leary preached is intertwined with romanticism. It draws from individualism and libertarianism and these ideals were very attractive to Yeats. While O’Leary was committed to the idea of using physical force to gain Irish independence, he placed heavily on the importance of literature. This is part
William Butler Yeats is political poet in many ways. Indeed, there is much correlation between his political beliefs and his written work. He was first and foremost a student of nationalism under the tutelage of the great Irish separatist and Fenian John O’ Leary and it is clear how durable O’Leary’s influence is on Yeats as he is so often referred to in his work. He was a vital figure in the Anglo-Irish literary revival and the creation of a popular Irish theatre. However, to paint him as a devout nationalist in the vein of Arthur Griffith would be a disservice. Yeats’s own beliefs regarding Ireland is quite complex which is seen in his obsession with the Ascendency. Complex still is his reaction to the Easter Rising of 1916.
What I intend to prove in this essay is that Yeats is a deeply political poet. Indeed, Yeats himself writes about politics not as an observer but as a participant. I will show how the Romantic Nationalism Yeats subscribed to in his early years is present throughout his body of work. His attempt to create a national cultural identity can be seen as sowing the seeds for independence from Britain. This cultural nationalism allowed Yeats to obtain a Shellayan bard public status which regards a poem or a play as a political act (Culingford, 1984). I also intend to prove how complex his political beliefs were and how they drastically changed in his career. Finally, I hope to prove that though W.B. Yeats did not directly contribute to the Independence he was still an important figure in its establishment.
The influence of John O’Leary upon the young W.B. Yeats cannot be ignored. The Irish nationalism that O’Leary preached is intertwined with romanticism. It draws from individualism and libertarianism and these ideals were very attractive to Yeats. While O’Leary was committed to the idea of using physical force to gain Irish independence, he placed heavily on the importance of literature. This is part
Bibliography: Allison, J. 1996. Yeats 's Political Identities. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Cullingford, E. 1984. Yeats, Ireland and Fascism. London: Macmillan. Yeats, W. and Pethica, J. 2000.Yeats 's Poetry, Drama, and Prose. New York: W.W. Norton.