Yeats

Author: William Butler Yeats
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: "A book that is both humorous and beneficial." William Butler Yeats was the 1923 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, widely recognized as the most outstanding poet in the English poetic world since Wordsworth, as well as a talented playwright. He dedicated his life to art, Irish nationalism, and the exploration of the mystical. This book describes Yeats' rich life, his poetic creations, his mystical experiences, his emotional struggles and transcendence, his involvement in and guidance of the Abbey Theatre and the Irish Literary Theatre, as well as his political career. The two authors write with precision and humor, making it seem as if we see the life of this contradictory character—lovable yet distant, both vulgar and transcendent, a practicing mystic yet a realist—in front of us. Yeats was the greatest Irish poet of the 20th century and a Nobel Prize laureate. At the age of 17, he began writing poetry. His early works were melancholic, mystical, and filled with Pre-Raphaelite imagery, exuding an attractive beauty. After meeting the important woman in his life at 23, he began to use her as a significant symbol in his poetry. A famous epitaph he wrote for himself is also a masterpiece of poetry, often recounted and remembered by later generations.