People have always had conflicted views when it comes to the influence of literature in the real world. We can argue that it belongs only in fantasies and is provides a momentary escape from reality. But there are countless authors, poets and writers who have proved otherwise, like the subject of this article: William Butler Yeats. His career shows a development that can only be labelled as organic.
Phases of poetry:
William Butler Yeats, born 13 June 1865 was one of the most prominent figures of 20th century Literature. He started writing at the age of seventeen, his works heavily influenced by the English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelly. His poetic works throughout the years can be classified into four stages:
i) Celtic Twilight period:
Most of his works as an early writer are captured in this phase. It features pre-Raphaelic and romantic tones and can be described as escapist. Some of the prominent works of this period are The Crossways, The Rose and The Lake Isle of Innisfree.
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade…
An excerpt from the Lake Isle of Innisfree
ii) The Middle or Realistic Period:
This phase can be called a transitional period as Yeats moved towards a more realistic and flexible and featured characteristics of modern poetry. The three greatest influences in his poetry during this phase were his love for Maud Gonne (an English heiress and ardent nationalist), the changing face of Ireland and his oncoming old age and his search for the “unity of being”, a concept that talk about how a youthful mind can be equated to an ageing body. The process of the transition during this second phase was gradual but steady and the poems of this period reflect the mixing of the old and the new style, embodying a deeper knowledge of the world around him and of his own growing stature as a major poet.
Why should I blame her that she filled my days With misery, or that she would of late Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways, Or hurled the little streets upon the great, Had they but courage equal to desire?...
Poem: No Second Troy
iii) The complex and mature Period:
During this time, he takes a critical look into his earlier career and life, recognizing perhaps that his work had become overburdened with symbolism and therefore had lost its sense of immediacy with the reader.
iv) The last Period:
In the last phase what is remarkable is the Lear-like mask of tragic abandon which Yeats assumes in many of the key poems The impending death of civilization is accepted as necessary for poems of a universal process, which symbolizes the recurring rhythm of birth, death and rebirth. Yeats believed that we begin to live only when we see life as a tragedy and the great poems of the last period demonstrate his belief.
Swear by those horsemen, by those women, Complexion and form prove superhuman, That pale, long visaged company That airs an immortality Completeness of their passions won; Now they ride the wintry dawn Where Ben Bulben sets the scene.
The last poem: Under Ben Bulben
His contribution to modern poetry:
In essence, modern poetry questions the aesthetics of norms, of solid facts; exhibiting skepticism and producing obscurity within the work. It is often considered to be radical shift of paradigms allowing poets to relinquish the shackles of unjustified hyperboles and overly glorified love; allowing them to embrace the physical and explore the world as it is, writing about the harsh realities. Yeats made significant contributions to the numerous areas of modern poetry. He wrote unique poems, infusing romantic ideologies with notions of mysticism and occultism. These elements were further exemplified with aspects of realism and imagism allowing Yeats to become one of the most significant modern poets of his time.
~Nayana Nandyal
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