William Butler Yeats Modernism WB Yeats Early life

William Butler Yeats Modernism

WB Yeats – Early life • Born in Dublin, Ireland, 1865, • The son of a well-known Irish painter, John Butler Yeats. • Spent his childhood in County Sligo and in London. • Returned to Dublin at the age of 15, to continue his education and study painting • Discovered he preferred poetry.

The Celtic Revival • Born into the Anglo-Irish landowning class, Yeats became involved with the Celtic Revival movement • Celitic Revival movement: against the cultural influences of English, promote the spirit of Ireland's native heritage. • Never learned Gaelic himself

Irish mythology and Maud Gonne • His writing drew extensively from sources in Irish mythology and folklore • The Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne influence his poetry • She married another man in 1903, they grew apart

Politics, modernism, mysticism & the occult • Deeply involved in politics in Ireland • His work after 1910 was strongly influenced by Pound • Becoming more modern - concision and imagery • Never abandoned traditional verse forms. • Life-long interest in mysticism and the occult • Off-putting to some readers

The Legacy of Yeats • Appointed a senator of the Irish Free State in 1922 • Is remembered as an important cultural leader • A major playwright • A great poet • W. B. Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1923 • Died in 1939 at the age of seventy-three.