W.B. Yeats as a Poet.
William butler Yeats was a great poet of 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature even he was called the finest british poet of his time. "John Frazer" claims for Yeats "The position of a major english poet". He puts Yeats in performance and greatness with donne, Milton and Wordsworth.
He called Yeats much superior to the Victorian poets like Browning, Tennyson and Arnold. Like Coleridge he is also at heart a dreamer, a visionary who is fascinated by folklore. And the superstitious of the Irish peasantry. He believes in fairies and demons. Naturally he feels strange in a world of scientific fact and Machinary. He trust imagination because reason and logic divide people. Thus he is a romantic poet.
A Great Poet
No doubt, he is called a great poet of the early 20th century. "Edith Sitwell " praises him highly "The earliest of his poems gave new life to the language and today they spring into our consciousness as their wonder and splendour is greater, since they have grown from a deeper wisdom, a more universal experiment”.
We can divide his poems in two parts, his early poems are mostly romantic but his continuous poetic development made him a realistic one.
His art and genius developed. The evaluation is one of the chief qualities of his poetry. His later poems are written in "Pre-Raphaelite "
tradition.It is a world of electric twilight of vague lights. The imagery he uses, is vague and subbed in colour. His style is easy and slow moving.
It is marked with metaphors. His later poems are full of realism. He writes on ancient legend, mythology folklore, politics, history, love and other subjects. They are described in a realistic way they have a variety of subjects he writes on every possible sphere of life with perfection and mastery. His period of development as a poet is the longest. The period of his poetry activity extended over 50 year and during this period he was constantly becoming maturing and growing different from what he was in the beginning.
Use of Symbols :
William Butler yeats is a great symbolic poet.
"Arthur Simons" calls yeats "The chief representative of symbolist Movement in English literature" He is a symbolist poet long before he has heard of the French. His symbolism is based upon the poetry of Shelley and Rossetti. His early poems are full of symbols and traditional elements.His poem "Lake Isle of innisfree" symbolises a utopia, a country of the mind where one can live in peace away from the fever and fret of the world.
I will arise and go now, and go to innisfree and 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.
He is a symbolist from the beginning to the very end of his career. He has used a number of symbols in his poems like a Rose, lily, swan, tower, winding stair etc.
The Mythical Note :
“Cleanth Brooks” calls him "A great myth maker" in his poem "The Maggi" he uses the old biblical story. In "no second Troy" he uses the old Helen myth.
In the poem *The second coming" the poet takes the myth of Bible. he is sad to see the wide spread murder and bloodshed in Ireland. It followed the caster rebellion. There were also the Irish civil war and the great war.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre, The falcon can not hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre can not hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, the blood dimmed tide is loosed, and every where.
The ceremony of innocence is drowned the best lack all condition, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.
Lyrical Quality
The striking quality of Yeats poetry is its lyricism. his early poetry reminds us the pure lyrics which have grace, charm and melody of the elizabethan poets. his lyrics have personal emotions and feelings. he is a great materialist. He experimented with many stanzas and verse form. he rejected the verse liberally used by so many modern poets. he is like donne in order to command over stanza structure.
Melancholic Note
The tone of yeats' poetry is full of despair and grief. some critics like I.A. Richard find a total rejection of life in his poetry but some critics feel that instead of life disdained we should raise it up to life. he wants to be young again to enjoy love. hence, there is no rejection of life. there is grief and impatient resulting from the painful realities that cannot be young to enjoy the pleasure of life.
Clash of opposites
Miss A.G. stock remarks that Yeats poetry is a battle ground for the Clash of opposites. in his poetry we find a clash between the human and non-human , The personal and impersonation. The spiritual and the physical etc. In "A Bronze head" the human and superman are put side by side. "Moud gonne" is human but the look of terror in her eyes shows that she was the instrument of destiny looking upon the foul world with stern eyes.
Use of humour
William Butler yeats, later poetry has element of humour, this humour seems to be a blend Whimsicalism and sadism. he had already shown sign of it in the hermits and baggers of the volumes of poems called "responsibilities" sometimes it is directed against his habitual Enemies.
John Bull has stood for Parliament,
a dog must have his day etc etc.
sometimes humour comes out in in cynical epigram, at other times it bubbles with Curiousness.
Conclusion
Yeats is certainly a great poet because we find the entire bulk of his work of a high quality. His early poems are escapist and have strong pre-raphaelite touch but his later poem are most realistic and touch the fact of life. He became more and more perfect with the passage of time. he is a conscious artist who polished and repolished his verse and tried to say everything beautifully, Clearly and musically. he selects the his words with reference to their sense and sound.