biography of yeats

William Butler Yeats

(1865-1939)

Who Was William Butler Yeats?

William Butler Yeats published his first works in the mid-1880s while a student at Dublin's Metropolitan School of Art. His early accomplishments include The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems (1889) and such plays as The Countess Cathleen (1892) and Deirdre (1907). In 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He went on to pen more influential works, including The Tower (1928) and Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems (1932). Yeats, who died in 1939, is remembered as one of the leading Western poets of the 20th century.

William Butler Yeats was born on June 13, 1865, in Dublin, Ireland, the oldest child of John Butler Yeats and Susan Mary Pollexfen. Although John trained as a lawyer, he abandoned the law for art soon after his first son was born. Yeats spent much of his early years in London, where his father was studying art, but frequently returned to Ireland as well.

In the mid-1880s, Yeats pursued his own interest in art as a student at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. Following the publication of his poems in the Dublin University Review in 1885, he soon abandoned art school for other pursuits.

Career Beginnings

After returning to London in the late 1880s, Yeats met writers Oscar Wilde , Lionel Johnson and George Bernard Shaw . He also became acquainted with Maud Gonne, a supporter of Irish independence. This revolutionary woman served as a muse for Yeats for years. He even proposed marriage to her several times, but she turned him down. He dedicated his 1892 drama The Countess Cathleen to her.

Around this time, Yeats founded the Rhymers' Club poetry group with Ernest Rhys. He also joined the Order of the Golden Dawn, an organization that explored topics related to the occult and mysticism. While he was fascinated with otherworldly elements, Yeats's interest in Ireland, especially its folktales, fueled much of his output. The title work of The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems (1889) draws from the story of a mythic Irish hero.

Acclaimed Poet and Playwright

In addition to his poetry, Yeats devoted significant energy to writing plays. He teamed with Lady Gregory to develop works for the Irish stage, the two collaborating for the 1902 production of Cathleen Ni Houlihan . Around that time, Yeats helped found the Irish National Theatre Society, serving as its president and co-director, with Lady Gregory and John Millington Synge. More works soon followed, including On Baile's Strand , Deirdre and At the Hawk's Well .

Following his marriage to Georgie Hyde-Lees in 1917, Yeats began a new creative period through experiments with automatic writing. The newlyweds sat together for writing sessions they believed to be guided by forces from the spirit world, through which Yeats formulated intricate theories of human nature and history. They soon had two children, daughter Anne and son William Michael.

The celebrated writer then became a political figure in the new Irish Free State, serving as a senator for six years beginning in 1922. The following year, he received an important accolade for his writing as the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. According to the official Nobel Prize website, Yeats was selected "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation."

Yeats continued to write until his death. Some of his important later works include The Wild Swans at Coole (1917), A Vision (1925), The Tower (1928) and Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems (1932). Yeats passed away on January 28, 1939, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. The publication of Last Poems and Two Plays shortly after his death further cemented his legacy as a leading poet and playwright.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: William Butler Yeats
• Birth Year: 1865
• Birth date: June 13, 1865
• Birth City: Dublin
• Birth Country: Ireland
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: William Butler Yeats was one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.
• Fiction and Poetry
• Journalism and Nonfiction
• Astrological Sign: Gemini
• Metropolitan School of Art (Dublin)
• Nacionalities
• Death Year: 1939
• Death date: January 28, 1939
• Death City: Menton
• Death Country: France

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: William Butler Yeats Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/william-butler-yeats
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: August 17, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

Nikki Giovanni

How Did Shakespeare Die?

A Huge Shakespeare Mystery, Solved

20 Shakespeare Quotes

William Shakespeare

Christine de Pisan

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

14 Hispanic Women Who Have Made History

10 Famous Langston Hughes Poems

5 Crowning Achievements of Maya Angelou

Amanda Gorman

Langston Hughes

• World Biography

William Butler Yeats Biography

Born: June 13, 1865 Dublin, Ireland Died: January 28, 1939 Roquebrune, France Irish poet and dramatist

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and dramatist (playwright). Some think he was the greatest poet of the twentieth century. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923. The works of William Butler Yeats form a bridge between the romantic poetry of the nineteenth century and the hard clear language of modern poetry.

Early years

At the age of nineteen Yeats enrolled in the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin, intending to become a painter. In 1887 he became a literary correspondent for two American newspapers. Among his acquaintances at this time were his father's artist and writer friends, including William Morris (1834–1896), George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), and Oscar Wilde (1856–1900).

Important friendships

In 1889 Yeats met the woman who became the greatest single influence on his life and poetry, Maud Gonne. She was Yeats's first and deepest love. She admired his poetry but rejected his repeated offers of marriage, choosing instead to marry Major John MacBride. Gonne came to represent for Yeats the ideal of feminine beauty—she appears as Helen of Troy in several of his poems—but a beauty disfigured and wasted by what Yeats considered an unsuitable marriage and her involvement in a hopeless political cause, Irish independence.

Yeats became a founding member of literary clubs in London, England, and Dublin. During this period he became friends with the dramatist John Millington Synge (1871–1909). He was introduced to Synge in 1896, and later directed the Abbey Theatre in Dublin with him.

The American poet Ezra Pound (1885–1972) came to London for the specific purpose of meeting Yeats in 1909. Pound served as Yeats's secretary off and on between 1912 and 1916. Pound introduced Yeats to the Japanese No drama (a form of Japanese theater similar in many ways to Greek tragedy). Yeats's verse dramas (plays in the form of poetry) reflect the ceremonial formality and symbolism of No .

The death of Maud Gonne's husband seemed to offer promise that she might now accept Yeats's proposal of marriage. She turned him down in 1917. He proposed to her daughter, Iseult MacBride, only to be rejected by her too. That same year he married Miss George Hyde-Less.

Soon after their wedding, Yeats's new wife developed the power of automatic writing (writing as though coming from an outside source) and began to utter strange phrases in her sleep that she thought were dictated by spirits from another world. Yeats copied down these fragments and incorporated them into his occult aesthetic system, published as A Vision in 1925. A daughter, Anne Butler Yeats, was born in 1919, and a son, William Michael, two years later.

Poet and dramatist

Yeats's first book of poems, The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems, was published in 1889. In the long title poem he began his celebration of the ancient Irish heroes Oisin, Finn, Aengus, and St. Patrick. This interest was evident also in his collection of Irish folklore, Fairy and Folk Tales (1888). His long verse drama, The Countess Cathleen (1892), was a combination of modern dramatic forms with ancient beliefs and modern Irish history. He followed this with his collection of romantic tales and mood sketches, The Celtic Twilight (1893). Yeats's Secret Rose (1897) includes poems that he called personal, occult, and Irish. More figures from ancient Irish history and legend appeared in this volume. The Wind among the Reeds (1899) won the Royal Academy Prize as the best book of poems published that year.

The Abbey Theater

An important milestone in the history of the modern theater occurred in 1902, when Yeats, Maud Gonne, Douglas Hyde, and George Russell founded the Irish National Theatre Society, out of which grew the Abbey Theatre Company in 1904. Yeats's experience with the theater gave to his volume of poems In the Seven Woods (1907) a new style—less elaborate, less romantic, and more straight forward in language and imagery.

Some of Yeats's plays show his great interest in ancient royalty and "half-forgotten things," but his poetry was unmistakably new. Yeats's play At the Hawk's Well, written and produced in 1915, showed the influence of Japanese No drama in its use of masks and in its dances by a Japanese choreographer.

From 1918 to 1923 Yeats and his wife lived in a restored tower at Ballylee (Galway), Ireland. The tower became a prominent symbol in his best poems, notably in those that make up The Tower (1928).

Yeats was elected an Irish senator in 1922, a post he filled until his retirement in 1928. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. His acceptance of the role and its responsibilities had been foreshadowed (predicted) in his poems Responsibilities (1914). The outbreak of civil war in Ireland in 1922 had heightened his conviction that the artist must lead the way through art, rather than through politics, to a harmonious (in tune) ordering of chaos.

Aesthetic theories and systems

Yeats devised his doctrine of the mask as a means of presenting very personal thoughts and experiences to the world without danger of sentimentality (excessive emotions). By discovering the kind of man who would be his exact opposite, Yeats believed he could then put on the mask of this ideal "antiself" and thus produce art from the synthesis (combination) of opposing natures. For this reason his poetry is often structured on paired opposites, as in "Sailing to Byzantium."

Yeats turned to magic for the illogical system that would oppose and complete his art. He drew upon Buddhism (an ancient Eastern religion), as well as upon Jewish and Christian mystic (spiritual) books to try and capture what he thought was a harmony of the opposite elements of life

Yeats believed that history was cyclical (circular) and that every two thousand years a new cycle, which is the opposite of the cycle that has preceded it, begins. In his poem "The Second Coming," the birth of Christ begins one cycle, which ends, as the poem ends, with a "rough beast," mysterious and menacing, who "slouches towards Bethlehem to be born."

Yeats's last plays were Purgatory (1938) and The Death of Cuchulain (1938). He died in Roquebrune, France, on January 28, 1929. He had retired there because of ill health. He had the lines of one of his poems engraved on his tombstone in Ireland: "Cast a cold eye / On life, on death. / Horseman, pass by!" Yeats was not only one of the greatest poets and a major figure in the Irish literary renaissance (rebirth), but also wrote some of the greatest of all twentieth-century literature.

For More Information

Jeffares, A. Norman. W. B. Yeats, a New Biography. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1989.

Larrissey, Edward. Yeats the Poet: The Measures of Difference. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1994.

Macrae, Alistair D. F. W. B. Yeats: A Literary Life. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.

User Contributions:

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic:.

World History Edu

• British History

W.B. Yeats: Life and Major Works of the Irish Poet and Writer

by World History Edu · November 7, 2024

William Butler Yeats, an Irish poet, dramatist, and writer, was born on June 13, 1865, in Sandymount, Dublin. Yeats is widely celebrated as one of the foremost literary figures of the 20th century and a pivotal architect of modern Irish literature.

His work embodies the complexities of Ireland’s identity, weaving together mythology, nationalism, mysticism, and modernist themes.

Yeats’s life and works reflect not only his literary evolution but also the changing political and cultural landscape of Ireland, from colonial rule to the Irish Free State.

William Butler Yeats was an iconic Irish poet, dramatist, and writer, considered one of the most influential literary figures of the 20th century.

Fascination with Irish Mythology

Yeats was born into a Protestant Anglo-Irish family, a background that would significantly shape his worldview and work. His father, John Butler Yeats, was a successful portrait artist who encouraged Yeats’s artistic ambitions.

Although educated in Dublin and London, Yeats spent summers in County Sligo, his mother’s home. This rugged landscape and its folklore deeply impacted him, igniting a lifelong fascination with Irish mythology and the supernatural that permeates his poetry and plays.

In his early years, Yeats became involved in the Irish Literary Revival, a movement aimed at reviving Ireland’s distinct cultural identity. The Revivalists sought to reconnect with Ireland’s Celtic roots, turning to folklore, mythology, and language as means of resisting the cultural dominance of English rule.

The Abbey Theatre

Yeats, along with key figures like Lady Augusta Gregory and Douglas Hyde, played a central role in this movement. In 1899, he co-founded the Abbey Theatre with Lady Gregory and John Millington Synge, establishing a national stage for Irish drama. As its artistic leader, Yeats promoted plays that reflected Irish themes and voices, which marked a turning point in Ireland’s cultural renaissance. The Abbey Theatre became a powerful platform for exploring Irish identity and remains an iconic institution in Irish theater.

Early Works

Yeats’s early poetry was characterized by Romantic and mystical themes, influenced by writers like William Blake, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the Pre-Raphaelite poets. His first collection,  The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems  (1889), reflects his fascination with Irish mythology and the supernatural. This phase of his work, which continued until around 1900, features lyrical, slow-paced poetry that explores themes of love, nature, and the mystical. During this time, Yeats also developed a deep interest in occultism, joining organizations like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. His commitment to the mystical is evident in his poetry and later philosophical works, contributing to a body of work that blends earthly themes with spiritual inquiry.

Image: Yeats’s portrait by John Butler Yeats, his father.

Social Advocacy

Around the turn of the century, Yeats’s poetry began to shift. Influenced by Ireland’s political landscape and the push for independence, his work took on a more grounded, realistic tone. Moving away from the idealism and ethereal quality of his early work, Yeats began to grapple with questions of nationalism, identity, and social change.

This period produced poems that explore the complexities of Irish life and politics, blending his longstanding fascination with mythology with a newfound political consciousness. Works like  Cathleen ni Houlihan  (1902), a play co-written with Lady Gregory, symbolically captured the spirit of Irish nationalism. The titular character, an old woman, represents Ireland herself, inspiring young men to sacrifice for their country.  Cathleen ni Houlihan  resonated deeply with Irish audiences, underscoring Yeats’s growing role as a national voice in the struggle for independence.

The Wild Swans at Coole  (1919) and other works

Yeats’s poetry continued to evolve through the 1910s and 1920s, with collections like  The Wild Swans at Coole  (1919) and  The Tower  (1928) marking his mature style. His language became more direct and his themes more reflective, capturing both personal and political anxieties. Many of his best-known works, such as “The Second Coming” and “Sailing to Byzantium,” emerged during this period. “The Second Coming” (1920), written in the aftermath of World War I, captures a sense of apocalyptic dread, with its memorable lines, “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” This poem reflects Yeats’s belief in cyclical history, a concept that he developed in his philosophical work,  A Vision  (1925). In  A Vision , Yeats outlines a theory of history based on interconnected cycles, or “gyres,” that influence the development of civilizations and individuals. This cyclical view would come to define much of his later work, lending his poetry a sense of timelessness and existential depth.

“Sailing to Byzantium” is another iconic poem from this period, meditating on aging, art, and immortality. Here, Yeats contrasts the physical decline of old age with the eternal nature of art and wisdom, envisioning a transcendence beyond the limitations of the human body. The poem, with its vivid imagery and philosophical undercurrents, illustrates Yeats’s skill in merging personal introspection with universal themes, a hallmark of his mature style.

Later Works

Yeats’s later work reflected the struggles and upheavals of his time. As Ireland transitioned to independence, he grappled with the complexities of the new Irish state. A Protestant in a predominantly Catholic country, Yeats found himself navigating tensions between tradition and modernity, nationalism and individualism. His work from this period reflects a nuanced, sometimes critical perspective on Ireland’s future, balancing admiration for the nation’s achievements with a sense of foreboding about its challenges.

Nobel Prize in Literature

In recognition of his literary achievements, Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. The Nobel Committee commended him for his “inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation.”

This honor solidified his reputation as a leading voice in modern literature and a cultural symbol of Ireland. Yeats’s influence extended beyond poetry; he served as a Senator of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1928, actively participating in Ireland’s political and cultural life. His speeches as Senator reveal his concerns about Irish identity, education, and the role of the arts in shaping society.

Later Years and Legacy

Despite his public service, Yeats continued to produce some of his most profound work in his later years.  The Tower  (1928) and  The Winding Stair and Other Poems  (1933) capture his introspection on themes of aging, mortality, and the tension between body and soul. These works exhibit a stark, reflective quality, contrasting with the romanticism of his early poetry. Yeats’s late style is marked by a fascination with contradiction and paradox, as seen in poems like “Among School Children,” which questions the nature of aging and identity, and “Lapis Lazuli,” a meditation on art’s role in confronting human suffering.

Yeats’s legacy extends far beyond his literary accomplishments. His fusion of Irish myth with modernist techniques inspired generations of poets, both in Ireland and internationally. His works influenced Irish writers such as Seamus Heaney and modernist poets like T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound. Yeats’s life and work bridged the divide between romanticism and modernism, traditionalism and experimentation, leaving a profound impact on 20th-century literature.

In sum, W.B. Yeats remains a towering figure in Irish literature and global poetry. His career reflects the evolution of Irish identity and the broader modernist movement, characterized by a commitment to cultural exploration, philosophical inquiry, and artistic innovation. From his early romantic verses to his meditations on mortality and the cycles of history, Yeats’s body of work captures a remarkable journey of personal and national discovery, making him a defining voice of his time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Irish Literary Revival, and how did Yeats contribute to it?

The Irish Literary Revival was a movement aimed at rekindling interest in Irish literature, folklore, and national identity. Yeats was a central figure in this revival, using his works to celebrate Irish culture and co-founding the Abbey Theatre to promote Irish voices in drama.

What was the Abbey Theatre, and what role did Yeats play in it?

The Abbey Theatre, founded by Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory, was Ireland’s first national theatre, established in Dublin. Yeats served as a guiding force in its early years, helping develop Irish theatrical arts and providing a platform for plays exploring Irish themes.

When did Yeats receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, and why was it significant?

Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923, recognizing his outstanding contribution to literature and his role in bringing Irish culture to the forefront of global attention.

How did Yeats’s early life influence his literary themes?

Yeats was born into a Protestant Anglo-Irish family and spent his childhood summers in County Sligo, where he became fascinated by Irish legends, myths, and the occult. These interests deeply influenced his early poetry, which explored mysticism and romantic themes.

What themes characterized Yeats’s early poetry?

Yeats’s early poetry focused on romantic and mystical themes, influenced by poets like William Blake and John Keats. His early work was reflective, often slow-paced, and steeped in Irish folklore and myth.

Image: A 1903 picture of Yeats by American photographer Alice Boughton.

How did Yeats’s poetry change around 1900, and why?

Around 1900, Yeats’s poetry began to incorporate more realism, addressing political and social issues. This shift was influenced by his involvement in Irish nationalist politics and his desire to reflect the complexities of modern life while still exploring symbolic and mystical ideas.

What were some of Yeats’s notable early plays, and what themes did they explore?

Some of Yeats’s early plays include  The Land of Heart’s Desire  (1894) and  Cathleen ni Houlihan  (1902). These plays used Irish folklore to explore themes of independence, national identity, and the struggles of the Irish people.

Which of Yeats’s works are considered his most celebrated, and what themes do they address?

Yeats’s collections  The Wild Swans at Coole  (1919) and  The Tower  (1928) contain celebrated poems like “The Second Coming” and “Sailing to Byzantium.” These works explore themes of aging, the cycles of life, and the cultural changes in Ireland.

How did Yeats’s role as a playwright influence Irish theater?

Yeats was a foundational playwright for the Irish Literary Theatre and Abbey Theatre, advocating for Irish voices in theater and using drama to address Ireland’s political and cultural identity, thus shaping the future of Irish theatrical arts.

What lasting impact did Yeats have on modern literature?

Yeats is regarded as a pioneer of modern poetry, blending Irish tradition with innovative modernist themes. His work influenced Irish culture, modernist poetry, and international literature, making him a central figure in both Irish and global literary history.

Tags: Anglo-Irish Literature Irish Free State Nobel Prize in Literature W. B. Yeats

You may also like...

The Iceni: History and Major Facts

November 6, 2024

Excalibur – Origin Story, Myths & Powers

July 12, 2019

Sir William Gell

October 26, 2024

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Next story  Anglo-Irish Philosopher George Berkeley
• Previous story  Nabonidus: The Last King of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
• Popular Posts
• Recent Posts

Events that triggered the Spartacus Revolt

What are the Ellora Caves?

The Aztec New Fire Ceremony: History and Major Facts

The Curse of Agade

Zeno of Citium

Greatest African Leaders of All Time

Queen Elizabeth II: 10 Major Achievements

Donald Trump’s Educational Background

Donald Trump: 10 Most Significant Achievements

Kamala Harris: 10 Major Achievements

8 Most Important Achievements of John F. Kennedy

Odin in Norse Mythology: Origin Story, Meaning and Symbols

Ragnar Lothbrok – History, Facts & Legendary Achievements

9 Great Achievements of Queen Victoria

Most Ruthless African Dictators of All Time

Kwame Nkrumah: History, Major Facts & 10 Memorable Achievements

Greek God Hermes: Myths, Powers and Early Portrayals

12 Most Influential Presidents of the United States

How did Captain James Cook die?

Trail of Tears: Story, Death Count & Facts

5 Great Accomplishments of Ancient Greece

8 Major Achievements of Rosa Parks

Most Famous Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

How and when was Morse Code Invented?

The Exact Relationship between Elizabeth II and Elizabeth I

• 18th Dynasty of Egypt Adolf Hitler Alexander the Great American Civil War Ancient Egyptian gods Ancient Egyptian religion Apollo Athena Athens Black history Carthage Cold War Constantine the Great Constantinople Egypt Emperor Augustus England France French Revolution Hera Horus India Isis John Adams Julius Caesar Loki Military Generals Military History Napoleon Bonaparte New Kingdom Odin Osiris Pan-Africanism Queen Elizabeth I Religion Set (Seth) Soviet Union Thor Timeline Turkey UNESCO World Heritage Site Women’s History World War I World War II Zeus

W.B. Yeats Biography

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was born at Georgeville, Sandymount Avenue, Dublin, the eldest child of John Butler Yeats and Susan Pollexfen. His father, a barrister, later became an artist. His mother was the daughter of a prosperous shipping merchant in Sligo. John and Susan were married at St. John’s Church in Sligo in 1863. The couple had six children, four of whom lived to adulthood and were extraordinarily talented: William (Willie, b.1865 later W.B.) Susan (Lily b.1866), Elizabeth (Lollie, b.1868), Robert (Bobbie, 1870-73), John junior (Jack B, b.1871) and baby Grace (Gracie, 1875-76).

W.B. had a strong Sligo lineage from both of his parents. His mother Susan was born in Sligo, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Pollexfen. His paternal great grandfather Rev. John Yeats had served as rector at Drumcliffe Church, (1811-46), a short distance north of the town. His maternal great grandfather had started the Middleton milling and shipping businesses, later the Middleton & Pollexfen Company that developed into the largest business in 19th century Sligo, owning ships, were chandlers, had controlling shares in the Sligo Steam Navigation Company, and interests in the butter market as well as being general and grain merchants. The Pollexfens had, by now, moved from Union Place to Merville, a large house with sixty acres which would become home to the Yeats children with increasing frequency in future years.

This set the seeds that would last a lifetime. Sligo’s landscape, culture and folklore became formative influences on both W.B. and Jack. For W.B., the landscape was central to his writing, Jack drew on the rolling waves and seafarers, the circus and horse racing which formed the core of his paintings. And while this was a time of joy and growth for the young family, it was also a time of great sadness, following the death of Bobbie from croup in 1873 and Gracie in 1876.

During this time, their father John largely stayed in London, living a bohemian life as an artist, while Susan brought the children up in the more conservative and strict environment of the Pollexfen household in Sligo. And while it is evident from early on that W.B.’s parents were very different people and largely incompatible, they did engender in him his love of stories and writing. His mother told him stories from her youth and his father, very much a free spirit, encouraged creative thought and freedom.

Indeed, in his unpublished memoirs, John Yeats described his concerns for his son:

‘I am continually anxious about Willy — he is almost never out of my thoughts. I believe him to be intensely affectionate but from shyness, sensitiveness and nervousness very difficult to win and yet he is worth winning. I should of course like to see him made do what was right but he will only develop by kindness and affection and gentleness.’  – John B. Yeats.

After the family returned to live in Dublin in 1881, W.B. attended the High School, Harcourt St. He had his first works published in Dublin University Review , while he was a student at the Metropolitan School of Art. As he grew acquainted with other writers and artists, he took up the life of a professional writer, moving back to London with his family in 1887.

In 1888 they moved into No. 3, Blenheim Road, Bedford Park, where the family remained until returning to Dublin in 1902. It was in this house that W.B. and friends founded The Irish Literary Society in 1891. His early writings include The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems (1889), which gave notice that a young poet of some promise was in the making. The long title poem was an expression of Yeats’s fascination with Irish mythology, themes he explored in much of his earlier work and which he returned to later in life. He made a resolution about this time, to do for Ireland what Shakespeare did for England, i.e. write plays about important historical figures – he focused on mythological figures like Oisín, Diarmuid and Gráinne, Queen Maeve and Cuchulain, from ‘Ireland’s heroic past greatness’, and wrote six plays on Cuchulain.

O Oisin, mount by me and ride To shores by the wash of the tremulous tide, Where men have heaped no burial-mounds, And the days pass by like a wayward tune,

from The Wanderings of Oisín, Book I (1889)

Following the death of the great Irish Parliamentarian Charles Stewart Parnell in 1891, the rise in military nationalism was at odds with Yeats’s views of Irish identity. This is despite his own foray into political nationalism. He disagreed with the premise that Irish freedom should be achieved through armed insurgency. He believed that a return to traditional values, based on heritage, history and folklore was central to shaping our Irish identity.

W.B. wrote in Introduction to The Celtic Twilight 1893 edition ,

‘I have therefore written down accurately and candidly much that I have heard and seen, and, except by way of commentary, nothing that I have merely imagined. I have, however, been at no pains to separate my own beliefs from those of the peasantry, but have rather let my men and women, dhouls and faeries, go their way unoffended or defended by any argument of mine.’

In 1896 W.B. moved away from the family home to live independently. He met Lady Augusta Gregory that summer. She opened her house to the literary figures of the day and he spent part of every summer for nearly two decades at Coole, Co. Galway. They collaborated in several publications.

Together with Lady Gregory he founded the Irish National Theatre, later to become the Abbey Theatre. He wrote some of the early plays for the theatre, including Land of Heart’s Desire (1894), Cathleen Ní Houlihan (1902) and The Countess Kathleen (1900), written for his muse, the beautiful and redoubtable Maud Gonne, who played the leading part. Yeats asked Maud to marry him several times, the first of these in 1899, but on each occasion she refused – resulting in splendid poems of unrequited love.

As Ireland veered towards military confrontation with the British, culminating in the 1916 Rising, so too did Yeats’s poetry change in those fractious years of the early 20th century.

He gradually discarded the lyrical nature of his writing, his verse more sparse and direct, focussing on the dynamic changes in society. In the aftermath of the Rising – its leaders executed by the English, transforming public opinion to favour the republican cause – Yeats said “I had no idea that any public event could so deeply move me,” and his poem Easter 1916 is an expression of his mixed views on the insurrection itself, his admiration for the blood sacrifice of its leaders tempered with a realistic appraisal of their actions.

All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born.

from Easter 1916 (1920)

He joined a secret society called The Golden Dawn , a group that believed in the practice of ritual magic and he remained a long standing member of this group, exploring related themes in some of his work. He dreamed of setting up his ‘Castle of Heroes’ on Castle island in Lough Key, where 20th century Ireland might commune with its mystical past. In old age he regretted this didn’t materialise.

In the early years of the 20th century, Yeats was involved extensively with the Abbey Theatre, managing and writing up to 10 plays in this period. The Yeats household including W.B. was supported financially in the 1890s-1902 by his sisters Lily (Susan Mary Yeats) and Lollie (Elizabeth Corbet Yeats).

In 1902 Evelyn Gleeson established an art and crafts co-operative, the Dun Emer Industries employing Lily to supervise the embroidery department and Lollie to start a printing press, at considerable loss in their incomes. By 1908 Lily & Lollie had set up independently as Cuala Industries. W.B. advised on ‘suitable’ books to publish, often a source of contention.

He was appointed to the Irish Senate in 1922. A year later in 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He wrote some of his finest work in the following years, and as Europe began its turbulent road to the Second World War, he published his final volume of poetry, titled New Poems , in 1938. The following year, he died in the Hôtel Idéal Séjour Cap-Martin, in the south of France. His body was interred in the cemetery of Roquebrune, but subsequently repatriated to Sligo after the end of the war, to his final resting place in Drumcliffe Graveyard.

His posthumous volume, Last poems and two plays , which included the testamentary Under Ben Bulben and the play completed on his death-bed, The Death of Cuchulain , appeared in July 1939.

Not any god alive, nor mortal dead, Has slain so mighty armies, so great kings, Nor won the gold that now Cuchulain brings.

from The Death of Cuchulain (1939)

Our Partners

This project was funded by the Rural Regeneration Development Fund through the Department of Rural & Community Development.

About the Project

Yeats Trail Locations

Yeats Biography

Touring Route

Illustrations: Annie West

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Cookie and Privacy Settings

We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set optional analytics cookies to help us improve it. We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them. Using this tool will set a cookie on your device to remember your preferences.

For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our Cookies Page

Essential cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. We'd like to set Google Analytics cookies to help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone.

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings: Click to enable/disable Google Webfonts.

Google Map Settings: Click to enable/disable Google Maps.

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds: Click to enable/disable video embeds.

You can read about our privacy policy in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.