VM_Yeats_Poetry_and_Irish_Tradition

Yeats’s Poetry and Irish Tradition
Introduction
In this essay, the focus is on the theme of Irishness in terms of its being depicted in
part of Yeats’s early literary works. We will wander down the winding paths that his
poems form via their musicality and we will take a glimpse of the legends, myths,
symbols and stereotypes of Irishness, as well as the setting of Ireland presented in his
poems and prose. Irish culture, mentality and Irish elements in general inspired Yeats.
His early works are imbued with a romantic atmosphere and spiritualism. On the
contrary, his latest works celebrate the dignity of the body. The poet in his latest
works started doubting his attachment to spiritual life and tried to dispense with the
self-indulgent romantic imagery (qqt in Norton p.g. 2086). In these early works when
he was not contemplating on the corporal decay, he was determined to accomplish the
goal of uniting the Irish culture, mentality and idiosyncrasy and as a second step
mingling them with Pagan, Christian and many other theories for instance ancient
Greek, whose similarities are centered in the idea of birth, death and resurrection, (qqt
in Iliopoulos p.g. 28). He produced his work with the aim of reinforcing the
movement towards Celtic tradition’s revival. Making a research for it would be in the
revival’s best interest, since there were mythological associations to every part of
Ireland (Marjorie Hoves pg. 70). His research reached its peak by the creation of his
work called “Celtic Twilight”. His trial to explain all these theories (and by extend the
historical processes) resulted in a modern mythology. That mythology dealt with the
realm of occult and esoteric thought. Yeats’s concepts about the reiteration among the
historical events and the fleet of homocentric circles with the benign and devilish
elements being diametrically opposed will be presented afterwards.
Conversely to Arnold’s views about an Ireland feminine, feeble, unable to retain its
own individuality and subordinate to England, Yeats wanted an independent
“masculine” Ireland (qqt in Marjorie Hoves p.g25). That virility must have been
accomplished without employing violence (qqt in Alasdair D.F. Macrae p.g 77) lest it
should be detrimental to the maintenance of Irish values and Irish nationalism. He was
determined to promote the idea of Ireland not as a complement to English values but
as a masculine identity. According to him and as Marjorie Hoves states “the essence
of Irishness and the essence of masculinity were identical.” Actually masculinity
E. Papadopoulou & V. Makropoulou, University of Athens, Year 2006
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incorporated the notion of “universality”. Ireland through that virility would be
competent enough, after deep reflection, to embrace foreign theories either because
Irish civilization had an affinity to them or because they were considered to be
important. On the other hand, the Irish people were able to convey their own
knowledge to other people, so as to enlighten them. The insatiable love for nature is a
case in point (qqt in Mrs W.B.YEATS p.g. 173).
Yeats’s had to hone his skills in order to form a simple and masculine style so as to
contribute to Irish Nationalism. He was impressed by Nietzsche’s books that he had
vetted thoroughly and they compelled him to choose a more active stance and a more
masculine style. Irish nationalism (not politically biased) spurred him on to write
simpler and simpler (qqt in Norton p.g. 2086). Unless his poetry was simple and
masculine, it would not be comprehensible. Consequently Irish people would not be
impelled to protect and promote their specific characteristics-identity as a nation, their
virtues and their intellectual prowess. They would not be a nation. A definition of
Nation can be offered. It is a more civilized, non-destructive form of collectivity. It is
capable of providing social stability (qqt in Marjorie Hoves p.g. 82). It develops each
individual separately and all the Irish people in general. Only in that way the public
can foster a concrete Irish nationalism and pitch their vision, occult-vision higher still.
Otherwise, the public will be convicted to be a feminine mob or crowd. The crowd is
fragmented and irrational. National culture, like Yeats’s works, provided a major
bulwark against the crowd (qqt in Marjorie Hoves p.g. 82).
Indeed, although it is scarcely possible to think about Yeats separated from Irishness
(since it is tightly woven into his nature) and his theories about mysticism, occult and
esoteric thought (his book Vision is replete with these, but they are not the goal of this
essay)- when we read his poems- we ought to feel their musicality. It is not worth
being based on only his personal data in order to analyze them impeccably, because
we run the risk of undervaluing or not taking a precise gauge of these poems’
character. Not to mention the fact that the dreamy and ethereal language, in which his
poems are written, shapes into our mind an array of images and feelings since it is
evocative.
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The masculine Ireland
Arnold represented Ireland mainly, as a female figure. The notion of femininity was
highly associated with political inability, hysteria (i.e. it precipitated mental crisis,
mental insanity or excessive sensitivity) (qqt in Marjorie Hoves p.g.21, 23, p.g.103),
revolutionary potency and the likelihood of its being a barrier to industrial revolution
( qqt in Marjorie Hoves p.g. 23). Femininity was an impediment to Ireland’s
universality since it brought to mind the stability, being particular or restricted to one
place not being universal and finally the opposite of decent, even the one that is
morally contaminated or corrupted, despite its being valuable in reality. However
some positive elements of Irish tradition, whose culmination point were the passion,
belief and excess of the Irish temperament, balanced the frailties that the Celtic
feminine characteristics exposed (qqt in Marjorie Hoves p.g.35). Yeats, following the
paths that Ferguson, Davis, O’Leary and O’Grandy had beaten, after taking seriously
into account the views about the Irish feebleness and inability, he decided to give
some sort of virility to Ireland by opting for the figure of the Irish peasant to stand for
Irishness. He held the belief that the lack of material goods, poverty and peasant’s
deplorable state was the source of cultural value and “wealth” to him ( qqt in Marjorie
Hoves p.g.33). The fact that it was just a miracle for the Irish peasant to scrape a
living led him to create a special and riveting culture. So, the Irish peasant turned the
negative qualities of economic and gender inferiority into positive ones by means of
replacing their negative connotations into positive such as cultural wealth, which was
universally agreed to be a distinguishing, indispensable and prominent mark of the
Celt (i.e. tightly fastened to the Celt). Furthermore the Irish peasant had the potential
to be a source of knowledge to the whole world. He was capable of feeling the
awesome power of nature and having an insight into the workings of nature. Apart
from conveying knowledge, the Irish peasant could facilitate the process towards a
benign cooperation between English and Irish civilization and alleviate the pain
caused from the controversies revolving around colonialist issues (qqt in Marjorie
Hoves p.g 33)
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Not only did Yeats scorn Ireland’s femininity and shed the light on its masculinity
symbolized by the Irish peasant, but also he tried to unite the Irish legend and culture,
as it was deemed in the introduction, mixing it by foreign theories. This view is
observed in his poem The Coat “I made my song a coat/covered with embroideries/
out of old mythologies” and “weaves olden dances” borrowed from his poem “the
stolen child”. He thought that the continuum of legends was disrupted subject to
Ireland’s subordination to England.
The nature
Yeats’s poems are undeniably the most effective way of understanding in depth the
special relationship between the Irish peasant and nature (qqt in Sellner Edwards C.
article “spiritual life”) (qqt in Mrs W.B Yeats p.g.173) “sweeter emotion, working in
their veins/ like gentle blood, has been driven from the place” . Those lines can be
observed in the poem “to a shade”. They make clear that living close to nature can do
you good, you can relax and find peace. It becomes apparent that it gives to all the
humanity a new lease of life. These lines that are taken from the poem “To a Shade”
reveal how the environment has changed Irish peasant’s character and nature seems
congenial to them. However, nature in Yeats’s poems is also seen through the scope
of Celtic wisdom.
Per Hallström, in his presentation speech as Chairman of the Nobel Committee of the
Swedish Academy, on December 10, 1923, says that the “soul of nature” for Yeats
had much significance, since the “Celtic pantheism” with the faith in the reality of
existing, individual forces following the observable facts was still vivid in much of
the Irish community and took a grip on the poet’s fantasy while it upheld his intrinsic
and profound spiritual desires. According to Morgan La Fey, the Celtic community
had an intense religious temperament and they perceived the existence of the divine
“in every blade of grass and every drop of water”. This attitude is obvious in many
Yeats’s poems, like in The Rose of the World that the poet says “Weary and kind one
lingered by His seat;/ He made the world to be a grassy road” and implies that a God
intervenes in the world of experience and creates a verdant path. In The Pity of Love
there is a reference to a “shadowy hazel grove”. According to Morgan La Fey, the
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Celts felt affection for holy groves. She informs from Tacitus that the grove was the
innermost of their belief and she quotes from him that “It is regarded as the cradle of
the race and the dwelling place of the supreme god to whom all things are subject and
obedient.” The trees as she continues are pious entities, where “Dryads or spirits”
lived in. She also mentions that the trees, except for a related “deity”, also had an
emblem as well as a celestial object connected with them. The fact that it is a “hazel
grove” has special meaning, since according to the same the fruit of the hazel tree is a
symbol of deep sagacity and Irish tradition the Hazel tree is the place where “the
poetic Fairy” dwells. This tree is referred to in other poems also; in He mourns for the
Change that has come upon Him and his Beloved, and longs for the End of the World,
Yeats talks about “A man with a hazel wand” and in He thinks of his Past Greatness
when a Part of the Constellations of Heaven, he states “I have been a hazel-tree”.
These frequent allusions to Hazel trees, in which the “poetic Faerie” lives, may
suggest Yeats’s own relation to poetry and Irish tradition that reveal to him in the
form of a “hazel grove” or a mysterious male figure holding a stick of hazel, who, as
it is given in the notes of 70 Ερωτικα and will be discussed later, can be Angus, the
Celtic God of love. In the poem, where he becomes a Hazel tree, it may propose that
both poetry and Irish tradition reside inside him.
As a matter of fact, the linkage between the earth and the divine world was
represented by the image of the tree. A very vivid illustration of the tree exists in the
poem “the Madness of King Goll” in the line (arise the leopard-coloured trees). Its
branches connected the material (roots to the ground) with the spirit world (branches
into the upper world). It was alleged that if a tree was broken, its spirit would die with
it and the earth would be lost.
In The Sorrow of Love, there is the phrase “famous harmony of leaves” and
introduces the notion of balance and harmony prevalent in the druidic creed, as we are
notified by the article Magicke Symbols and Tools, concerning druidic symbols.
“Ireland had its Druids, and traditional lore testifies that country in the
acknowledgment of those magicians or philosophers” as James Bonwick states in
Irish Druids and Old Religions. In The Secret Rose, Yeats adverts about the existence
of Druids and their relation to the Irish mythology and Christianity, since it is the
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mythological figure Conchubar according to the notes in 70 Ερωτικα, who “Saw the
Pierced Hands and Rood of elder rise/In Druid vapour” that is he saw the crucifixion
of Jesus, a Christian allegory, in a druidic vision. This druidic notion of “balance” has
many levels of interpretation, according to the same article; one of them is the
“balance” between the masculine and feminine forces creating thus a sequence of
demolition and production respectively, which is obvious in every aspect of the nature
like in the sea that is the condition of instability of outgoing and rising tide. Yeats in
The Fish says about his beloved, who takes the form of a fish, “you hide in the ebb
and flow”. The sea played a significant role in the Celtic life; “all boats had to be
blessed and painted with the eye of Manannan, to ask the God of the sea for his
protection.” as it is mentioned in the article Celtic Folklore. The receding waters
caused immense alarm, because Celts considered it as a warning for misfortunes. On
the other hand, they considered the flow to precede desirable events “and was
welcomed as a newborn came into the world.” The sea is a natural element, common
in many of Yeats’s poems; A Poet to his Beloved, “As the tide wears the dove-grey
sands”, where the tide becomes destructive force that erodes the shores, The Lover
pleads with his Friend for Old Friends, “Time’s bitter flood will rise”, where the flood
has the same effect as in the previous poem, but this time on the beauty of his
beloved, “Your beauty perish and be lost”, Adam’s Curse, “A moon, worn as if it had
been a shell/Washed by time’s waters as they rose and fell”, where the ebb and flood
acquire corroding force again like in the previous poems.
As far the waters and the moon are concerned there can be offered some examples.
“ and rushes waved and waters rolled” taken from the poem “the madness of king
Goll” “where the wandering water gushes/ from the hills above Glen- Car/ in pools
among the rushes/the scarce could bathe a star” it is taken from the poem “the stolen
child” “whatever ravelled waters rise and fall” “ where people love beside the ravelled
seas” from “the man who dreamed of Fairyland” and “the white breast of the dim sea”
that is borrowed from the poem “who goes with Fergus”. What can be stated is that
the water is in a constant, incessant movement. It gushes, wanders, rises- falls (ebb
and flow) as it was previously deemed, rolls and finally takes the image of a woman
with a white breast (the sea is personified). Actually it is generally agreed that life
springs from water.
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With regards to the moon, it can be proclaimed that it is associated with mystery and
magic. It certainly has an affinity to the occult and evokes images of power in the
people’s minds. Sometimes it is distant and important for pagan religion. It plays the
role of the mother, whose child (i.e. the little town) can have in its hung a peaceful
sleep. It casts a light [which has the potential to be deceitful (mingling hands and
mingling glances)] on the sand and finally is bound to be a complement or partner to
the sun.
“ I came upon a little town / that slumbered in the harvest moon” it is taken from the
poem “the madness of king Goll” “where the wave of moonlight glosses/ the dim grey
sands with light” from “the stolen child” “it seemed the sun and moon were in the
fruit” it is taken from “the man who dreamed of fairyland.”
Concerning the stars, they are a quite interesting stereotype of Irishness. They can be
“disheveled” as well as “wandering” as they are described like that in the poem “who
goes with Fergus”. They can also hide love. It is generally acknowledged that Irish
people treated of Eros and love specially (qqt in Selner, Edwards 1999). They were
not ignorant of its creative power. For that reason they never forget their vows
( that time can never mar a lover’s vows) as it is claimed in the poem “the man who
dreamed of fairyland.” Contrary to this in the poem “A deep-sworn vow” time is
ferocious enough to wither the vow. Furthermore in the poem “the white birds” the
sky is described as a vessel and the stars as flaming figures that stand on the verge of
the vessel ( and the flame of the blue/ star of twilight, hung low on/ the rim of the
sky,).
Bearing in mind the qualities that are attributed to stone, it is acknowledged that it is
not a sterile object, to be more precise it is encompassed under the umbrella term of
Celtic tradition and beliefs. The Celts believed that stones had mystical energy and
magical importance. The water brims among the stones, as it is noted in the poem “the
wild Swans at Coole”. Had it not been for the existence of stone, water could not have
brimmed, and as a consequence life would not have sprung. That means that stone is
the source of life. Interpreting in this way the notion of stone, it will not seem strange
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that in the poem “the man who dreamed of Faeryland the earth or mother- nature can
take someone into her stony care.
Animal symbolism
W.B. Yeats’s writing production came about for the period of “positivism”, according
to Daniela Capsoni that means that a “rational approach” dominated at that time. At
any rate, Yeats opted for a move toward a “literature based on symbols”. He used to
draw his symbols by the Celtic tradition, whose part is Irish tradition. According to a
paper of Lars Nooden from the University of Michigan, animals in Celtic tradition are
symbols of fecundity and vivacity, because they reproduce, live and travel and
furthermore they offer themselves as food for people. However, animals are also
symbols of spiritualism and divinity, because of their utilization in chasing other
animals and exploration of insight. W B Yeats, in several of his poems uses animals
for various reasons. One poem is The Fish, in which Maud Gonne is paralleled to a
fish that the poet is trying to catch by casting his net. According to the Celtic tradition,
the fish symbolizes wisdom and for this reason, in this poem, Maud Gonne has
“leaped times out of mind/Over the little silver cords…” This is an indication of the
wisdom of Maud Gonne, who can wriggle out of the poet’s net.
Another poem that employs animals is He mourns for the Change that has come upon
Him and his Beloved, and longs for the End of the World. In this poem, Maud, the
poet’s beloved, assumes the form of a “white deer with no horns”, which is the
symbol of woman’s desire according to many Celtic stories, as Yeats states in his
publication of “The desire of Man and Woman” (1897). As said by Lars Nooden, in
Celtic mythology, hunting is a predominant subject and in this poem it can be a
lover’s game, in which the poet “hunts” his subject of desire. The same mentions that
the white deer is a magical animal, because its aberrant color attracts the interest of
the hunter and leads him, who is Yeats in this case, to the sphere of the supernatural
element. Lars Nooden, in his paper, quotes an incident with King Arthur, who got lost
in a miraculous place hunting a big white deer, to show that the idea of chasing an
unusual animal is quite common in this tradition. Yeats, in turn, in this lover’s chase
becomes “a hound with one red ear”, which symbolizes the desire of the man,
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according to Yeats’s note (1897). What is unnatural in this hound is its one red ear,
which shows its relation to the world of the abnormal. Nooden quotes the story of
Prince Pwyll, a Cymric myth about the quest for human completeness, the genesis of
the eternal soul, and a picture of the cultural integration between indigenous peoples
and Celtic invaders from Britain. In this story, this prince faces “king Arawn's dogs
from the other world”, which had intense red ears, an image quite close to Yeats’ one
red ear hound. Another animal from this poem that relates to Celtic tradition is “the
Boar without bristles”. This boar is an old Celtic image that symbolizes the dark,
according to Yeats’s note (1897). According to Nooden, the boar symbolizes
fecundity and richness as well as bravery and physical power, since it is a brawny and
not easily slain animal. He also emphasizes the significance of the bristles, because
they denote its power. He gives the paradigm of King Arthur, who battles boars with
gold or silver bristles to illustrate their meaning. However, the boar here in Yeats’
poem is “without bristles”, which can indicate a fight, in which it has been wounded
and for this reason it wants to wipe “the sun and moon and stars out of the sky/And
lay in the darkness, grunting, and turning to his rest.” The notion of an unnatural
element present in an animal is depicted in the poem He bids his Beloved be at Peace,
in which there is the image of “Shadowy Horses” and “The Horses of Disaster”.
These horses have “their eyes glimmering white”, which is an abnormal
characteristic, like their “Shadowy” texture. Also, “their tossing manes and their
tumultuous feet” give the impression of an immense speed and power, which are also
part of their miraculous nature.
The bird is an animal much referred in Yeats’s poems. In the poem, He wishes his
Beloved were Dead, the poet mentions that his beloved has “the will of the wild
birds”, which shows that she has a particular ability that is to have strong will. The
same image is given to her in the poem Friends, in which she has an “eagle look”. The
poem Human Dignity, attributes healing qualities to a bird, “I could recover if I
shrieked/My heart’s agony/To a passing bird…” This outlook adds up to Nooden’s
opinion that the birds symbolize skillfulness. Birds, like most animals represent also
reproduction, as the same mentions, and this is demonstrated in the lines “O beast of
the wilderness, bird of the air, / Must I endure your amorous cries?” from the poem
He thinks of his Past Greatness when a Part of the Constellations of Heaven. In these
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lines Yeats cannot withstand the bids’ erotic calls, since he cannot be with the one he
loves. Birds lastly also symbolize “prophetic knowledge”, according to Nooden, and
this is evident in the poem Her Triumph, “a miraculous strange bird shrieks at us.” In
this poem the bird appears to warn that something ominous will follow that is
discontent in love, while in the poem Parting the “night’s bird” that “Bids all true
lovers rest…” foreshadows separation.
It is hardly possible to distinguish the other animals separated from human qualities
and vividness. From the poems “The madness of King Goll”, “The stolen child” and
the “sailing to Byzantium” the wolves, the hares, the birds or fowl and the fish seem
to adopt human behavior. Firstly they are apprehensive of the poet’s existence (The
grey wolf knows me: by one ear/ I lead along the woodland deer;/ the hares run by me
growing bold).
In view of birds’ reaction, they are also apprehensive of the qualities of starlight and
clouds. As a consequence they move their wings hurriedly as well as irregularly (By
rocky shore and rushy fen; / I laughed because birds fluttered by,/ and starlight
gleamed, and clouds flew high) these lines are cited in the poem “The Madness of
King Goll”. The birds could play the role of messengers from god. That role dates
back from ancient Greece and explains how much Yeats was impressed from ancient
Greek culture. They could also predict events as it was stated before. Their
predictions by all means turned to become true. Moreover, the birds were able to get
to grips with the human pain by means of carrying it away. As a creature of magic,
the bird could understand the suffering and sympathize with the one that suffered. It
acted as if it were a mere pairs of ears that cannot reveal what they heard. Everyone
could rely on birds in as much as they were trustworthy. Finally they act as if they
were a line, which divides the sea from the sky; (were we only white birds,/ my
beloved, buoyed out on/ the foam of the sea” these lines are cited in the poem “the
white birds”. Another quality that they acquire is that they dress the flame of the
meteor before it withers. That perhaps explains their strange qualities as messengers
from god and predictors (we tire of the flame of the/ meteor, before it can pass/ by and
flee;). These lines are cited in the poem the white birds.
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The poet and in relation every Irish person try to contact the animals. He tries to
disturb their slumbers (i.e. peaceful sleep). Much as it sounds bizarre, the animals do
not prevent themselves from contacting the poet. (We seek for slumbering trout/And
whispering in their ears/ Give them unquiet dreams;) taken from “The Stolen Child”
(the salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas/ Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all
summer long/ whatever is begotten, born and dies) it is taken from “the sailing to
Byzantium” one of his most popular poems.
In brief, animals, nature and human beings are interrelated. Irish people approach
nature so that it might unravel its deeply hidden mysteries. Animals, however, are
accustomed to human existence and cannot dispense with it. Birds specifically appear
to have magical qualities.
The dominant Celtic symbol is the boar. It envisions the darkness or the wars that
would destroy the world. It comes from the west tradition of Ireland. In the song of
wandering Aengus the image of the boar can be observed. In that same poem the poet
catches a trout by simply dropping a berry (I dropped the berry in a stream/ and
caught a silver trout.) .
What is striking is the fact that the power of the natural phenomena like the wind is
clarified by being presented like an animal. (The wild fowl of the air increased) cited
in the poem “the Madness of King Goll”. In other words animals have so great a
potency that even the natural phenomena in poet’s mind react as if they were animals.
In brief, Irish could be exposed to the supernatural capacities of the animals, to the
tremendous force and movement of the waters and to the “blinking” of stars because
they had come to terms with the idea of their being only a part of the jigsaw called
nature. They showed respect to nature in order that they may avoid the ensuing
disasters that seem to loom particularly devastating when the humanity shows no
disposition towards obedience to nature. It is likely a people to live like a gay exulting
and gentle race, if it is in good terms with nature like in Yeats’s poem “the man who
dreamed of fairyland” or to become devastated like in Stephen Crane’s literary work
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“The open boat”. The records of the Irish people, their legends, their folk tales and
ancient myths could prove really useful.
Their necessity pertains to a flurry of aspects. First of all the poet is able to get a
sound knowledge about his nation and then to come to grips with the notion of
Universalism. Yeats suggested that scarcely could someone attain to Universalism
than after he has been informed about his nation. That multidimensional knowledge
encompasses a fleet of concentric circles. The smallest circle is entitled “home”, then
the circle of “village” arises, which is smaller than the circle of “British –Ireland”.
The circles symbolize the whole universe and the stages that need to be scrambled in
order to catch just a glimpse of the notion of universe. In every circle the benign
elements and the devilish ones are diametrically opposite. As long as we draw a line
we can connect them. In other words, each circle circumscribes the negative and
positive elements.
Apart from the synchronic scope, there is also the diachronic one. With regard to the
latter it can be contended that that turns into a circle. The aim is to evoke the ancient
myths and consequently the past to live in the present. There is a cyclical notion. (qqt
in David Pierce p.g.67). Everything has to perish, in order to be revived. It is recreated
and that creates joy.
The symbol of the Rose
The Rose is a symbol used frequently in Yeats’s poems. It has many meanings, which
are briefly the woman and Maud Gonne in particular, Ireland and Christianity, which
is a part of Irish tradition. As it is mentioned in the introduction of the book 70
Ερωτικα, the love poems about Maud are related to Yeats’s writing about Irish
culture, which is in turn linked to the demand for a “Celtic Revival” for political and
civilizing reasons, which were of great importance at that time. So, the various
meanings of the Rose are interrelated. The Rose has become a collective emblem for
many traditions, as Daniela Capsoni mentions in her article The Rose Symbol in W.B.
Yeats’s poetry, this shows, because the Rose apart from a renowned symbol of
Ireland, has also been the symbol of England, for example the wars of the roses, the
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battles between the House of Lancaster, with the emblem of the Red Rose and the
House of York, with the emblem of the White Rose. This symbol, Daniela continues,
was at first recognized for “Venus”, the goddess of love from a pagan religion, but
later on Christianity will employ it, so as to indicate the ethics of “the Catholic
Church”. Therefore, this flower will become the “symbol of Virgin Mary”, as the
indication of divine love. Daniela concludes that it is not by chance that the Rose
becomes also a symbol of the woman in general, because of its link to love and its
“haematic” associations, agreed in many civilizations, of red colour and blood, which
is “monthly offered outward through the menstrual cycle” As Yeats tells “Red Rose,
proud Rose, sad Rose of all my days!” in the poem To the Rose Upon the Rood of
Time, he represents mythological Ireland through a red rose, but also this
representation runs parallel with his relationship with Maud Gonne; they are both a
little beyond his grasp, “Come near, come near, come near - Ah, leave me still” The
Rose of the World, The Lover tells of the Rose in his Heart, The Secret Rose are also
some of the poems written for Maud, “For these red lips, with all their mournful
pride…” in which Maud equals to a rose, but Rose is also the name of a girl in the
Irish patriotic poetry (Mary Hynes that the blind Irish poet Raftery praised her), in
line with the notes of the book 70 Ερωτικά. It is profound that the rose is tightly
connected to the issue of free Ireland. The book also mentions about the Rose, as a
symbol of the woman again, that blossoms on the Cross, as a symbol of the man, is an
emblem of the Rosicrucian movement of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,
founded by MacGregor Mathers and in which both Maud and Yeats belonged.
The poem The Lover tells of the Rose in his Heart talks about the same Rose that is
related to Maud and his cabalistic membership that joins him and Maud in spiritual
wedding, consistent with the same book. In this poem the allusion to “a green knoll”
may be related to Yeats’ wish to create a kind of school of Celtic Mysteries, as the
book cites. That shows Yeats’ concern about the creation of a supplementary Irish
cultural bond, linked to the issue of “Celtic Revival”, instead of being restricted in
writing only poetry or dealing with the theatrical plays. In The Secret Rose, Yeats
unites pagan and Christian elements, as said in the notes of the book, which shows the
complexity of the Irish tradition. Yeats puts forward that “the Secret Rose” is chased
out “in the Holy Sepulchre” and that its “leaves enfold” “him/Who met Fand walking
among flaming dew” intending to indicate that pagan and Christian tradition are both
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parts of the collective memory of Irish people and the Irish culture. Thus, the Rose
becomes the point of convergence of all the elements that comprise the Irish identity.
It includes the lasting divine qualities either from a pagan or from a Christian point of
view (Venus vs Virgin Mary). It is a potent symbol of femininity. Subject to its red
colour, it is tightly connected to a woman being menstruating. The gender applied to
Ireland was feminine,Yeats in his early romantic works had come to terms with it.
Only after his being impressed by O’Leary, O’Grandy and Fergusson did he change
his mind and asserted to Ireland masculinity by means of employing the figure of Irish
peasant as a symbol.
Irish Ballads
“Nineteenth-century Ireland” created a new tradition of “songs, music and ballads”,
consistent with David Pierce in Yeats’s Worlds. Yeats’s interest in and influence from
the Irish folklore that meets the demand for the “Celtic Revival”, is shown first by the
remake of an old Irish ballad, which had the title “Down by the Salley Gardens”, and
is the same with the title of Yeats’s poem to indicate similarities and present his
source of inspiration, in keeping with the notes of the book 70 Ερωτικα. However,
David Pierce informs that Yeats’s poetry shows affinity to the Irish tradition of
Ballads and “story- telling”, making his poetry popular to country people. Yeats says,
“The poor peasant of the eighteenth century could make fine ballads by abandoning
himself to the joy or sorrow of the moment”, quoted in Yeats’s Worlds, Ireland,
England and the Poetic Imagination. As Ben S Austin states in his article Introduction
to the Folk Background, “the medieval peasant and the urban poor” had sustenance as
basic aim in their lives. Brutality and misfortune were part of their everyday routine,
so the music that resulted from their way of life instils both ache and contentment.
Subsequently, human relations are defined by misfortune, “unrequited love”
unfaithfulness or aggression. This tradition of the peasants, who are valued more than
the wise by Yeats is followed in all of his early poems written for Maud Gonne, like
The Pity of Love, or The Sorrow of Love, which have in common the theme of
unrequited love. Yet, according to the same book, before English was established as
dominant language, Irish peasants used the Gaelic language in their songs, so some
Gaelic elements exist in the Irish tradition. This is shown in the poems A Poet to his
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Beloved and The Secret Rose, that would have the original titles O’Sullivan the Red
to Mary Lavelle II and O’ Sullivan Rua to the Secret Rose, as it is informed by the
notes in 70 Ερωτικά, in which O’ Sullivan is a carrot top Gaelic poet with whom
Yeats coincides. Therefore, this attempt by Yeats suggests that the Irish culture cannot
disregard its Gaelic rudiments, for they are part of the Irish collective memory.
However, his poems became “so much part of the culture” that as R.F. Foster
indicates, "The Stolen Child or The Lake Isle of Innisfree or When you are old could
have been folk songs” even if they are written in English.
The Celtic Revival
At the end of the 19th
Century, according to the article The Sidhe, the Tuatha de
Danaan, and the Fairies in Yeats's Early Works, there were a lot of people in quest of
illumination. For this reason, as said by the same, Yeats together with many of his
generation turned towards “the supernatural”. During that period, the article
continues, there was also political disorder reigning among the Irish people (mob
formation), so expectedly Yeats occupied with “Irish nationalism” too. So as to fulfill
this eagerness, the same moves on, he attempted to create a Celtic literature, which, as
he longed, would provide answers and enthuse his compatriots. “References to
supernatural Celtic beings and the Irish spirit world abound in Yeats’s early poetry”.
The Celtic Revival, also known as the Irish Literary Revival, was begun by Lady
Gregory, Edward Martyn and Yeats in Ireland in 1896. The Revival stimulated new
appreciation of traditional Irish literature. The movement also encouraged the creation
of works written in the spirit of Irish culture, as distinct from English culture.
One of Yeats’s works that shows his interest in this Irish culture is an anthology
edited and selected by him with the title Fairy and Folk tales of the Irish Peasantry.
This anthology contains many stories about mythical creatures like the Trooping
Fairies that are "Fallen angels who were not good enough to be saved, nor bad enough
to be lost," according to “the peasantry” who, Yeats thinks, has more wisdom than all
the sages in the world, "The gods of the earth," according to “the Book of Armagh”
"The gods of pagan Ireland," according to “the Irish antiquarians”. There are also
different sections about the Changelings, the wrinkled, grumpy beings that the fairies
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leave behind taking the infant of the family, the Merrows, the female sea creatures
that resemble to humans with the difference of having flatter teeth and thin webbing
between the fingers, the Solitary Fairies, like the Leprecaun, the apparently aged,
diminutive men, frequently found in an intoxicated state and the Cluricaun that may
steal or borrow almost anything, creating mayhem in houses during the hours of
darkness, the Pooka, the most feared fairy, because it is always out and about after
nightfall, creating harm and mischief, and because it can assume a variety of
terrifying forms and the Banshee, a fairy that chiefly appears in one of three guises: a
young woman, a stately matron or a raddled old hag and, although not always seen,
her mourning call is heard, usually at night when someone is about to die. There are
also different chapters for Ghosts, Witches and Fairy Doctors, the Tír-na-n-Og that is
the Country of the Young, the Saints and Priests, the Devil, the Giants and finally
Kings, Queens, Princesses, Earls and Robbers. All these are elements of the Irish
Culture and one purpose can be to remind them to old and introduce them to young,
since one of Yeats’ concerns is to arouse the Irish people ethnically.
The wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems is another collection of poems written by
Yeats that expressed passionate patriotism in line with the new literary direction and
pertained to the poems of the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. This poem initiates
one of his most central arguments that are the demand for reflection in opposition to
the demand for execution. Representative Irish Tales is a selection of Irish Fiction,
presenting delegates of Irish authors. John Sherman and Dhoya presents two unalike
stories, in which the story of Dhoya resembles to an ancient legend and in line with
Margaret Mills Harper “thus anticipates Yeats's retellings of folktales from the west of
Ireland and his elaborations of Celtic myths in poems and plays.” Other collections
that draw heavily on Irish myth and folklore are Irish Faerie Tales and Countess
Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics, which includes the play The Countess
Kathleen and a group of shorter lyrics.
Another work of Yeats that shows this intention of exciting the admiration of
traditional Irish literature is The Celtic Twilight. This is a famous collection of
Yeats’s prose, much like the above anthologies. It is about the investigation of the old
relationship between the Irish community and the residents of the land of Fairy, as
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Yeats says in the beginning “I HAVE desired, like every artist, to create a little world
out of the beautiful, pleasant, and significant things of this marred and clumsy world,
and to show in a vision something of the face of Ireland”. Yeats puts pen to paper
with assurance that the actuality of this Fairytopia is beyond any doubt, an assurance
based on his deep spiritual and prophet viewpoint, but also justified together by
incidents of his own life and by the commonplace of the Irish people, in Yeats’s own
words “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”.
This work provides a means for allowing the readership to notice Yeats' potent,
skillful, lexical artistry and obtain a general impression of the Celtic Fairy tradition.
Yeats, in line with the “Celtic Revival”, has several mythological elements dispersed
in his poems. In The Rose of the World, there is an allusion to The Tales of the
Ultonian Cycle, especially the story of Deirdre and the Sons of Usna. Yeats says,
“Troy passed away in one high funeral gleam, /And Usna’s children died.” In this
poem, Maud Gonne is paralleled to Deirdre, daughter of Felim son of Dall and lord of
Ulster, a woman of extreme beauty, for whom Druid Cathbad foresaw that “because
of her shall death and ruin come upon the Province of Ulster." And so it did happen,
when Deirdre fell in love with Naisi, one of Usna’s sons and the three brothers found
death by Conor’s punisher, because of her. In He mourns for the Change that has
come upon Him and his Beloved, and longs for the End of the World, Yeats talks
about “A man with a hazel wand”, who is according to the notes in 70 Ερωτικα
Angus, the God of love and youth. In The Secret Rose, Yeats refers to “the king
whose eyes/Saw the Pierced Hands and Rood of elder rise/In Druid vapor”, who is
King Conchubar, but whose story has been distorted as said by Yeats, quoted in the
same notes. In the same poem, Yeats describes Cuchulain’s story, found in Augusta
Gregory's collation of the Cuchulain cycle, the warrior of 'the Red Branch', who fell in
love with Fand, the wife of the God of the Sea “and lost the world and Emer for a
kiss”, in Yeats’ words. In the same poem, there is also the story of one member of the
fighting band of the Fianna, Caoilte, “him who drove the gods out of their liss”, as
indicated in the notes of 70 Ερωτικα, who participates in the story of the Fianna of
Ireland, given also by Lady Augusta Gregory. Lastly, in the poem there is the
reference to Fergus MacRoigh, according to the same notes, as “the proud dreaming
Page 17 of 18

king who flung the crown/And sorrow away, and calling bard and clown/Dwelt
among wine-stained wanderers in deep woods;” which participates in both the above
stories, the Cuchulain cycle and the Fianna of Ireland by Augusta Gregory, that Yeats
contributed in, writing the preface and some notes. In another poem, He thinks of his
Past Greatness when a Part of the Constellations of Heaven, Yeats mentions “I have
drunk ale from the Country of the Young” and he refers to the Tír-na-n-Og, the
country that “age and death have not found”, a story included in his collection, Fairy
and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry. All these elements show Yeats’s attempt to
boost the national character of the Irish people and this is confirmed by Augusta
Gregory, with whom Yeats collaborated, in the dedication in the story of Gods and
Fighting Men saying that “I am glad in the year of the birth of your Society to have
this book to offer you” and citing what Finn said to the woman of enchantments, "We
would not give up our own country--Ireland--if we were to get the whole world as an
estate, and the Country of the Young along with it"
Conclusion
The issue of Irish tradition and Irishness in general employed by Yeats is
multidimensional and its investigation has been tried in its complexity. Yeats used the
Irish tradition in his early work to create a new Irish identity and orientation for the
Irish people, for this reason he projected intensely the masculine aspect of Ireland in
order to make it powerful and universal. However, this masculinity is connected with
the peasant, who has all the wisdom to lead the way in the new Irish tradition, created
by the legends and the myths of the old Celtic-Irish tradition. His work embodies
many such elements as it has been shown meeting the demands of the literary Celtic
Renaissance that wanted the creation of a new literary tradition in order to achieve the
goal of constructing a new influential, unthreatened, masculine Ireland.
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VM_Yeats_Poetry_and_Irish_Tradition

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