How Does W.B. Yeats Handle Myth and History in His Poems?
Easter 1916 is a notable literary work by William Butler Yeats. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Easter 1916.
Answer
How does WB Yeats handle myth and history in his poems? [2017]
W.B. Yeats (1865-1939) is a Nobel Prize-winning literary giant. His poetry combines myth, history, philosophy, and imagination beautifully. He used old myths and historical events to express deep thoughts about life and civilization. His early poems were based on Irish legends and folklore. On the other hand, his later poems dealt with the rise and fall of civilizations. Through myth and history, Yeats created a new poetic vision that united the past and the present.
Use of Irish Myths: Yeats’s early poems are filled with Irish myths and legends. He wanted to build a national literature based on Ireland’s own stories. In “The Wanderings of Oisin,” he uses the story of the hero Oisin, who spends three hundred years in a fairyland. Through this myth, Yeats shows the conflict between dream and reality. The fairy world represents beauty and imagination, while the real world embodies time and decay.
Greek Myths and Civilization: Yeats also used Greek myths to explain human history and civilization. In “Leda and the Swan,” he retells the story of Zeus and Leda. From their union came Helen of Troy, whose beauty caused the Trojan War. Yeats sees this event as the beginning of a new age in human history. He believed that every two thousand years, a new civilization is born. Thus, Yeats uses myth to explain the cycles of history and human destiny.
Cycles of History: In “The Second Coming,” Yeats presents his famous idea of history moving in circles. He thought that each civilization lasts for about two thousand years and then gives birth to another. The poem begins with the image of a turning gyre. The poet says,
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer.”
This means that order has broken down and chaos is coming. He feels that the Christian age is ending and a new age, dark and violent, is about to begin. He says,
“And
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