William Butler Yeats
Irish Author and Poet
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http://todayinliterature.com/biography/william.butler.yeats.asp
His Life
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Born on June 13, 1865 in Dublin, Ireland
Father was a well-known portrait artist
Mother was from a wealthy family
Had two sisters, Susan Mary and Elizabeth
Corbet and a brother, Jack Butler
Father moved the family to London when
William was two
His Life
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Attended Godolphin School while in London
Family moved back to Dublin and attended
Erasmus Smith High School
In 1884, began school at Metropolitan School
of Art in Dublin for two years
Involved with the Irish Literary Theatre that
was founded in 1899
Became the Abbey Theatre in 1904
His Life
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The Abbey Theatre (The National Theatre of
Ireland) opened in December of 1904
Chief playwright for the Abbey Theatre
Married Georgie Hyde Lees on October 20,
1917
Had two children, a daughter, Anne (1919)
and a son, Michael (1921)
Received an Honorary degree from Trinity
College in 1922
His Life
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Elected to the Irish Senate in 1922, serving for
six years
Resigned due to health issues
Received the Nobel Prize for Literature in
December of 1923
Began radio broadcasts in 1933 for the BBC
Spent most of his life divided between Sligo,
Dublin and London
Died at the age of 73 on January 28, 1939 in
France
Introduction to Literature
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His mother was first to share with him the
Irish folktales that he grew to love
Read Dante, Shakespeare, and Donne at a
young age
Major Influences
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Inspired by many great authors and poets
including: Dante, Shakespeare, Donne,
William Blake, and Percy Shelly
Greatest influences were probably Irish poets
Standish James O’Grady and Sir William
Ferguson
Writing Style
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As a patriot, he spoke out about the severe
Nationalist policies of the time
Early works of drama show his love for Irish
legends, history, and myths
Later plays are more poetic and experimental
Wrote poetry about nature and his
homeland, Ireland
Wrote poetry, plays, short-stories, non-fiction,
and fiction
List of His Works
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Fiction
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Non-Fiction
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Four Years
Plays
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The Celtic Twilight
The Countess Cathleen
The Hour Glass
The Land Of Heart's Desire
Short Stories
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Of Costello the Proud
Out of the Rose
Rosa Alchemica
Stories of Red Hanrahan
Synge And The Ireland Of His Time
The Curse of the Fires and of the Shadows
The Heart of the Spring
The Old Men of the Twilight
Where There is Nothing, There is God
Poetry
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Aedh Wishes For The Clothes Of Heaven
Against Unworthy Praise
Baile And Aillinn
Broken Dreams
A Prayer For My Daughter
Easter, 1916
He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven
Her Praise
In the Seven Woods
King And No King
Lapis Lazuli
Leda And The Swan
No Second Troy
O Do Not Love Too Long
Politics
Sailing to Byzantium
Swift's Epitaph
The Arrow
The Black Tower
The Crucifixion Of The Outcast
The Dolls
The Everlasting Voices
The Fish
The Harp of Aengus
The Host Of The Air
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The Hosting Of The Sidhe
The Lake Isle Of Innisfree
The Lover Tells Of The Rose In His Heart
The Mask
The Moods
The Old Age Of Queen Maeve
The Rose Tree
The Second Coming
The Secret Rose
The Seven Sages
The Shadowy Waters
The Song of the Happy Shepherd
The Stolen Child
The Three Beggars
The Tower
The Two Trees
The Wheel
The Wild Swans At Coole
The Wisdom Of The King
To A Young Beauty
To A Young Girl
To The Rose Upon The Rood Of Time
Towards Break Of Day
What Was Lost
When You Are Old
Yeats and O’Casey
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Both were strong, central figures in the Irish
Literary Movement that aimed to keep Irish
culture alive through literature and the
theatre
Yeats, working with the Abbey theatre, gave
O’Casey, along with other Irish playwrights, a
place to showcase his plays that have since
become famous
Sources
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“William Butler Yeats.” Online-Literature.com.
2007. Jalic Inc. 7 Feb. 2007 <http://www.
online-literature.com/yeats/>.
Fort, Alice B. and Herbert S. Kates. Minute
History of the Drama. New York: Grosset
and Dunlap, 1935. 116. <http://www.
theatrehistory.com/irish/yeats001.html>.