William Butler Yeats 1865-1939,“the greatest poet of our time --- certainly the greatest in this language, and so far as I am able to judge, in any language.” ---T.S.Eliot,Background 1,Before studying Yeats, one must know something about Ireland, for Yeats was above all an Irishman. Although it is so close to England, Ireland has retained its own language and culture, completely different from England’s. Irish people are descended from Celts, an ancient people who remained in Ireland, Scotland and Wales after England was invaded by Romans and northern Europeans. Ireland’s culture dates from early times before the coming of Christianity. The folklore is very rich, full of music, magic and imagination.,Background 2,The Irish people were converted to Christianity in the 4th Century A.D.; they have remained predominantly Catholic, with a middle-class Protestant minority. Fiercely nationalistic, the Irish suffered under English oppression for 600 years. The last century of political turmoil and civil was finally ended with Ireland’s independence in 1922.,Background 3,北爱冲突： 天主教 vs新教 新芬党 爱尔兰共和军,His life,born in Dublin, Protestant ’s family His father was a portrait painter; his mother was the daughter of a prosperous merchant in Sligo County, his father moved the family to London, hoping for better opportunities as a painter. Yeats----school in London, ----holidays with his mother’s people in Sligo. At 15, the family moved back to Dublin.,For him, The Three Places:,Dublin-----Ireland’s culturally blind, money-grubbing middle class; Sligo----- the true culture of Ireland; Sligo County: where old Irish ways and folklore were still very strong. London---- the international center of English literature and art.,His Education,an art college in Dublin first; the artistic environment and many artists and writers returned to London ----important writers of the time: Oscar Wilde , T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound’s secretary for months,His Love 1,At 24, met Maude Gonne, a beautiful and brilliant Irish actress a fiery leader in the Irish nationalist movement desperately in love with her, but, her passionate love was for her country Yeats entered the nationalist movement partly out of hatred for English oppression partly out of love for Maude Gonne.,,,,His Political and Literary Life,His leadership in the Irish Literary Revival. encouraged many other writers to turn to Irish themes, rather than follow English styles. doubted politician’s ability to unite people Instead, believed Irish literature---- able to fill the people with nationalist aspirations,His Literary Life 2--- another lady,Lady Gregory, an Irish noblewoman and playwright the same cultural ideals and so lifelong friends. They founded the Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin, (Yeats as director for his whole life) ---the world-famous Abbey Theatre,His Love 2,wrote 26 plays for it. Several of them ----by his love for Maude Gonne, (she had married an Irish freedom fighter, who was later executed by the British ) In 1917, proposal to Maude Gonne’s daughter ----- was refused By then over 50, married another woman, who bore a son and daughter and helped him with his work in many ways.,,in 1922: Ireland’s independence a member of the new Irish Senate.,,his poetry got better and better as he grew older, even never stopping before death In 1923, Nobel Prize for literature. Died in France during traveling, just before the Second World War. His body was brought back after the war, and buried in Sligo County. Go to his death,评语&感言,,诺贝尔文学奖，获奖评语称，授奖“由于他那永远充满灵感的诗，它们透过高度的艺术形式展现了整个民族的精神” 领取诺贝尔文学奖时发出的感言： “一度我也曾英俊像个少年，但那时我生涩的诗脆弱不堪，我的诗神也很苍老，现在我已苍老且患风湿，形体不值一顾，但我的缪斯却年轻起来了。
返回,,,,,,The Line on His Tomb,Cast a cold Eye On Life, on Death, Horseman, pass by! ----Under Ben Bulben 投以冷眼，看生，看死/骑士，向前！ 《班磅礴山麓下》,His point of view 1,a profound, elaborate and original theory of history from his study of Ireland’s history and legends, and the philosophy of Nietzsche he believed that all history, and life, follows a circular, spiral pattern consisting of long cycles, which repeat themselves over and over on different levels. He felt that the 20th Century represents the end of a cycle that has gone on for two thousand years, and that a new one is just emerging, which explains the turmoil and violence of modern times.,His point of view 2,Yeats did not believe in either of the established Christian religions. He despised the Protestant faith to which his family belonged, because Irish Protestants were part of the middle class, concerned only with business. He did, however, believe in the supernatural and published his theories in Visions,His Style : three periods,As a young man in the 1890’s---romantic poetry musical, with lovely delicate effects without deep thought. His themes from Celtic legends and folklores His language:Irish usages of English Irish syntax, which gave his poems dignity and style. Down by the Salley Gardens The Lake Isle of Innisfree,2nd period: early in the 20th c.,reason for change: Pol。