뉴스레터

A Portrait of Yeats(1920)

William Butler Yeats(1865–1939) is considered one of the major Anglo-American poets of the 20th century. He has been passionately writing poetry and literary activities for over 50 years. His creation of poetry is the process of giving his unique voice to various political and historical times that occurred during Ireland's independence. I would like to introduce William Butler Yeats's nationalist views on Easter Rising in 1916, which marked the turning point of the Irish independence movement.

Easter struggle for Irish independence

The British domination of Ireland began in the 12th century Norman Conquest and dates to nearly 700 years. In 1801, Ireland was merged into the United Kingdom and dissolved the Grattan Council. And in 1922 it became Irish Free State, and in 1948 it became independent as Republic of Ireland. Until then, the hostilities between the UK and Ireland continued.

The situation in Ireland has become difficult due to economic subordination such as economic exploitation and unfair import and export regulations of the UK. In terms of religion, the dispute and conflict between the two countries have deepened. As a result, the movement for independence(autonomy) has also increased as the Anti-British Sentiments of Ireland have risen. In this situation, World War I broke out in 1914, and the implementation of autonomy was postponed after the end of the war. And Irish Republican Brotherhood plans to invoke an uprising before the end of the war between Britain and Germany.

Easter, April 24, 1916. The uprising began when more than 1,000 independent troops raided major facilities, including the Dublin General Post Office. Independent troops carried out surprise operations to capture strategic points and hang the Irish flag with the General Post Office as a provisional government. Patrick H. Pearse declared the establishment of the Republic of Ireland in front of the citizens. The British army invaded Dublin with a large power to suppress it. Independent troops fought in a violent battle that lasted for a week. But they were forced to surrender to British gunfire and force. Britain's reaction to the uprising was brutal and harsh.

Yates' Poems published in 1912

(Source : National Library NZ on The Commons)

The Poetry World of Yeats

The Irish were angry when indiscriminate shots of the British army occurred and the guiltless people sacrificed. Especially when the Catholic bishop supported the uprising, it had a great influence on society. Sinn Féin became a majority in the Irish parliamentary election held independently in 1918. No one has prevented Ireland from making a commitment to independence. Eventually, Ireland won the War of Independence with Britain and established the Republic of Ireland in 1922.

William Butler Yeats described in his poem 「Easter 1916」 that "a terrible beauty was born." It is a paradox to regard beauty as terrible. This conveys the feelings of respect and separation for those who fought in the uprising. This means that even if they are dead and buried, they will live forever, influencing and inspiring future revolutionaries. In other words, the "terrible beauty" he sang in poetry is revolutionaries. It was something that so many people had to die for Ireland to revive during Easter Week.

Seamus Deane evaluates the armed independence struggle in his paper 'Yeats and the Idea of Revolution' as follows. "The men of 1916 had offered their deaths to history. In doing so, they had broken the cycle of eternal recurrence. Their consciousness of themselves became the consciousness of the race. Irish difference, Irish uniqueness, the basis, after all, for the Gaelic-nationalist claim to inde­pendence, had been mediated through death."

「The Rose Tree」 is another poem closely related to Easter Rising. In the poem, Patrick Pearse and James Connolly talk about the rose tree drying up in a political dispute. Identity began to disappear from the Irish who admired British materialism and British lifestyle at the time. Yeats described the situation as Ireland withering. It needs water to make the green come out again and flowers bloom on the withered Rose Tree. The speaker says “all the wells are filled away”, “where can we draw water?” The listener says that only “our own red blood”, which means the sacrifice of the leaders, can “raise a righteous rose tree”. Yeats seems to have considered Pearse or Connolly not expecting a win. As Pearse said, "They believed that through their own death and martyrdom, Irish nationalism would be revived."

Yeats mentions O'Rahilly, leader of the Irish nationalist movement. In another poem, 「The O'Rahilly」 in which he wrote about the uprising. “He'd gone to great expense / Keeping all the Kerry men / Out of that crazy fight” Patrick Pearse and James Connolly did not inform O'Rahilly of their plans for the uprising. On April 28, 1916, O'Rahilly volunteered to find an escape route when the Dublin General Post Office was on fire. Then he is shot and seriously injured by the British Army. Emergency services try to rescue him, but an officer of the British Army blocks the rescue team and leaves O'Rahilly to die.

Yeats' Zeitgeist

Yates regards the martyrdom of those who led the uprising as a change in the flow of the Irish nationalist movement. He says that “if patriotism was caused by martyrdom, logical debate is useless.”(Jeffares 1962: 188) about the sacrifice of the patriotic governor. Many discussions continued in Ireland before the uprising. The discussion also included the idea of making a deal with the UK or making concessions to the UK to gain independence. But after the heroes die, Yeats's poems show a firmness that there is no more independence by compromise, trade, and exchange with Britain.

For Yeats, politics was a major concern, and Ireland was the centre of his art. His poetry and the reality of Ireland were not far apart. That is why his interest in politics is reflected in poetry. Yeats knew that his political interest played an important role in determining the nature of his poem. T. S. Eliot called Yeats “one of those few whose history is the history of their own time.” This is because Yeats is a person who combines personal and national dimensions when dealing with art and life.