W. B Yeats

The Countess Cathleen (1892) is a verse drama by W.B. Yeats. Dedicated to Maud Gonne, an actress and revolutionary whom Yeats unsuccessfully courted for years, The Countess Cathleen underwent several editions before being performed in its final version at Dublin's Abbey Theatre in 1911. Based on an Irish legend, the play, set during a period of intense famine, follows a land-owning Countess who decides to sacrifice her wealth and property in order...

Ideas of Good and Evil (1903) is a collection of wide-ranging essays by Irish poet W.B. Yeats. Writing on such subjects as the art of poetry, politics, and the occult, Yeats proves himself to be not only a master of verse and drama, but an immensely talented essayist and thorough scholar. "What is 'Popular Poetry'?" reflects on a changing Irish literary landscape which has, over the course of Yeats' career, established its own place in world literature...

"The Land of Heart's Desire," one of Yeats best and most well-known works. The play describes an encounter between a fairy child and newlyweds Shawn and Bridget Bruin, and explores themes of mysticism and the temporary nature of life. Yeats felt an internal struggle with the contradictions he felt in his nature and in life, and spent much of his life seeking out a philosophical system to resolve this conflict.

Compiled at the height of the Celtic Twilight, a movement to revive the myths and traditions of Ancient Ireland, “Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry” captures a wide range of stories, songs, poems, and firsthand accounts from artists and storytellers dedicated to the preservation of Irish culture. In "Frank Martin and the Fairies," a sickly man discusses the presence of dozens of fairies inside his weaving shop. When a child in his village...

The Wild Swans at Coole (1919) is a collection of poems by W.B. Yeats. Written while the poet was at the height of his career, The Wild Swans at Coole presents Yeats' typical concerns-aging, love, and the nature of art-against the backdrop of a decade of war. These poems, written during the First World War and the formative years of the Irish independence movement, reflect the harsh political and social realities of the era while remaining true to...

"In the Seven Woods: Being Poems Chiefly of the Irish Heroic Age" is a 1903 collection of poetry by W. B. Yeats. It represents the first book of Yeats' "middle period", within which he moved away from his earlier Romantic ideals and pre-Raphaelite imagery, turning instead towards an obviously more space and anti-romantic position much like Walter Savage Landor. The poem in this collection most often included in anthologies, however, is "Adam's Curse",...

One of the greatest poets of the century, Yeats drew upon Irish folklore and myth as inspiration for much of his early poetry. Mythic themes and others are masterfully explored in this rich selection of 134 poems published between 1889 and 1914. Included are such favorites as "Lake Isle of Innisfree," "When You Are Old," "Down by the Salley Gardens," "The Stolen Child," "Fergus and the Druid," "To the Rose upon the Rood of Time," "The Song of Wandering...

Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the eye; That's all we shall know for truth Before we grow old and die. I lift the glass to my mouth, I look at you, and I sigh.

Written in the musical speech of the poet's home region of Kiltartan, County Galway, this collection of stories centers on country schoolmaster Red Hanrahan and his supernatural experiences. William Butler Yeats recounts "The Twisting of the Rope," "Red Hanrahan's Curse," "Hanrahan's Vision," and other enchanting tales. Additional fables include those of The Secret Rose and Rosa Alchemica, featuring Yeats's personal interpretations of Celtic mythology...

"Responsibilities and Other Poems" is a 1916 collection of poetry by Yeats. Contents include: "Responsibilities, 1912-1914," "Introductory Rhymes," "The Grey Rock," "The Two Kings," "To A Wealthy Man," "September 1913," "To a Friend whose Work has come to Nothing," "Paudeen," "To a Shade," "When Helen Lives," "The Attack on The Playboy of the West World," "The Three Beggars," "The Three Hermits," "Beggar to Beggar Cried," etc.