Poetry Tuesday – William Butler Yeats

One of my favorite poets is William Butler Yeats. I’m a sucker for Modern British writers.

Here are two of my favorite Yeats poems with some commentary:

The Lake Isle of Innisfree (1890)

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the mourning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet‘s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
_______
I love the way this poem sounds. Each word was carefully placed in its line. “Bee-loud glade” and its accompanying line is my favorite-sounding part of the poem.

The first stanza of the poem contains a flurry of daytime activity – “nine bean rows,” “hive for the honey-bee,” and “bee-loud glade.” The second stanza slows down a little to a pace more akin to night – “peace comes dropping slow,” “dropping from the veils of the morning,” “midnight’s all a glimmer,” and “evening full of the linnet’s wings.” The third stanza is about action “night and day.” Innisfree is always calling.

The whole poem has a solitary, self-reflection vibe. According to my Norton Anthology, Yeats wrote this poem after his father read him some passages from Walden. Each of the elements of the poem play into the aloneness – especially the title (Innisfree = “in is free”) and the nature references (“water lapping” “evening full of linnet’s wings”). I can escape into the language of this poem.

A Coat (1912)

I made my song a coat
Covered with embroideries
Out of old mythologies
From heel to throat;
But he fools caught it,
Wore it in the world’s eyes
As though they’d wrought it.
Song, let them take it,
For there’s more enterprise
In walking naked.
_______

This poem contains a rather obvious self-rejection of Yeats’s earlier style. I like the simple language and compact message.

I particularly like the imagery of a writer’s works being made into a coat, a covering. But Yeats’s covering was to be viewed only by those who had earned it. It makes sense it me – parading literature or art in front of those not able or willing to appreciate it cheapens the art. Also under fire in the poem are other “artists” who just imitated Yeats’s style. In fact, Yeats would rather be naked (i.e. not write at all) than write for simpletons or the imitators. I think this poem expresses a yearning to be understood on a higher level and an aspiration to achieve more as a poet.

Buy The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats at Amazon.com.

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1. Poetry Tuesday – Favorites
2. Poetry Tuesday – Celebrating National Poetry Month
3. Poetry Tuesday – How to Read a Poem

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