Yeats' Poetry

First Stanza

• "I have met them at close of day"
• First-person view referring to "them", who will be clarified in the following stanza.
• How does the speaker interact with them? What does he describe them doing?
• Does the setting sound as if its taking place during the Rising? Do these people even sound like soldiers?

Second Stanza

Second Stanza

• We get into specifics of who "them" are; the footnotes help clarify further, and their part in the Rising
• "That woman" covers an important part of the Rising: the Cumann no mBan ("Council of Irishwoman") were a major part of the fighting, despite women not allowed to fight in the war going on.
• "This man" (Patrick Pearse) was a teacher who taught Irish to children; he wrote the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, essentially making him the equivalent to Thomas Jefferson
• "This other his helper and friend" (Thomas MacDonagh) was the principal of the school Pearse taught at; had the Rising been a success, MacDonagh would have been the first leader of an independent Ireland
• "This other man" (John MacBride") Yeats was not a fan of. The footnote explains why but does not fully capture why. Maud Gonne was referred to as Yeats' muse; he proposed to her five times, but she rejected him each time, claiming that he was poet so he shouldn't be content so that he continue writing good poetry (basically what everyone thought of Taylor Swift if she ever stopped dating)
• I should also add that many years later, Yeats would propose to Maud's daughter, who was nearly forty years younger, but her mother talked her out of it.
• What does this stanza, along with the first, help to establish about those who fought in the war?
• How do they help understand the terrible beauty that is born?

Third Stanza

Fourth Stanza

Fourth Stanza

• "Too long a sacrifice/ Can make a stone of the heart"
• What do you think this means? How does it relate to the Rising?
• The Rising was yet another failure for Ireland's long history of colonial rule; rather than incite more violence, what part are the people of Ireland supposed to play?
• How does Yeats practice this part within the poem?
• However, does Yeats seem to fully approve of what brought these men's death?
• (Just to note: the woman from before isn't listed here because the women who fought were imprisoned, rather than executed like the men, likely because the British would have thought it a harsh punishment for the "lesser sex" )
• "Wherever green is worn"
• Although practically synonymous with Ireland now, there was a lot of debate about whether to make green a national color. It was the popular choice, but Yeats hated the color, to the point he did not allow any of his books to be printed in the color. He clearly was swallowing his pride here.

First Stanza

The biggest thing about this stanza is the beast described: it should sound like a pretty ominous vision.

Yet, what has vexed it to begin moving its slow thighs? Does this other thing sound like something equally ominous?

Those familiar with the Bible, the Second Coming is described in Revelations; how does the one born in Bethlehem appear in this book?

How might this likewise relate to Ireland?

Second stanza