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Home , Brendan Kennelly, Ego Dominus Tuus, In the Seven Woods, John Butler Yeats, Oliver Goldsmith, Shri Purohit Swami

A COMMENTARY ON THE COLLECTED POEMS OF W. B. YEATS By A. Norman ]effares TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN: DRAWINGS AND DESCRIPTIONS W. B. YEATS: MAN AND POET THE OF W. B. YEATS GEORGE MOORE THE CIRCUS ANIMALS: ESSAYS (forthcoming)

Edited works MARIA EDGEWORTH, CASTLE RACKRENT AND OTHER STORIES BENJAMIN DISRAELI, SYBIL BENJAMIN DISRAELI, LOTHAIR SEVEN CENTURIES OF POETRY THE SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND (with M. Bryn Davies) POEMS OF W. B. YEATS SELECTED POEMS OF W. B. YEATS A GOLDSMITH SELECTION COWPER SELECTED PROSE OF W. B. YEATS SELECTED PLAYS OF W. B. YEATS SELECTED CRITICISM OF W. B. YEATS IN EXCITED REVERIE (with K. G. W. Cross) GOLDSMITH, SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER WHITMAN, SELECTED POEMS AND PROSE CONGREVE, INCOGNITA AND THE WAY OF THE WORLD SHERIDAN, THE RIVALS SHERIDAN, THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL FAIR LIBERTY WAS ALL HIS CRY CONGREVE, LOVE FOR LOVE FARQUHAR, THE BEAUX' STRATAGEM SWIFT CONGREVE, THE DOUBLE-DEALER FARQUHAR, THE RECRUITING OFFICER SCOTT'S MIND AND ART (forthcoming) A COMMENTARY ON THE COLLECTED POEMS OF W. B. YEATS

A. Norman Jeffares

Palgrave Macmillan 1968 ISBN 978-1-349-00165-1 ISBN 978-1-349-00163-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-00163-7 © A. Norman Jeffares 1968 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1968 978-0-333-02266-5

Published f:y MACMILLAN AND CO LTD Little Essex Street London wc2 and also at Bombcry Calcutta and Madras Macmillan South Africa (Publishers) Pry Ltd Johannesburg The Macmillan Compaf!Y of Australia Pry Ltd Melbourne The Macmillan Compaf!Y of Canada Ltd Toronto

TO ADELE CROWDER Contents

PREFACE vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix

CHRONOLOGY OF YEATS'S LIFE xiii

THE CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTED POEMS xxi

COMMENTARY 1

APPENDIX I: GAELIC NAMES 539

APPENDIX II: DIAGRAM FROM 540

INDEX TO TITLES 54I

INDEX TO FIRST LINES 553

Maps YEATS'S xxxiii

YEATS'S SLIGO xxxiv

v Preface

T H r s commentary is intended to assist the reader of Yeats's Collected Poems (page references to the second edition (1950) are given in the margin in bold face type). It attempts to date the composition of poems where this is possible and to give the place of first publi­ cation. Yeats's prose has been quoted where it throws light on the meaning of particular poems : thus his notes to early editions are included as well as passages from his critical and autobiographical prose. Abbreviations of the titles of works cited are given in a list on pp. ix-xii. His inconsistencies in spelling have been retained ; an appendix gives his views on the pronunciation and spelling of Gaelic names. For help in annotating them I am deeply indebted to Dr . The commentary owes much to the helpful kindness of Mrs Yeats, who allowed the editor access to Yeats's library and manu­ scripts. Readers will be able to supplement the bibliographical information by referring to The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W. B. Yeats (ed. Allt and Alspach). A Concordance to the Poems of W. B. Yeats (ed. Parrish and Painter) affords a quick means of com­ paring the images and symbols used by the poet. The commentary has, for reasons of space, avoided critical comment or judgement, and has been confined to providing information which will help readers to assess the effects of Yeats's sources, his wide and unusual reading, and his life - and to understand some factual meanings of poems and the circumstances in which some poems were written. Much- despite the continuing, specialised work on Yeats by critics and scholars-remains uncertain and obscure. And the poet himself would probably not have objected to this situation: 'I don't want them', he once remarked to his wife, 'to know all about every­ thing.' It is largely thanks to her work, her care in preserving his manuscripts and library, her unselfish readiness to help scholars in their enquiries, that we can piece our thoughts about his work into our own individual views of his great poetic achievement. Ledenon, France. A. NoRMAN ]EFFARES 1967 vi Acknowledgement

THE quotations from the work of W. B. Yeats are reprinted by kind permission of Mr Michael Butler Yeats.

vii Abbreviations

BOOKS BY YEATS A Autobiographies (I 9 55) AV(A) A Vision (I925) AV(B) A Vision (I937) BS The Bounty of Sweden (I925) CK The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics (I892). (In Poems (I895) and subsequent printings the spelling Countess Cathleen was used) CP Collected Poems (I 9 3 3 ; 2nd ed., with later poems added, I950). References are to the second edition unless otherwise stated. CPI Collected Plays (I934; 2nd ed., with additional plays, I95 2)· CT The Celtic Twilight (I893) cw Collected Works (I9o8). DP Dramatis Personae (Dublin, I935; London, I936). The latter edition includes Estrangement, The Death of Synge and The Bounty of Sweden. DWL Letters on Poetry from W. B. Yeats to Dorothy Wellesley (I940; reissued I964). References are to the I964 reissue. E Explorations (I962) E&I Essays and Introductions (I96I) FFT Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (I888) FMM A Full Moon in March (I935) GH The Green Helmet and Other Poems (I9Io) ISW (I9o3) KGCT The King of the Great Clock Tower (I934) L Letters, ed. Allan Wade (I954) LKT Letters to , ed. Roger McHugh (I95 3) M Mythologies (I959)

Az. ix A Commentary on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats MRD Michael Robartes and the Dancer (192.1) NP New Poems (1938) OB October Blast (192.7) OTB On the Boiler (1939) P (189s) Poems (189s) PASL Per Amica Silentia Lunae (1918) PW Poetical Works, 2. vols (1906; 1907) PWD Poems Written in Discouragement (1913) RIT Representative Irish Tales RPP Responsibilities: Poems and a Plqy (1914) SPF Seven Poems and a Fragment (192.2.) SSY The Senate Speeches of W. B. Yeats, ed. Donald T. Torchiana (196o) TSR The Secret Rose (1897). There was an enlarged and revised edition in 1902.. References are to the 1897 edition. VE The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W. B. Yeats, ed. Peter Alit and Russell K. Alspach (19n) VPI The Variorum Edition of the Plqys of W. B. Yeats, ed. Russell K. Alspach (1966) W&B Wheels and Butterflies (1934) WPM Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems (1932.) wo and Other Poems (1889) WR The Wind Among the Reeds (1899) ws The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1933) wsc (1917) WWP The Words upon the Window-pane (1934) Y&TSM W. B. Yeats and T. Sturge Moore. Their Correspondence 1901-1937, ed. Ursula Bridge (1953)

OTHER BOOKS B A Bibliography of the Writings of W. B. Yeats, ed. Allan Wade, 2.nd ed. (19s8) BL J. Stallworthy, Between the Lines (1963) ED Richard Ellmann, Eminent Domain (1967) HG An Honoured Guest, ed. Denis Donoghue and J. R. Mulryne (196s) HI Edmund Curtis, A History of Ireland (1936) HS C. M. Bowra, The Heritage of Symbolism (1943)

X Ust of Abbreviations ICL Birgit Bjersby, The Interpretation of the Cuchulain Legend in the Works of W. B. Yeats (I95o) IER In Excited Reverie, ed. A. Norman Jeffares and K. G. W. Cross (I965) IP D. J. Gordon, W. B. Yeats, Images of a Poet (I96I) IY Richard Ellmann, The Identity of Yeats (I954) LT T. R. Henn, The Lone!J Tower (I95o; rev. ed. I965). References are to the I 96 5 edition. LTHS , Letters to his Son W. B. Yeats and others (I944) PYP George Brandon Saul, Prolegomena to the Stut!J of Yeats's Poems (I957) RG John Unterecker, A Reader's Guide toW. B. Yeats (I959) RI Frank Kermode, Romantic Image (I957) SQ MacBride, A Servant of the Queen (I938) TM Peter Ure, Towards a Mytholoo (I946) W'BY J. M. Hone, W. B. Yeats r86J-I9J9 (I942; rev. ed. I962). References are to the I962 edition. WMA Giorgio Mdchiori, The Whole MJstery of Art (I96o) Y&GI Donald T. Torchiana, Yeats and Georgian Ireland (I966) Y&T F. A. C. Wilson, W. B. Yeats and Tradition (I958) YCE W. B. Yeats r86J-I9J9 Centenary Essqys, ed. D. E. S. Maxwell and S. B. Bushrui (I965) YI F. A. C. Wilson, Yeats's Iconography (I96o) Y:M&M Richard Ellmann, Yeats : the Man and the Masks (I 948 ; rev. ed. I96I). References are to the I948 edition. Y:M&P A. Norman Jeffares, Yeats: Man and Poet (I949, rev. ed. I962). References are to the I962 edition. YP&T A. G. Stock, W. B. Yeats His Poetry and Thought (I96I, rev. ed. I964). References are to the I964 edition. YTLP Thomas Parkinson, W. B. Yeats : the Later Poetry (I964)

JOURNALS BR British Review D The Dome DM Dublin Magazine DUR Dublin University Review xi A Commentary on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats ER English Review IM Irish Month(y IR Irish Review LM London Mercury LR London Review N The Nation NO National Observer NR New Review P(Ch) Poetry (Chicago) RES Review of English Studies s The Savoy so Scots Observer SR Saturday Review TB The Bookman UI United Ireland

xii Chronology of Yeats, s Lift

1865 William Butler Yeats, the son of John Butler Yeats and his wife, Susan (nee Polle:xfen), born at Georgeville, Sandy­ mount Avenue, Dublin, 13 June. 1867 John Butler Yeats moves with his family to 2.3 Fitzroy Road, Regent's Park, London. Robert (d. 1873), John Butler (Jack), Elizabeth Corbet (Lolly} were born here. Susan Mary (Lily), the elder daughter, was born at Sligo. Frequent visits were made to Sligo to Mrs Yeats's parents, the Polle:xfens. 1874 The family moves to 14 Edith Villas, West Kensington. 1875 Yeats goes to the Godolphin School, Hammersmith. Holidays spent in Sligo. . 1876 The family moves to 8 Woodstock Road, Bedford Park. 188o John Butler Yeats's income from lands in Kildare ceases because of Land War. Family returns to Ireland, is lent Balscadden Cottage, Howth, Dublin. W. B. Yeats goes to the High School, Harcourt Street, Dublin (unti11883). 1881 Family moves to Island View, small house overlooking Howth Harbour. Yeats thinks himself in love with his cousin Laura Johnston. 1883 W. B. Yeats enters School of Art, Dublin. 1885 Family moves to 10 Ashfield Terrace, off Harold's Cross Road, Dublin. First published poems and an article on esoteric Buddhism appear in the Dublin University Review. Founder member of Dublin Hermetic Society. Becomes friend of Katharine Tynan and John O'Leary. 1886 First experience of seance. Attacks Anglo-Irish, begins xiii A Commentary on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats to read Irish poets who wrote in English and translations of Gaelic sagas.

I 88 7 Family moves to 58 Eardley Crescent, Earls Court, London. Mrs Yeats has two strokes. W. B. Yeats visits William Morris at Kelmscott House. Joins London Lodge of Theosophists. 1888 Family installed in]3iBlenheim Road, Bedford Park (J. B. Yeats's home till 1902.). Last of Yeats family land sold in accordance with Ashbourne Act (1888). Contributions to American journals. Visits Oxford to work in Bodleian. Joins esoteric section of Theosophists. 1889 Mild collapse. Prepares selections for Walter Scott. The Wanderings ofOisin and Other Poems. Visits W. E. Henley, meets , John Todhunter, York Powell, John Nettleship, and Edwin Ellis (with whom he decides to edit Blake's poems). Edits Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry. Meets Florence Parr. Maude Gonne visits Bedford Park ; he falls in love with her ; offers to write for her. 1890 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree.' Asked to resign from Theosophists. 1891 Representative Irish Tales. John Sherman and Dhoya. The Rhymers' Club founded in London. Friendship with Johnson and Dowson. Asks Maud Gonne to marry him. She goes to France. He meets her on her return on ship with Parnell's body. Writes poem on Parnell. Founds London-Irish Literary Society with T. W. Rolleston. Founds National Literary Society in Dublin with John O'Leary as President. 1892. The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics. Irish Fairy Tales. 1893 The Celtic Twilight. The Works of William Blake (ed. Ellis and Yeats, 3 vols). 1894 First visit to Paris; stays with MacGregor Mathers and proposes to Maud Gonne again. Sees Axel. Meets xiv Chronology of Yeats's Life 'Diana Vernon'. Revises The Countess Cathleen in Sligo while staying with George Pollexfen and conducting experiments with symbols. The Land of Heart's Desire produced. Visits Gore-Booths at Lissadell. 1895 Poems. Not on good terms with Dowden and Mahaffy. Lionel Johnson drinking heavily. Shares rooms in the Temple with Arthur Symons for a few months (between 1895 and 1896, date uncertain). 1896 Takes rooms in Woburn Buildings; affair with 'Diana Vernon' lasts a year. Visits with Arthur Symons, meets , visits Aran Islands. Meets Synge in Paris, when there to found order of Celtic Mysteries. Member of I.R.B.; forms idea of uniting Irish political parties. 1897 The Adoration of the Magi. The Secret Rose. Disturbed by effects of Jubilee Riots in Dublin. Visits Coole; collects folklore there with Lady Gregory; writing The Speckled Bird (unpublished ). 1898 Accompanies Maud Gonne on tour of Irish in England and Scotland. Forms idea of creating with Lady Gregory and Edward Martyn. 1899 The Wind Among the Reeds. In Paris, again proposes mar­ riage to Maud Gonne. The Countess Cathleen and Martyn's Heather Field produced in Ancient Concert Rooms, Dub­ lin, as programme of Irish Literary Theatre. 19oo Proposes marriage to Maud Gonne in London. Leaves I.R.B. (probably in 19oo), Forms new order of Golden Dawn after trouble with Mathers and Aleister Crowley. Helps George Moore to rewrite Martyn's The Tale of a Town, which became The Bending of the Bough. 1902 Lectures on the psalteries. Diarmuid and Crania written in collaboration with George Moore. Becomes President of Irish National Dramatic Society. Cathleen ni Houlihan performed in Dublin with Maud Gonne in title role. 1903 Maud Gonne marries John MacBride. The Countess

XV A Commentary on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats Cathleen, The Pot of Broth and The Hour Glass produced in visit of Irish National Dramatic Company to London. First lecture tour in U.S., arranged by . 1904 Abbey Theatre opens with Yeats as producer-manager. The King's Threshold and On Baile's Strand. 1905 Limited company replaces National Theatre. Co-director with Lady Gregory and Synge. 1906 Stories of Red Hanrahan. Poems z89J-I90J. 1907 Crisis over Synge's The Plt!Jboy of the Western World. Visits Italy with Lady Gregory and her son. Works on The Plt!Jer Queen. 1908 Collected Works (in 8 vols). Stays with Maud Gonne in Normandy. Father goes to New York. 1910 Resigns managership. Crisis in affair with unmarried woman. The Green Helmet and other poems. 19II Accompanies Abbey players :to U.S. 1912 Stays with Maud Gonne in Normandy. Meets Ezra Pound. 1913 Receives Civil List pension of £150 p.a. Poems Written in Disco~~ragement (dealing with Lane Gallery controversy). Stays at Stone Cottage, Holmans Hatch, Sussex, in autumn with Ezra Pound. 1914 Visits U.S. (January). Returns for Ezra Pound's marriage to Mrs Shakespear's daughter. Investigates miracle at Mirabeau with Maud Gonne MacBride and the Hon. Everard Fielding (June). Responsibilities: poems and a plt!J. Becomes interested in family history ; finishes Reveries (first part of Autobiographies). 1915 Hugh Lane goes down with Lusitania. Refuses knight­ hood. 1916 With Ezra Pound (winter). First of the Plt!Js for Dancers produced in Lady Cunard's house, London (March). Easter Rising, writes 'Easter 1916'. In Normandy pro- xvi Chronology of Yeats's Lifo poses marriage to Maud Gonne. Reads French poets with Iseult Gonne.

I 9 I 7 Buys Castle at Ballylee. Proposes · to Iseult Gonne. Marries Georgie Hyde-Lees on 2I October. The Wild Swans at Coole. I9I8 They stay at Oxford, then Glendalough, then visit Sligo; stay at Coole (and supervise restoration of tower), later at 73 St Stephen's Green (Maud Gonne's house) until December. Per Amica Silentia Lunae. I9I9 Anne Butler Yeats born (26 February) in Dublin. Summer at Ballylee. Winter spent in Oxford in Broad Street. 1920 American lecture tour until May. Yeats in Ireland in autumn. I921 Michael Buder Yeats born (22 August). Michael Robartes and the Dancer. Four Plqys for Dancers. 192.2 Buys Georgian house, 82 Merrion Square, Dublin. J. B. Yeats dies in New York. D.Litt. of Dublin University. Spends summer at Ballylee. The Trembling of the Veil. Later Poems. The Plqyer Queen. Becomes Senator of Irish Free State. 1923 Nobel Prize for Poetry. Visits Stockholm in December for award of Nobel Prize. 1924 Essqys. The Cat and the Moon and certain poems. Year mainly spent in final work on A Vision. Reading history and philosophy. High blood pressure. Visits Sicily (November). I925 Visits Capri, Rome, Milan (February). May at Ballylee. Reading Burke and Berkeley. Speech on divorce in Senate. A Vision (dated I925. published January I926). 1926 Estrangement. Chairman of Coinage Committee in Senate. Visits St Otteran's School in Waterford(' Among School Children'). I927 Ballylee in summer. October Blast. Congestion of lungs. (October). Algeciras, Seville (lung bleeding). Cannes. xvii A Commentary on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats 19z8 Cannes (till February). . Rapallo (April). Dublin house sold. Ballylee (June). Furnished house at Howth (July). Last Senate Speech (July). 1929 Rapallo (winter). Summer in Ireland, in flat (Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin), at Coole and Ballylee, then at Howth. A Packet for Ezra Pound (August). The Winding Stair (October). Rapallo. Malta fever (December). Ezra Pound and George Antheil at Rapallo. 1930 Portofino (April). Writes 'Byzantium'. Renvyle, Conne­ mara (June). Coole. Words upon the Window-pane pro­ duced at Abbey Theatre (November). Visits Masefield at Boar's Hill, Oxford, thirtieth anniversary of their first meeting. Spends winter in Dublin, in furnished house on Killiney Hill. 1931 Writes 'The Seven Sages'. D.Litt. at Oxford (May). Writes much verse at Coole in summer. Broadcast B.B.C. Belfast (September). Spends winter at Coole, reading Balzac ; Lady Gregory dying. 1932 Works on ' and Ballylee 1931'. Winter and spring at Coole. Lady Gregory dies. Foundation of Irish Academy of Letters (September). Last American tour (October). Words for MNSic Perhaps and other poems (November). 1933 Leases Riversdale, Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin. Interested in O'Duffy's blueshirt movement. The Winding Stair and other poems (September), Collected Poems (November). 1934 Steinach operation. Rapallo (June). Rome (autumn). Wheels and Butterflies. Collected Plays. The King of the Great Clock Tower. 1935 Majorca (winter). collaborates in translation of there. Dramatis Personae. A Full Moon in March (November). 1936 Seriously ill; heart missing beat (January); nephritis. Returns to Riversdale. Broadcasts on modern poetry, B.B.C., London (summer). xviii Chronology of Yeats's Life 1937 Elected member Athenaeum. Broadcasts B.B.C. London. (April, July, September) A Speech and Two Poems (August). Visits Lady Gerald Wellesley. Oxford Book of Modern Verse (z892-I9JJ). A Vision (October). Mentone (winter). Essqys I9JI-I9J6 (December). 1938 The Herne's Egg (January). Visits Sussex, stays with Lady Gerald Wellesley, and with Edith Shackleton Heald. New Poems (May). Sussex (June). Last public appear­ ance at Abbey Theatre for performance of (August). Maud Gonne visits him at Riversdale (late summer). Sussex (September). 1939 Dies 28 January, buried at Roquebrune. Last Poems and Two Plqys (June). On the Boiler. 1948 Body reinterred at Drumcliffe Churchyard, Sligo.

xix The Contents of the Collected Poems Page numbers in bold are those of the Collected Poems; those of the Commentary are in ordinary figures LYRICAL 3 THE SONG OF THE HAPPY SHEPHERD 7 3 THE SAD SHEPHERD 9 5 THE CLOAK, THE BOAT, AND THE SHOES IO 5 ANASHUYA AND VIJAYA IO 6 THE INDIAN UPON GOD I4 7 THE INDIAN TO HIS LOVE IS 8 THE FALLING OF THE LEAVES x6 9 EPHEMERA x6 10 THE MADNESS OF KING GOLL 17 10 20 12. TO AN ISLE IN THE WATER 22 14 DOWN BY THE SALLEY GARDENS 22 14 THE MEDITATION OF THE OLD FISHERMAN 23 15 THE BALLAD OF FATHER O'HART 23 16 THE BALLAD OF MOLL MAGEE 25 18 THE BALLAD OF THE FOXHUNTER 27 18

The Rose (1893) 22. TO THE ROSE UPON THE ROOD OF TIME 35 FERGUS AND THE DRUID 36 CUCHULAIN'S FIGHT WITH THE SEA 37 THE ROSE OF THE WORLD 41 THE ROSE OF PEACE 41 42 A FAERY SONG 43 THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE 44 A CRADLE SONG 45 THE PITY OF LOVE 45 x:xi A Commentary on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats

THE SORROW OF LOVE WHEN YOU ARE OLD THE WHITE BIRDS A DREAM OF DEATH THE COUNTESS CATHLEEN IN PARADISE WHO GOES WITH FERGUS? THE MAN WHO DREAMED OF FAERYLAND THE DEDICATION TO A BOOK OF STORIES SELECTED FROM THE IRISH NOVELISTS SI 4I THE LAMENTATION OF THE OLD PENSIONER S2 4I THE BALLAD OF FATHER GILLIGAN S2 43 THE TWO TREES S4 43 TO SOME I HAVE TALKED WITH BY THE FIRE S6 46 TO IRELAND IN THE COMING TIMES S6 46

The Wind Among the Reeds (1899) 48 THE HOSTING OF THE SIDHE 61 48 THE EVERLASTING VOICES 61 5Z THE MOODS 62 5Z THE LOVER TELLS OF THE ROSE IN HIS HEART 62 55 THE HOST OF THE AIR 63 55 THE FISH 64 59 THE UNAPPEASABLE HOST 65 6o INTO THE TWILIGHT 65 6o THE SONG OF WANDERING AENGUS 66 6I THE 67 63 THE HEART OF THE WOMAN 67 63 THE LOVER MOURNS FOR THE LOSS OF LOVE 68 63 HE MOURNS FOR THE CHANGE THAT HAS COME UPON HIM AND HIS BELOVED, AND LONGS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD HE BIDS HIS BELOVED BE AT PEACE HE REPROVES THE CURLEW HE REMEMBERS FORGOTTEN BEAUTY A POET TO HIS BELOVED HE GIVES HIS BELOVED CERTAIN RHYMES TO HIS HEART, BIDDING IT HAVE NO FEAR THE CAP AND BELLS THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK PIG The Contents of the Collected Poems

THE LOVER ASKS FORGIVENESS BECAUSE OF HIS MANY MOODS 73 72 HE TELLS OF A VALLEY FULL OF LOVERS 74 7~ HE TELLS OF THE PERFECT BEAUTY 74 7~ HE HEARS THE CRY OF THE SEDGE 7S 7~ HE THINKS OF THOSE WHO HAVE SPOKEN EVIL OF HIS BELOVED THE BLESSED THE SECRET ROSE MAID QUIET THE TRAVAIL OF PASSION THE LOVER PLEADS WITH HIS FRIEND FOR OLD FRIENDS 79 8I THE LOVER SPEAKS TO THE HEARERS OF HIS SONGS IN COMING DAYS 79 82 THE POET PLEADS WITH THE ELEMENTAL POWERS So HE WISHES HIS BELOVED WERE DEAD So HE WISHES FOR THE CLOTHS OF HEAVEN Sr HE THINKS OF HIS PAST GREATNESS WHEN A PART OF THE CONSTELLATIONS OF HEAVEN 81 S2 In the Seven Woods (1904) IN THE SEVEN WOODS THE ARROW THE FOLLY OF BEING COMFORTED OLD MEMORY NEVER GIVE ALL THE HEART THE WITHERING OF THE BOUGHS ADAM'S CURSE RED HANRAHAN'S SONG ABOUT IRELAND THE OLD MEN ADMIRING THEMSELVES IN THE WATER UNDER THE MOON 95 THE RAGGED WOOD 97 0 DO NOT LOVE TOO LONG 97 THE PLAYERS ASK FOR A BLESSING ON THE PSALTERIES AND ON THEMSELVES 93 THE HAPPY TOWNLAND 94 xxiii A Commentar:;v on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats

From The Green Helmet and Other Poems (1910) IOO

HIS DREAM 99 IOI A WOMAN HOMER SUNG 100 IOI WORDS 100 I02 NO SECOND TROY 101 I02 RECONCILIATION 102 I04 KING AND NO KING 102 I04 PEACE 103 I05 AGAINST UNWORTHY PRAISE 103 I05 THE FASCINATION OF WHAT'S DIFFICULT 104 I06 A DRINKING SONG 104 I07 THE COMING OF WISDOM WITH TIME 105 I07 ON HEARING THAT THE STUDENTS OF OUR NEW UNIVERSITY HAVE JOINED THE AGITATION AGAINST IMMORAL LITERATURE 105 108 TO A POET, WHO WOULD HAVE ME PRAISE CER- TAIN BAD POETS, IMITATORS OF HIS AND MINE 105 I08 THE MASK 106 I08 UPON A HOUSE SHAKEN BY THE LAND AGITATION 106 I09 AT THE ABBEY THEATRE 107 III THESE ARE THE CLOUDS 107 II2 AT GALWAY RACES 108 II2 A FRIEND'S ILLNESS 109 u; ALL THINGS CAN TEMPT ME 109 II4 BROWN PENNY 109 II4

Responsibilities (1914) II5

INTRODUCTORY RHYMES 115 THE GREY ROCK 120 TO A WEALTHY MAN WHO PROMISED A SECOND SUBSCRIPTION TO THE DUBLIN MUNICIPAL GALLERY IF IT WERE PROVED THE PEOPLE WANTED PICTURES II9 SEPTEMBER I 9 I 3 120 TO A FRIEND WHOSE WORK HAS COME TO NOTHING 122 xxiv The Contents of the Collected Poems

PAUDEEN 122 TO A SHADE 123 WHEN HELEN LIVED 124 ON THOSE THAT HATED 'THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD', I 907 THE THREE BEGGARS THE THREE HERMITS BEGGAR TO BEGGAR CRIED RUNNING TO PARADISE THE HOUR BEFORE DAWN A SONG FROM 'THE PLAYER QUEEN' THE REALISTS I. THE WITCH II. THE PEACOCK THE MOUNTAIN TOMB I. TO A CHILD DANCING IN THE WIND II. TWO YEARS LATER A MEMORY OF YOUTH FALLEN MAJESTY FRIENDS THE COLD HEAVEN THAT THE NIGHT COME AN APPOINTMENT THE MAGI THE DOLLS A COAT CLOSING RHYME [EPILOGUE)

The Wild Swans at Coole (1919) THE WILD SWANS AT COOLE IN MEMORY OF MAJOR ROBERT GREGORY AN IRISH AIRMAN FORESEES HIS DEATH MEN IMPROVE WITH THE YEARS THE COLLAR-BONE OF A HARE UNDER THE ROUND TOWER SOLOMON TO SHEBA THE LIVING BEAUTY A SONG TO A YOUNG BEAUTY

XXV A Commentary on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats TO A YOUNG GIRL 1 S7 169 xsS 169 TOM O'ROUGHLEY xsS 170 SHEPHERD AND GOATHERD 1 S9 172. LINES WRITTEN IN DEJECTION 163 177 THE DAWN 164 178 ON WOMAN 164 179 THE FISHERMAN x66 179 THE HAWK 167 ISO MEMORY x68 181 HER PRAISE x68 181 THE PEOPLE 169 182. HIS PHOENIX 170 184 A THOUGHT FROM PROPERTIUS 172 186 BROKEN DREAMS 172 187 A DEEP-SWORN VOW 174 187 PRESENCES 174 188 THE BALLOON OF THE MIND 1 7S 188 TO A SQUIRREL AT KYLE-NA-NO 1 7S 189 ON BEING ASKED FOR A WAR POEM 1 7S 189 IN MEMORY OF ALFRED POLLEXFEN 1 7S 189 UPON A DYING LADY: 191 I. HER COURTESY 177 192. II. CERTAIN ARTISTS BRING HER DOLLS AND DRAWINGS 177 193 III. SHE TURNS THE DOLLS' FACES TO THE WALL 178 193 IV. THE END OF DAY 178 V. HER RACE 179 194 VI. HER COURAGE 179 194 VII. HER FRIENDS BRING HER A CHRISTMAS TREE 1 79 ISO 195 A PRAYER ON COMING INTO MY HOUSE 183 2.03 THE PHASES OF THE MOON 183 2.04 THE CAT AND THE MOON x88 2.II THE SAINT AND THE HUNCHBACK 189 2.12. TWO SONGS OF A FOOL 190 2.13 ANOTHER SONG OF A FOOL 191 2.14 THE DOUBLE VISION OF MICHAEL ROBARTES 192 2.15 xxvi The Contents of the Collected Poems

Michael Robartes and the Dancer (192.1) 2.17 MICHAEL ROBARTES AND THE DANCER 1 97 2.17 SOLOMON AND THE WITCH 1 99 2.18 AN IMAGE FROM A PAST LIFE 200 2.2.0 UNDER SA TURN 202 2.2.4 EASTER 1916 202 2.2.4 SIXTEEN DEAD MEN 2os 2.2.9 206 2.30 ON A POLITICAL PRISONER 206 2.31 THE LEADERS OF THE CROWD 207 2.33 TOWARDS BREAK OF DAY 208 2.34 DEMON AND BEAST 209 2 35 210 2.38 211 2.44 A MEDITATION IN TIME OF WAR 214 2.47 TO BE CARVED ON A STONE AT 214 2.49

The Tower (192.8) 2.51 217 THE TOWER 218 MEDITATIONS IN TIME OF CIVIL WAR I, ANCESTRAL HOUSES II. MY HOUSE III. MY TABLE IV. MY DESCENDANTS V. THE ROAD AT MY DOOR VI. THE STARE'S NEST BY MY WINDOW VII. I SEE PHANTOMS OF HATRED AND OF THE HEART'S FULLNESS AND OF THE COMING EMPTINESS NINETEEN HUNDRED AND NINETEEN THE WHEEL YOUTH AND AGE THE NEW FACES A PRAYER FOR MY SON TWO SONGS FROM A PLAY FRAGMENTS LEDA AND THE SWAN

xxvii A Commentary on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats

ON A PICTURE OF A BLACK CENTAUR BY EDMUND DULAC AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN COLONUS' PRAISE WISDOM THE FOOL BY THE ROADSIDE OWEN AHERNE AND HIS DANCERS A MAN YOUNG AND OLD: I. FIRST LOVE 249 II. HUMAN DIGNITY 250 III. THE MERMAID 250 IV. THE DEATH OF THE HARE 250 V. THE EMPTY CUP 2p VI. HIS MEMORIES 2p VII. THE FRIENDS OF HIS YOUTH 252 VIII. SUMMER AND SPRING 253 IX. THE SECRETS OF THE OLD 2 53 X. HIS WILDNESS 254 XI. FROM 'OEDIPUS AT COLONUS' 2 55 THE THREE MONUMENTS 255 ALL SOULS' NIGHT 256

The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1933) 319 IN MEMORY OF EVA GORE-BOOTH AND CON MARKIEWICZ 263 320 DEATH 264 32I A DIALOGUE OF SELF AND SOUL 265 323 267 325 OIL AND BLOOD 270 32 9 VERONICA'S NAPKIN 270 329 SYMBOLS 270 33I SPILT MILK 271 333 THE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND AFTER 271 333 STATISTICS 271 333 THREE MOVEMENTS 271 334 THE SEVEN SAGES 271 334 THE CRAZED MOON 273 339 COOLE PARK, I 92 9 2 73 339 COOLE PARK AND BALLYLEE, I 9 3 I 2 75 345 xxviii The Contents of the Collected Poems

FOR ANNE GREGORY 277 349 SWIFT'S EPITAPH 277 349 AT ALGECIRAS- A MEDITATION UPON DEATH 278 350 THE CHOICE 278 3 5I MOHINI CHATTERJEE 279 351 BYZANTIUM 280 352 THE MOTHER OF GOD 281 359 VACILLATION 282 360 QUARREL IN OLD AGE 286 367 THE RESULTS OF THOUGHT 286 367 GRATITUDE TO THE UNKNOWN INSTRUCTORS 287 368 REMORSE FOR INTEMPERATE SPEECH 288 368 STREAM AND SUN AT GLENDALOUGH 288 369 Words for Music Perhaps:

I. CRAZY JANE AND THE BISHOP II. CRAZY JANE REPROVED III. CRAZY JANE ON THE DAY OF JUDGE- MENT 291 372 IV. CRAZY JANE AND JACK THE JOURNEY- MAN 292 372 V. CRAZY JANE ON GOD 293 373 VI. CRAZY JANE TALKS WITH THE BISHOP 375 VII. CRAZY JANE GROWN OLD LOOKS AT THE DANCERS VIII. GIRL'S SONG IX. YOUNG MAN'S SONG X. HER ANXIETY XI. HIS CONFIDENCE XII. LOVE'S LONELINESS XIII. HER DREAM XIV. HIS BARGAIN XV. THREE THINGS XVI. LULLABY XVII. AFTER LONG SILENCE XVIII. MAD AS THE MIST AND SNOW XIX. THOSE DANCING DAYS ARE GONE XX. 'I AM OF IRELAND' xxix A Commentary on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats

XXI. THE DANCER AT CRUACHAN AND CROPATRICK XXII. TOM THE LUNATIC XXIII. TOM AT CRUACHAN XXIV. OLD TOM AGAIN XXV. THE DELPHIC ORACLE UPON PLOTINUS

A Woman Young and Old: 392. I. FATHER AND CHILD 39 2 II. BEFORE THE WORLD WAS MADE 39 2 III. A FIRST CONFESSION 393 IV. HER TRIUMPH 393 V. CONSOLATION 394 VI. CHOSEN 394 VII. PARTING 397 VIII. HER VISION IN THE WOOD 397 IX. A LAST CONFESSION 398 X. MEETING 398 XI. FROM THE 'ANTIGONE' 398

From A Full Moon in March (1935) 399 PARNELL'S FUNERAL 399 THREE SONGS TO THE SAME TUNE 4I4 ALTERNATIVE SONG FOR THE SEVERED HEAD IN 'THE KING OF THE GREAT CLOCK TOWER' 324 42.0 TWO SONGS REWRITTEN FOR THE TUNE'S SAKE 325 42.2. A PRAYER FOR OLD AGE 326 42.3 CHURCH AND STATE 327 42.4 SUPERNATURAL SONGS: I. RIBH AT THE TOMB OF BAILE AND AILLINN II. RIBH DENOUNCES PATRICK III. RIBH IN ECSTASY IV. THERE V. RIBH CONSIDERS CHRISTIAN LOVE INSUFFICIENT 330 430 XXX The Contents of the Collected Poems VI. HE AND SHE 331 430 VII. WHAT MAGIC DRUM? 331 430 VIII. WHENCE HAD THEY COME? 332 431 IX. THE FOUR AGES OF MAN 332 431 X. CONJUNCTIONS 333 432 XI. A NEEDLE'S EYE 333 433 XII. MERU 333 433

Last Poems (1936-1939) 435 THE GYRES 337 435 LAPIS LAZULI 338 440 IMITATED FROM THE JAPANESE 340 443 SWEET DANCER 340 444 THE THREE BUSHES 341 445 THE LADY'S FIRST SONG 343 454 THE LADY'S SECOND SONG 344 454 THE LADY'S THIRD SONG 34S 45 5 THE LOVER'S SONG 34S 455 THE CHAMBERMAID'S FIRST SONG 34S 455 THE CHAMBERMAID'S SECOND SONG 346 456 AN ACRE OF GRASS 346 456 WHAT THEN? 347 458 BEAUTIFUL LOFTY THINGS 348 460 A CRAZED GIRL 348 462 TO DOROTHY WELLESLEY 349 462 THE CURSE OF CROMWELL 35° 464 ROGER CASEMENT 351 465 THE GHOST OF ROGER CASEMENT 352 469 THE O'RAHILLY 3S4 471 COME GATHER ROUND ME, PARNELLITES 355 472 THE WILD OLD WICKED MAN 356 473 THE GREAT DAY 358 473 PARNELL 3S9 474 WHAT WAS LOST 3S9 474 THE SPUR 359 474 A DRUNKEN MAN'S PRAISE OF SOBRIETY 3S9 474 THE PIGRIM 360 475 COLONEL MARTIN 361 475 A MODEL FOR THE LAUREATE 364 477 :xxx.i A Commentary on the Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats

THE OLD STONE CROSS 36S 478 THE SPIRIT MEDIUM 366 480 THOSE IMAGES 367 48I THE MUNICIPAL GALLERY REVISITED 368 482 ARE YOU CONTENT? 370 486 THREE SONGS TO THE ONE BURDEN 371 488 IN TARA'S HALLS 374 489 THE STATUES 37S 490 NEWS FOR THE DELPHIC ORACLE 376 496 THREE MARCHING SONGS 377 498 LONG-LEGGED FLY 381 498 A BRONZE HEAD 382 499 A STICK OF INCENSE 383 500 JOHN KINSELLA'S LAMENT FOR MRS MARY MOORE 383 500 HOUND VOICE 38S 500 HIGH TALK 38S 500 THE APPARITIONS 386 50I A NATIVITY 387 502 WHY SHOULD NOT OLD MEN BE MAD? 388 503 THE STATESMAN'S HOLIDAY 389 504 CRAZY JANE ON THE MOUNTAIN 390 506 THE CIRCUS ANIMALS' DESERTION 391 508 392 5II THE MAN AND THE ECHO 393 5 I I CUCHULAIN COMFORTED 39S 512 THE BLACK TOWER 396 5I4 397 514

NARRATIVE AND DRAMA TIC

The Wanderings of Oisin (1889) 4°S 52 I The Old Age of Queen Maeve (1903) 449 528 Baile and Ail/inn (I 90 3) 4S7 HO The Shadowy Waters (1906) H4 INTRODUCTORY LINES 469 534 THE HARP OF AENGUS 471 534 THE SHADOWY WATERS 473 535 The Two Kings (1914) sox 536 The Gift of Harun AI-Rashid (1923) SII 537 xxxii 0 so

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