The Vast Design: Patterns in W.B. Yeats's Aesthetic 9781442631861

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* THE VAST DESIGN In recent years Yeats has been receiving a great deal of critical attention from many aspects. Professor Engelberg here makes a distinctive contribution to the new studies by bringing under discussion the kind of aesthetic views developed by Yeats in order to rationalize his own practice as poet and dramatist. Yeats was pragmatic in his approach and therefore not concerned about formulating a tight critical theory. Recognizing this, the author at the same time skilfully guides the reader through the opinions expressed in the critical essays to meaningful patterns and shows how Yeatss aesthetic views developed, often in relation to his study of Balzac, Blake, Spenser, Shelley, Morris, and the Irish theatre of his own day. Throughout the stress is fittingly on the originality of Yeats, and the reader will be impressed always with his great critical perceptiveness. EDWARD ENGELBERG has degrees from Brooklyn College, the University of Oregon, and the University of Wisconsin; as a Fulbright Research Scholar he has studied at St. Catha-rines College, Cambridge. He is now Assistant Professor of English at the University of Michigan.

THE VAST DESIGN Patterns in W. B. Yeats's Aesthetic

EDWARD ENGELBERG

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS

Copyright, Canada, 1964, by University of Toronto Press Printed in Canada

I think that in early Byzantium . , . religious, aesthetic and -practical life were one, that architect and artificers— though not, it may be, poets, for language had been the instrument of controversy and must have grown abstracts-poke to the multitude and the few alike. The -painter, the mosaic worker, the worker in gold and silver, the illuminator of sacred books, were almost impersonal, almost perhaps without the consciousness of individual design, absorbed in their subject-matter and that the vision of a whole people. They could copy out of old Gospel books those pictures that seemed as sacred as the text, and yet weave all into a vast design, the work of many that seemed the work of one, that made building, picture, pattern, metal-work of rail and lamp, see-in but a single image. . . . A VISION

FOR ELAINE and to the Memory of my Parents

PREFACE

IT WAS while reading Goethe that I was first attracted to Yeats, though I had, of course, for years admired the work I knew. The spectacle of Goethe's long and productive life was awe-inspiring, possessing and possessed as it was by the spirit of two centuries. As I shall have further occasion to remark, when I began reading Yeats in earnest, I was at once struck by the many similarities between the man from Weimar and the man from Dublin (though Yeats was at times severely critical of Goethe). Yeats, too, lived a long, creative life, during which intellect and imagination matured and became firmer with age. Like Goethe, Yeats survived and transcended a fin de siecle; like Goethe he was a youthful gatherer of Volkspoesie who, in time, turned to classical Greece, a romantic who would repudiate the weakness and the "vapour" of romanticism as "unhealthy." Goethe's insistence that all poetry should be "occasional" and, however ethereal, be rooted in some kind of "reality" seemed to me to have come to some form of perfection in many of Yeats's poems in which his personal responses to moments that held deep significance for him were elevated to the height of the momentous and made into a kind of "history." Though Synge was no Schiller (we do not know what he might have become had he lived), Yeats's relationship to some of his fellow-poets was that of master, a role which he played, on the whole, with dignity, assurance, and fierce loyalty. Both Goethe and Yeats were destined to be attracted to a number of extraordinary women, and to love with "passion"; and Goethe's poem to Charlotte von Stein seemed almost a model for some of Yeats's poems to, or about, Maud Gonne. Even the aim of reviving a national renaissance by creating a National Theatre was shared by both poets, as was their equally genuine effort to transcend provincialism. Indeed, it was finally that transvaluation of nationalism into something pre-eminently European which made Yeats seem so like Goethe. Both poets were also to turn at times to the East: Goethe in writing his West-ostlicher Divan; Yeats in turning first to the Japanese Noh drama and later to

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the Upanishads. Ye t both remained in the end Europea n poets, though the word poet describes neither man adequately. Goethe and Yeats were "men o f letters," a phrase that ha s sadl y become pejorative: they wer e committed no t onl y t o th e makin g of goo d ar t bu t t o th e makin g of good artists . Eac h wa s inten t o n shapin g wholeness , unity , an d co herence for both wor k and life , an d o n sustaining that work and lif e by a capacious, if at times eccentric, "philosophy." Eac h wished to embrace a "world " an d t o wed poetry,to truth , ar t t o culture . Bot h wer e "per sonalities": an d i f th e arrogance , th e stubbornness , and th e snobber y which ofte n accompanie d th e self-consciou s effort o f cultivatin g th e image o f th e "sage " i s today more easily forgivable in Goeth e tha n i t seems t o be i n Yeats , I a m fairl y confiden t that thi s is merely a matter of time . In writin g this boo k I have had th e encouragemen t an d ai d o f bot h individuals an d institutions ; t o som e o f the m I shoul d no w lik e t o express my gratitude. In 195 5 I was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship t o Cambridge where , at St . Catharine' s College , I had th e goo d fortun e t o stud y with Mr . T. R . Henn , whos e pioneerin g stud y o f Yeats , The Lonely Tower, had muc h t o d o wit h enticin g m e t o pursu e Yeat s seriously . Fo r more tha n a yea r I gathered , a s bes t a s I could , th e wisdo m whic h Mr. Hen n s o generously gave . To hel p a n America n throug h a chilly English winter , h e alway s provide d a fire , ho t tea , an d hi s ow n warmth o f interest. I am indebted t o him i n more ways than I ca n set down here, though tha t debt is not intended t o place any responsibilit y on him fo r the shortcoming s that this book might have. At Cambridge I also made the acquaintance of Dr. F . A. C. Wilson, who on severa l occasion s rewarde d m e wit h conversation s abou t hi s forthcoming importan t books on Yeats, and wh o was also kind enoug h to rea d som e of m y wor k an d t o offe r valuabl e suggestions . At th e sam e tim e I als o received th e ai d an d comfor t of Professo r Paul L . Wile y o f th e Universit y o f Wisconsin, wh o guide d m e wit h patience, kindness , an d a n inestimabl e stor e of knowledge . My gratitude to my colleagues at the Universit y of Michigan i s very great: t o Professor Arthur J. Carr, who read th e manuscript, some of it in differen t drafts , an d whos e vas t an d detaile d knowledg e o f m y subject an d its wide context was generously and sympatheticall y mad e available t o me a t al l times . Professo r Carr charte d map s t o treasure s I woul d no t hav e foun d myself . M y gratitud e t o Professo r Charle s O'Donnell i s equall y great , fo r readin g th e entir e manuscript , fo r making innumerable suggestion s o f value both o n matters o f style an d

PREFACE i

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organization an d o n content , an d fo r livin g throug h th e experienc e of writin g thi s boo k a s a friend , a stimulatin g talker , an d a faithfu l listener. I wis h als o t o expres s m y indebtednes s t o Professo r Mar k Spilka (no w a t Brow n University ) wh o rea d an d criticized , t o m y benefit, tw o chapters i n early draft; t o Professor Austin Warren whos e conversations on Yeat s and literatur e wer e alway s a sourc e of profit ; to Professo r Bruc e M . Johnso n (no w a t th e Universit y of Rochester ) who wa s alway s eage r t o tal k Yeats ; t o Professo r Joh n Artho s an d Professor Arthu r M. Eastma n fo r some useful information and encour agement; and t o Professor Warner G . Ric e who supported application s for severa l grant s which helpe d t o mak e thi s book possible. Although m y specifi c debt s t o a numbe r o f Yeat s scholar s ar e acknowledged i n th e note s an d m y mor e genera l debt s ar e cite d i n the Selectiv e Bibliography , I want t o express here a n over-all indebted ness t o th e man y fin e critic s who hav e travelle d th e roa d befor e me : indeed, withou t som e o f who m ther e migh t no t hav e bee n an y roa d to travel . Yeat s scholarshi p i s no w far-flun g an d international : i f I have inadvertentl y omitted debt s I expres s regrets i n advance . Many books , I think, ar e also enriched b y more indirec t influences , and in this particular instance I must give my thanks to three me n who had nothin g directl y t o d o with shapin g thi s boo k bu t wh o ha d con siderable contribution s t o mak e towar d th e shapin g o f it s autho r b y setting fo r him th e hig h example s o f their ow n teachin g an d scholar ship: Professo r Merritt Y . Hughes, Professo r Jerome H . Buckley , an d Professor Heinric h Henel . I wis h t o than k Dr . Harrie t C . Jameso n an d he r staf f a t th e Rar e Book Roo m o f th e Universit y o f Michiga n fo r th e man y kindnesse s over th e year s i n makin g availabl e t o m e th e Yeat s collectio n unde r her effectiv e guardianship . Miss Mar y Richard s an d Mrs . Doroth y Foste r mus t b e thanke d fo r expertly typin g successiv e drafts . Mrs . Reon a Wilco x an d Mrs . Mar garet L . Nea l serve d a s very capable assistant s in preparin g th e manu scripts. Mrs . Nea l an d Mrs . Elizabet h Barlo w hav e laboure d inde fatigably t o compile th e index . I wis h t o expres s m y gratitud e t o th e Horac e H . Rackha m Schoo l of Graduat e Studie s a t th e Universit y o f Michiga n fo r thei r grant s which provide d m e wit h som e o f th e necessar y tim e t o complet e this book , an d t o the Publication s Fun d o f the Universit y o f Toronto Press. To Professo r Milla r MacLure , edito r o f th e University of Toronto Quarterly, I express a debt for his initial encouragement .

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I should lik e to thank th e reader s of the Universit y of Toronto Pres s for man y suggestions ; an d I a m gratefu l t o Mis s Frances s G . Hal penny, Edito r o f th e Press , fo r he r stead y encouragement ; he r editorial guidanc e alway s improve d th e manuscript . Last, but hardl y least, I must than k m y wife , t o whom thi s boo k is dedicated, no t merel y fo r th e thankles s chore o f readin g manuscript s and proofs , bu t jus t fo r bein g ther e ove r th e year s an d fo r alway s havingg faith .

E.E

July 23, 1963 Ann Arbor, Michigan

.

CONTENTS

PREFACE Vi

i

INTRODUCTION xii

i

i Th e Vas t Design : Firs t Principles 3 ii Marke t Cart an d Sky : The Tw o Way s o f Art 3

4

in Pictur e an d Gesture : Th e Illusio n o f Motion 6

8

iv Emotio n o f Multitud e an d Stil l Intensity : Th e Ech o o f Silence 9

3

v Passionat e Reverie : Th e Tragi c Correlativ e 15

1

vi Th e Singl e Image : Beyon d the Desig n 17

6

BIBLIOGRAPHY 2 1

1

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 21

4

INDEX 21

6

ILLUSTRATIONS (following page 96 )

PLATE I

Bernardo Strozzi : Portrai t of a Gentlema n (Courtes y o f th e Nationa l Gallery o f Ireland ) John Sargent : Portrai t of President Wilso n (Courtes y o f th e Nationa l Gallery o f Ireland ) PLATE I I

William Blake : Illustratio n for Young's Night Thoughts PLATE II I

James A . McNeil l Whistler : Nocturne : Blu e an d Silver , Bat tersea Reac h (Courtes y o f th e Smithsonia n Institution , Free r Gallery o f Art, Washington , D.C. ) PLATE I V

J. M . Millais : Ophelia (Courtes y o f the Trustee s o f th e Tat e Gallery, London) PLATE v Sir Edward Burne-Jones : Kin g Cophetua an d th e Begga r Maid (Cour tesy o f th e Trustee s o f th e Tat e Gallery , London ) PLATE V I

E. Manet : Olympi a (Courtes y o f th e Archive s Photographiques , Louvre, Paris ) E. Manet : Ev a Gonzale s (Lan e Bequest ; reproduce d b y courtes y of the Trustees , th e Nationa l Gallery , London . O n loa n t o th e Municipal Galler y o f Moder n Art , Dublin ) PLATE VI I

George F . Watts : Portrai t o f Willia m Morri s (Courtes y o f th e Na tional Portrai t Gallery , London ) PLATE VII I

Titian: Portrai t o f a Man (Courtes y of the Nationa l Gallery , London ) Palma: Portrai t o f a Poet, Probabl y Ariost o (Courtesy o f th e Nationa l Gallery, London )

INTRODUCTION

The Celti c nature . . . [possesses ] a n organisatio n quic k t o feel impressions , an d feelin g the m very strongly ; a lively personality therefore , keenl y sensitiv e t o jo y an d t o sorrow;.. . this temperament, just because it is so quickly and nearly conscious o f al l impressions , ma y n o doub t be see n sh y an d wounded; i t ma y b e see n i n wistfu l regret , it ma y b e see n i n passionate, penetratin g melancholy; but it s essenc e i s t o aspire ardentl y afte r life , light , an d emotion , to b e expansive, adventurous, an d gay . Matthe w Arnold, On the Study of Celtic Literature

Between te n an d eleven , on e Novembe r evenin g i n 1923 , th e Irish Times telephone d Yeat s in Dubli n t o tel l hi m tha t h e ha d jus t bee n awarded th e Nobe l Priz e fo r literature . A fe w minute s late r th e Swedish ambassado r confirme d th e awar d an d b y twelve-thirty , n o doubt exhauste d bu t elated , Yeat s an d hi s wif e wer e alone . Th e journalists, wh o ha d los t n o tim e i n callin g fo r interviews , ha d left . Yeats searche d fo r a bottl e o f wine , bu t th e cella r yielde d nothing : so, "a s a celebratio n i s necessar y w e coo k sausages." 1 Th e inciden t points a mora l i n a vei n tha t use d t o b e calle d "romanti c irony" : Yeats an d hi s wife , wh o tha t ver y yea r wer e dividin g thei r home between Dubli n an d th e reconstructe d towe r a t Thoor Ballyle e wher e Yeats wa s simulatin g som e o f hi s "imaginings " o f th e past , ar e unabl e to summo n u p a singl e bottl e o f win e an d mus t resor t fo r thei r celebrating t o th e unaristocrati c sausage . I t i s a n imag e o f Yeat s w e reluctantly conced e t o th e imag e w e stil l ten d t o hold , influence d a s we mus t b e b y ever y photograp h o r portrai t o f th e poet , ever y lin e of self-portraitur e in th e poetry—an d th e prose . Regardles s o f wha t biographers hav e tol d u s abou t Yeats' s many-sidedness , th e dominan t !Tfie Autobiography of William Butler Yeats, p. 325 .

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associations hol d a stubbor n dominion : a ma n aloof , aristocratic , an d romantic; bizarre , sometime s irresponsible , eclectic ; an d abov e al l flamboyant. These association s have produced a Yeatsian mystique that, despit e Yeats's high ran k among contemporary poets, ha s not com e into bein g without exactin g its price. Whil e th e poetr y ha s gaine d steadily , th e prose ha s neve r recovered fro m th e assault s of a n ag e impatien t wit h and intoleran t o f al l nineteenth-centur y manner s an d mannerisms . Yet that pros e holds more than Yeats's metaphysical ponderings , thos e speculations o n magi c and occultis m an d psychi c research whic h dis may s o man y admirer s o f th e poetry : th e pros e hold s als o Yeats' s aesthetic, hi s conception s of wha t ar t i s and ho w i t affect s us . The aestheti c is not of cours e alway s an explici t systematize d scheme, organize d an d articulate d wit h th e precisio n o f th e profes sional criti c or philosopher. Whe n F . R . Leavi s chides Yeat s in Ne w Bearings in English Poetry (1932 ) fo r usin g suc h "dangerou s words " as "reverie " an d "trance, " an d fo r writin g i n seriousnes s tha t "Al l art i s dream, " w e shoul d b e sympatheti c wit h hi s impatience . Eve n when Yeat s write s abou t art—thoug h perhap s les s s o tha n Leavi s suggests—he ca n infuriat e an d confoun d us wit h hi s "half-philosophi cal" an d "half-mythological " language. Unlik e Goethe , who m h e resembled i n som e important respects, Yeat s di d no t succum b entirel y to th e habi t o f the maxim , though h e wa s capable , especiall y i n late r life, o f the sharpes t aphorisms . Th e earl y rhythms o f his prose , learn t in par t fro m Shelle y an d Pater , Arnol d an d Wilde , le d hi m unavoidably int o th e embellishe d sentence , th e hyperboli c metaphor , th e allusive word , thoug h agai n i n late r essay s h e adapt s himsel f wit h amazing succes s to a Baconia n an d Swiftia n style : brittle , pithy , con trapuntal. I n 1932 , whe n Leavi s wa s s o unhapp y wit h Yeats' s "dangerous words, " Elio t wa s in th e ascendant , and critic s had begu n to expec t fro m poets , especiall y fro m thei r prose , th e kin d o f pre cision an d urbanit y wit h whic h Eliot's criticis m wa s bein g credited . Yeats wa s fuzzy ; h e wa s clearl y ou t o f fashio n wit h th e avant-garde. In New Bearings Leavi s praise d Yeats' s lif e an d hi s poeti c achieve ments fo r th e sacrificia l herois m o f hi s nevertheles s useles s pose s ( a view still prevalent today); bu t h e foun d lif e an d wor k wanting, filled with inevitabl e "waste " an d "disillusion, " an d a "Victoria n roman ticism" whic h "adul t mind s could n o longer tak e . . . seriously." 2 The sculpto r Brancus i onc e sai d tha t w e shal l b e dea d whe n w e 2

49.

F. R. Leavis , Ne w Bearings in English Poetry (rev . ed. , London , 1952) , pp . 39 ;

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cease t o b e children ; an d Leavis' s cul t o f adulthoo d i s perhap s a striking indicatio n o f suc h deadness . I d o no t mea n t o disparag e Leavis's contributions , bu t hi s peculia r stres s o n wha t h e consider s "adult"—and therefor e "non-adult"—seem s t o m e symptomati c o f a particularly dangerou s for m o f criticis m o f whic h Yeats , fo r one , ha s sometimes bee n a victim . Thi s for m o f criticis m rallie s unde r th e banner o f reasonableness, sophistication, and a stoi c urbanity (though it ofte n approve s o f unreasonabl e an d unsophisticate d artists) ; i t demands a hig h seriousnes s which assume s tha t fo r a vie w o f lif e t o be adul t i t mus t b e no t onl y tragi c bu t profoundl y pessimistic , i n that i t accede s t o things as they reall y are, t o "reality. " I n Nietzsche' s phrase fro m The Us e and Abuse of History (hi s attac k o n th e acutel y self-conscious historica l spirit of modernity), thes e critic s engage i n a n "idolatry of the actual. " Suc h a view naturally denies th e ver y essenc e of metapho r sinc e al l metapho r heighten s realit y an d ha s somethin g of th e flamboyant ; an d i n denyin g metapho r i t denie s poetr y itself . Worse still , i n imposin g task s o n th e poe t whic h h e i s unabl e an d unwilling t o perform because he i s a poet, this criticism encourages th e astonishing notio n tha t a poe t wh o wishe s t o b e acceptabl y "adult " must surrende r hi s littl e gam e an d pla y th e ma n a t last . Yeat s coul d not surrende r t o suc h urbanity—h e woul d hav e calle d i t "cosmopoli tanism." H e wor e th e poet' s mas k unabashedl y an d i t neve r occurre d to him t o be guilt y of it . Despite hi s frequen t remark s about th e hig h value o f poe t an d poetry , w e fin d extraordinaril y little fus s i n Yeats' s writings abou t hi s "role"—fa r less , I think , tha n i n th e wor k o f othe r modern poets . H e accepte d himsel f a s a poet , an d wit h tha t accep tance cam e wha t wa s natura l t o it : a languag e wrough t b y a ric h imagination speakin g o f ar t i n it s ow n terms . Granted, in man y poems—particularl y i n th e occasiona l poem s tha t make u p Meditations in Time of Civil War—Yeat s question s th e ultimate value of contemplation, the usefulnes s of the isolate d Platonist in hi s lonel y towe r whe n al l abou t him , a s i t were, "Ree l shadow s of the indignan t deser t birds. " Th e ma n o f actio n an d th e ma n o f imagination shape , i t i s quit e true , on e o f Yeats' s chie f antinomies : yet h e discovere d alway s tha t th e "col d snow s o f a dream " ha d thei r creative energ y manifes t onc e give n t o a poem , a thin g wel l made . And fo r Yeats , ther e i s n o feelin g o f embarrassmen t i n bein g a con templative—only a feelin g o f helplessnes s a t times , whe n h e fel t impinging upo n hi m event s that wer e s o close to him the y force d thei r urgency dee p int o hi s activ e mind . Yet , whe n al l wa s sai d an d done , always th e poe t assert s himself , an d th e urg e t o participat e "I n

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something tha t al l other s understan d o r share " i s lai d bar e a s th e heart's ambitiou s pride. I n th e end , ... The abstrac t joy , The half-rea d wisdom o f daemoni c images , Suffice th e agein g man a s once th e growin g boy .

If, lik e Baudelaire , Yeats sometimes though t o f th e poe t a s th e alba tross sho t b y a malicious , unforgivin g public , an d weighe d dow n by it s gian t wings , h e alway s remembered , too , tha t th e albatross , though i t migh t fal l victi m t o a capriciou s mariner , wa s a bir d o f good omen . In Leavis' s vie w adulthoo d an d modernit y sometime s becom e un comfortably synonymous , and modernit y i s measure d b y a n accom modating "realism, " o r b y th e curiou s yardstic k o f a certai n timel y verbal relevanc e (whethe r i n pros e o r i n poetry)—a t bes t relativ e and transitory criteria , at wors t th e mos t dangerousl y superficia l indicators of "novelty. " W e nee d onl y loo k t o th e pas t t o se e tha t Spense r an d Shakespeare suffere d i n thei r time , an d lon g after , fro m suc h a vie w of thei r "childish " art—a n art , tha t is , whose so-calle d "crudities " an d "barbarisms" offended sophisticate d town taste . S o Yeats too has bee n called "childish " (significantl y he admire d i n Shakespear e wha t h e found ki n t o his spirit—th e ghost s and th e tw o tent s asid e eac h othe r at th e en d o f Richard 111"). Admittedl y hi s occultis t mas k i s easil y vulnerable, but th e hostil e have too often use d it as a pretext for a more total rejection . T o den y Yeat s th e plac e h e deserve s amon g modern poets by re-routing him into a magnificent transitional failure has been, I think , a seriou s error i n gaugin g th e natur e o f genuin e modernity . Yeats's modernity—a s w e shal l see—i s deepl y roote d an d firml y rendered throug h his aesthetic, if only we allow him, at best, to appeal to u s throug h wha t Coleridg e calle d th e "pur e imagination. " Beyon d this initial concession, we shal l often fin d a much mor e tough-minde d and shrew d criti c than w e might have been le d to expect . If, therefore , we accep t Leavis' s deman d fo r "adult " attitude s an d urbane clarity , we ar e likel y t o encounte r grea t difficultie s i n Yeats' s prose, bu t on e suspect s tha t ther e ar e stil l othe r barrier s t o approach ing Yeats' s critica l writings : th e assumption s tha t hi s theorie s ar e unreliable an d tha t hi s aestheti c i s hopelessly embedded i n hi s meta physic which , i f w e com e t o kno w enoug h o f it , wil l giv e u s al l th e aesthetic we require. There is some justification i n bot h assumptions : Yeats's theorie s of ar t ma y ver y well b e unreliabl e a s prescriptions fo r other poets—it is the cos t of individuality; an d Yeat s seldom wrote pure

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aesthetics o r pure criticism . Yet a glance a t Yeats's development make s it clea r tha t th e metaphysic , th e "System, " too k shap e considerabl y later tha n th e aesthetic , a fac t i n itsel f wort h pondering . Fo r al l hi s early interest in the occul t and magic, and th e stories and essays dealing with thos e subjects , Yeats before his marriag e i n 191 7 wrot e chiefly — quantitatively speaking—abou t th e problem s o f hi s art . Thi s pre occupation wit h ar t was quite natural: thes e were the year s of struggle, the year s i n whic h styl e wa s shape d an d tested , th e year s o f tria l and error . B y the tim e Yeats published hi s first full-length philosophi c work, Per Arnica Silentia Lunae, in 1918 , h e ha d explore d thoroughly the centra l question s o f hi s ar t an d ha d formulate d a whole , self consistent theory . Th e metaphysica l speculation s tha t followe d an d culminated i n A Vision coul d not , i t i s clear , hav e precede d th e aesthetic. Durin g th e twenties , whe n Yeat s rea d mos t o f hi s philo sophy, his prose show s a marked declin e o f interes t in purel y aestheti c problems; only in th e lat e thirties , when h e play s the rol e o f a teache r to a younge r poet , i s hi s aestheti c thinkin g rekindled , thoug h mos t of wha t h e say s no w indee d smack s o f th e maxim—echoe s o f earlie r ideas pronounced i n th e accen t o f the sage , fre e o f the smok e of battle . Of course , a s w e shal l see , i t i s no t eas y t o disentangl e Yeats' s aesthetic fro m hi s metaphysic—no r i s i t alway s desirable . Yeat s sai d that h e coul d not , a s Goeth e coul d not , kee p philosoph y ou t o f hi s art; nor coul d h e kee p i t out o f his theorizin g abou t art . As for Goethe, Kunst an d Philosophic wer e tw o o f Yeats' s thre e fates : Kultur wa s the third . Togethe r the y mad e u p Yeats' s life: ' "interes t i n a for m o f literature, i n a for m o f philosophy , an d a belie f i n nationality." 3 Thi s book chooses the "for m of literature" as its chief concern . ii

Yeats himsel f stimulate s a clos e scrutin y o f hi s aestheti c sinc e fe w poets hav e hande d dow n s o exhaustive a testamen t o f thei r art . From start t o finish he insiste d o n forgin g for himself a n elaborat e aesthetic , in itsel f a n ac t o f metaphysical engagement. Castin g himsel f a s one of two protagonist s i n "Eg o Dominu s Tuus, " Yeat s migh t argu e tha t he seek s a n "image , no t a book, " tha t a grea t styl e i s no t "foun d b y sedentary toil/And by the imitation of great masters." Bu t the emphasi s is exaggerate d fo r th e sak e o f th e argument . Whil e h e certainl y di d not imitat e th e grea t masters , h e consciousl y cultivate d th e qualitie s he though t mad e the m great : passion , wisdom , vastness , intensity , 3

If 1 Were Four and Twenty, p . 1 .

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self-dramatization. An d toi l h e di d a t hi s poetry , ofte n t o th e poin t of physica l collapse , thoug h h e warned agains t visibl e toil : "A line will tak e u s hour s maybe; Yet i f i t doe s not see m a moment' s thought, Our stitchin g an d unstitchin g has bee n naught. " Since "ther e i s n o fin e thing/.. . but needs muc h labouring, " suc h labour needs directio n an d aim—a n aestheti c tha t wil l shap e th e ar t as muc h as , i n turn , th e ar t shape s th e aesthetic . I t wa s precisel y through hi s aestheti c formulations , wit h thei r eve r widenin g dimen sions tha t embrace d matter s fa r outsid e th e forma l aspects o f th e arti fact, tha t Yeat s strove t o attai n th e "Europea n pose " whic h wa s th e aim o f hi s life . As earl y a s 190 0 Yeat s pleaded th e necessit y o f fashionin g a theor y of art . First h e maintaine d tha t criticis m wa s a necessar y conditio n o f significant art : "certainl y [th e poet ] .. . canno t kno w to o much.. . about hi s own work . .. and almos t certainl y n o grea t a r t . . . has arise n without a grea t criticism , fo r it s heral d o r it s interprete r an d protecto r . . . . " Fro m th e beginnin g Yeat s reacte d agains t th e notio n o f th e furor poeticus whic h ha d bee n vulgarize d b y th e Philistines . I n th e belief tha t ar t i s purel y affective , th e journalis t (Yeats' s chie f Philis tine symbol ) "i s certai n tha t n o one , wh o ha d a philosoph y o f hi s art o r a theor y o f ho w h e shoul d write , ha s eve r mad e a wor k o f art, that people hav e no imagination who d o not write withou t forethough t and afterthought.... " Bu t Yeat s insiste d tha t philosoph y an d theor y were no t merel y desirabl e fo r th e artis t bu t necessary : h e mus t wor k conceptually a s wel l a s perceptually : "Al l writers , al l artist s o f an y kind, in s o far a s they ha d an y philosophica l o r critical power, perhap s just i n s o far a s they have bee n deliberat e artist s at all , have ha d som e philosophy, som e criticis m o f thei r art ; and i t ha s ofte n bee n thi s philosophy... that ha s evoke d thei r mos t startlin g inspiration... . "4 We kno w tha t Yeat s though t thi s tru e o f himself ; hi s philosophi c speculations wer e merel y "metaphors " fo r hi s poetry : th e aestheti c itself is , afte r all , philosophic (a s distinc t fro m th e "philosophy " o f A Vision^). Whil e i t woul d b e to o much t o clai m tha t Yeat s achieve d an ordere d "system " o f aesthetics , hi s formulation s abou t th e natur e of ar t accumulate d t o surprisin g dimensions , an d i n th e en d w e ar e rewarded wit h on e o f thos e typicall y Yeatsian gifts : a unit y delicatel y balanced betwee n opposites . I n vie w o f Yeats' s concer n wit h anti nomies an d hi s relentles s searc h fo r Unit y o f Being , a n aestheti c o f 4

"The Symbolis m of Poetry, " Collected Works, VI , 186-187 .

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balanced opposite s shoul d com e a s n o surprise . Ye t i t i s interestin g how ofte n critic s o f Yeat s hav e readil y concede d hi s pluralism , hi s dichotomized mind , onl y t o procee d t o examin e on e mask—t o us e the fashionabl e word—at th e expens e o f others . Certainly thi s ha s bee n t o som e degre e th e cas t wit h Yeats' s con ception o f art, an d ther e i s considerable uncertaint y abou t th e natur e of tha t aesthetic. N o singl e work has concerne d itsel f exclusivel y wit h the subject . Thre e books , however , emerg e a s central , thoug h eac h renders quit e a distinc t account o f th e Yeatsia n aesthetic: Donal d A . Stauffer's The Golden Nightingale, Thomas Parkinson' s W. B . Yeats, Self-Critic, an d Fran k Kermode's Romantic Image (se e Bibliography) . Stauffer (1949 ) sa w Yeat s primaril y a s th e poe t o f "lyrica l stasis" ; he belittle d Yeats' s dramati c work , underscore d th e qualit y o f "im mobile ecstasy, " focuse d o n th e "marmorea n stillness " o f certai n poems, an d mad e o f Yeat s somethin g o f a pur e lyri c poet. Suc h a summary i s undoubtedl y unfai r t o al l th e detail s o f Stauffer' s book , many o f whic h ar e incisiv e (h e wa s th e first , I think , t o divin e something of the "expansion"-"compression " dialectic in th e aesthetic) , but i t approximates , I think , th e thesi s o f Stauffer' s study . Repeatedl y Stauffer call s attentio n t o th e "deman d fo r compression , fo r marmo rean stillness , fo r lyrical stasis": Yeats's own yearnin g for th e "emotio n of multitude, " for "overflowing turbulent energy, " i s scarcely attended. Two year s later, Parkinson righted matters by balancin g the lyri c poet with th e dramatist . Parkinso n wa s th e first—and remains th e best critic o f Yeats' s work wit h th e Abbe y Theatre ; h e se t ou t t o tak e i t seriously an d t o demonstrat e th e profoun d influenc e th e dramati c experience was to have on the late r changes of style and conception . Of Kermode's stud y (1957 ) i t i s difficul t t o sa y anythin g comprehensive here, for Yeats is the vehicle , not th e subject , of his book.5 It is tempting 5 Kermode's boo k i s brillian t an d provocativ e an d ha s alread y stirre d u p a livel y controversy o n bot h side s o f th e Atlantic . M y ow n poin t o f vie w differ s rathe r fundamentally fro m Kermode' s and I shal l spel l ou t thi s differenc e in a late r chapter . However, I ma y sa y a t thi s poin t tha t jny majo r quarre l wit h Professo r Kermode' s view o f Yeat s is tha t i t i s ver y partia l an d to o easil y associate d wit h certai n moder n movements towar d whic h Yeat s wa s mor e sceptica l tha n Kermod e woul d allow . Further I thin k i t i s demonstrabl e tha t Yeat s anticipated man y o f thos e view s whic h some critics—Professo r Kermod e amon g them—woul d sugges t h e learned, whethe r from Poun d or others . Wit h one exception , the essay s in The Irish Dramatic Movement (collecte d i n Plays and Controversies, 1923) , i n The Cutting of an Agate (firs t publishe d i n 1912 ) an d i n Ideas of Good and Evil (firs t publishe d i n 1903) rang e i n dat e fro m 189 7 t o 191 1 an d sho w anticipation s o f an d significan t deviations fro m late r doctrine s popularize d b y Pound , Hulme , Eliot , Wyndha m Lewis an d other s unde r mor e organize d banners . Th e imag e o f Yeat s a s a Johnny come-lately wh o wa s converte d fro m th e Celti c Twiligh t t o th e sophisticate d

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to suggest tha t Kermod e sa w Yeats somewhere betwee n th e lyri c poet and th e dramatist , for h e speak s o f th e Imag e i n Yeat s a s bein g ful l of both motio n and stillness . Yet ultimately Kermode use s th e aestheti c as an objectificatio n o f th e Romanti c conception o f Image , an d tha t i s at on e and th e sam e time a narrower an d broade r vie w tha n woul d b e yielded b y a mor e exclusiv e focu s o n Yeats . I t i s narrowe r becaus e it limit s Yeats t o th e ver y specia l imag e o f th e Romanti c Image ; an d it i s broade r becaus e i t align s hi m t o a whol e tradition— a traditio n which I a m no t convince d Yeat s followe d wit h anythin g lik e th e enthusiasm, consistency , or eve n th e knowledgeabilit y Kermod e sug gests. These thre e work s nevertheles s remai n usefu l an d hav e brough t us, i n som e respects, closer t o the truth . To the m shoul d b e adde d th e fine work o f Hazard Adam s and F . A . C. Wilson , both o f whom hav e at times concerned themselves with Yeats' s aesthetic an d hav e in places reached conclusion s close t o my own , thoug h t o follo w th e path s tha t led t o the m ha s no t bee n thei r metho d o r aim . Yeats's comments on art and artists , then, deman d a n ample r explan ation tha n ha s s o fa r bee n offered . The y deman d tha t explanatio n because, i n matter s o f art , wha t repelle d hi m mystifie s u s les s tha n what attracte d him , partly because hi s prejudices , which wer e strong, are reducible to a common denominator, while what he favoure d seems often contradictory . He opposed , vigorously , naturalistic an d realisti c art; socia l literature spoiled b y a n overdos e of pit y (Owen) , a n over dose o f protes t (th e youn g poet s o f th e thirties) , o r a n overdos e o f complexities o f a moder n aestheti c i s no t supporte d b y th e evidence . Nor , o f course , was th e cas e reversed—Yeat s a s an influenc e o n Poun d an d hi s compatriots—fo r unti l about 1910 , o r later , th e avant-garde scarcel y pai d an y attentio n t o Yeats ; and , fo r years t o come , h e woul d stil l b e considere d th e elde r statesman—respecte d bu t no t always take n seriously . Th e disentanglin g o f Yeats' s aestheti c fro m late r contem porary movement s is no t on e o f m y aims , bu t i t wil l b e usefu l t o kee p i n min d th e dates I hav e given , 1897-1911 , fo r the y confir m an d suppor t on e o f th e basi c assumptions behin d thi s study : tha t Yeat s wa s a n exceptionall y origina l aestheti c philosopher. H e diagnose d th e ill s o f poetr y i n hi s tim e lon g befor e hi s younge r contemporaries incorporate d certai n o f hi s practice s int o a theor y proclaime d mor e sensationally an d unde r differen t auspices . Tha t thi s wa s a consciou s ac t I doubt , for I repea t that , whateve r inconvenienc e i t ma y sometime s cause , Yeat s wa s i n truth a solitary , whos e writing s o n poetr y wer e littl e know n an d littl e rea d unti l after hi s deat h i n 1939 . I t i s wort h notin g that , sinc e thi s boo k wa s written , interes t in Yeats' s pros e ha s obviousl y bee n revive d i f reprinting s o f i t ar e an y criterion . Within th e las t .few year s Macmilla n ha s offere d tw o volume s o f Yeats' s prose , th e first suc h collection s sinc e th e Essay s o f 192 4 (lon g ou t o f print) : Essay s and Introductions an d Explorations. Th e esoteri c writing s hav e als o bee n collecte d unde r the titl e Mythologies, an d th e Autobiography an d A Vision ar e no w bot h availabl e in Americ a i n paperbac k editions .

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discursive idea s (Shaw) . But , unlike som e of his grea t contemporarie s and th e movement s to whic h the y wer e a t som e tim e allied , Yeats' s inclination towar d th e pas t wa s t o accep t mor e o f i t tha n an y othe r modern poe t writin g i n English . I d o no t mea n tha t h e wa s indis criminate i n hi s enthusiasm , an d certainl y h e coul d strik e a s har d against th e grea t a s Elio t o r Pound . Bu t h e embrace d a mor e ampl e and a mor e variegate d traditio n tha n i s customar y amon g moder n poets, muc h t o th e embarrassmen t o f thos e wh o woul d wis h t o clai m Yeats fo r thei r side . Part o f th e explanatio n fo r Yeats' s capacious an d generou s literar y tastes lie s i n hi s background : w e mus t no t forge t tha t h e wa s already a poe t fo r bette r tha n a decad e befor e Victori a died , an d tha t th e English classic s had no t yet been re-evaluated, the traditio n had no t yet been re-defined . Hi s father' s taste s wer e b y n o mean s conventiona l but, b y presen t standards , stil l catholic and—perhap s thi s wa s eve n a greater influence—stil l committe d t o Weltliteratur. Bu t suc h a n explanation wil l no t g o fa r enough , sinc e Yeat s emerge s a s a n inde pendent an d matur e poe t wh o develops , i n time , a tast e perfectl y suited t o hi s temperamen t an d hi s aestheti c ideals . Yeats took delight i n th e ancient , primitiv e art o f Egypt an d Assyria and i n th e mathematica l "calculations " o f Phidia n sculpture ; h e regarded Shakespear e wit h th e sam e veneratio n a s Goeth e ha d an d he wa s enchante d wit h th e ceremon y an d ritua l o f tha t mos t un Shakespearian o f dramati c forms , th e Japanes e Noh . H e coul d spea k approvingly o f Cervante s an d Racin e i n a singl e sentence , env y th e Chinese an d Japanes e painter s thei r intricat e subtlet y o f desig n an d praise th e strivin g motio n o f Michelangelo' s massiv e figures . Wit h guarded enthusias m he woul d sid e with som e of the Frenc h symbolist s against commo n enemie s an d h e admire d tha t mos t mystical-occultist of writers , Count Villiers de 1'Isle-Adam. But th e servant s who, according t o th e Count , wer e t o d o ou r livin g fo r u s wer e t o becom e th e beggars an d journeyme n o f Yeats' s lat e poetry , th e Iris h peasantr y whom, i n hi s epitap h poem , "Unde r Be n Bulben, " h e instruct s Iris h poets t o celebrate i n thei r art . And s o the etherea l Shelle y wa s as dea r as th e earth y Villon , th e vagabond ; an d th e "lilt " o f th e ballad—a s he tol d Stephe n Spender—mus t alway s rescue poem s fro m to o muc h imagistic stasis . Thoug h Home r an d hi s "unchristene d heart " wer e never fa r fro m Yeats' s mind, neithe r wa s Dant e an d hi s architectural mastery, hi s orthodo x processio n o f symbol s which Blake , too , offere d in suc h abundance . Goethe , Chaucer , Swift , Balza c (bu t no t Sten dhal or Flaubert)—one might ad d to the name s endlessl y an d wit h th e

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same sens e o f differenc e alway s curiousl y emerging : th e hig h an d the low , th e aristocrati c an d th e peasan t song , th e passionatel y with held an d th e lustil y given. Either Yeat s wa s confuse d o r h e wa s haphazar d i n bestowin g hi s approval, o r ther e i s a mor e flatterin g answer . I rejec t th e firs t tw o possibilities. Yeat s wa s sometime s confusin g bu t seldo m confused . Nor wer e hi s taste s a mer e wil l o ' th e wisp ; i n fact , excep t fo r exaggerating th e valu e i n th e wor k o f certai n poet s i n hi s youth—th e poems o f Morris , fo r instance—h e rarel y change d hi s mind . Clearl y an explanatio n o f Yeats' s apparentl y contradictor y affirmation s o f a vast artisti c traditio n i s necessary , an d thi s boo k i s a n attemp t t o offer a coheren t accoun t o f firs t wh y Yeat s require d a n aestheti c o f opposing qualitie s and secon d ho w Yeat s developed th e mean s whic h enabled him to balance thes e qualities i n the ar t and artist s he admire d —the means of his aesthetic . Since aesthetic s i s a n abstrac t subjec t an d Yeat s no eas y writer , i t is wis e t o se t fort h th e pla n o f thi s boo k i n som e detail . Althoug h the "vas t design " o f m y titl e i s a phras e wel l suite d t o Yeats' s aesthetic, i n bot h it s capaciousnes s an d it s intricacy , th e argumen t o f this stud y hold s tha t th e "vas t design " i s balanced b y th e conceptio n of th e "singl e image " (a s th e openin g epigrap h make s clear) , th e design itsel f becomin g tha t imag e and th e imag e transcending , finally, the desig n itself . Betwee n th e conceptio n o f th e "vas t design " an d th e triumphant emergenc e o f th e "singl e image " lie s th e subtl e an d intricate developmen t o f Yeats' s aesthetic. I have , therefore , enclose d my study , a t eithe r end , wit h chapter s bearin g title s take n fro m th e epigraph. Chapte r i set s fort h th e "vas t design " wit h it s "Firs t Prin ciples"; chapte r v i i s a n analysi s o f ho w th e "singl e image " a t las t manages t o attain selfhood, liberatio n fro m th e desig n itself . The fou r intervenin g chapter s ar e organize d accordin g t o fou r set s of opposin g term s (th e mai n title s ar e i n eac h instanc e Yeats' s ow n words), whos e opposition, working alway s toward synthesis, charts th e history of Yeats's emergence a s a theoretician o f his craft : Marke t Car t and Sky ; Picture an d Gesture ; Emotio n o f Multitude an d Stil l Inten sity; an d Passio n an d Reverie . Althoug h I hav e mad e n o attemp t t o write a chronologica l account o f Yeats' s thought , I hav e move d fro m simple t o complex problems , attemptin g t o demonstrate i n th e proces s how on e solutio n le d t o another query , on e synthesi s to a ne w opposi tion, creatin g a n eve r growin g an d mor e subtl y structure d theory . I t would b e usefu l t o kee p i n min d tha t m y set s o f "contraries"—t o us e Yeats's word—ar e no t rigidl y separabl e i n tim e an d tha t the y recur ,

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like motifs i n music , in Yeats' s writings. This structura l inconvenienc e has a t time s force d m e t o slid e back an d fort h chronologicall y fo r th e sake o f clarit y an d continuit y o f argument . Yeats' s though t seldo m developed i n straigh t lines but, a s his manne r o f thinkin g woul d hav e it, i n circles—wide r a s thes e ma y becorrf e a s h e passe s int o a steadie r maturity. In th e openin g chapter , I hav e brough t togethe r fou r distinc t bu t not discret e problems . I hav e aske d firs t wh y Yeats , chiefl y a lyri c poet, shoul d s o often hav e concerne d himsel f wit h mor e ampl e mode s and genres . Par t o f th e answe r I fin d inheren t i n Yeats' s endow ments, hi s personality , and specia l issue s attendan t o n hi s lif e an d times; but a good part o f this curiou s self-divisio n grows ou t o f certai n historical reassessment s o f Greec e an d th e Renaissance , whic h Yeat s found mos t obviousl y i n Pater , thoug h th e whol e nineteent h centur y was deepl y involve d in th e ne w awakenin g of interest i n bot h periods . This, then , i s th e secon d issue : i n Gree k an d Renaissanc e ar t an d history—and i n hi s ow n time—Yeat s discovere d a strivin g betwee n vast conception s o f th e imaginatio n an d a for m tha t woul d contai n them, wha t Pate r ha d describe d i n Greek Studies a s a "struggle , a Streben... between th e palpabl e an d limite d huma n form , an d th e floating essenc e i t i s t o contain." 8 Thi s Streben o f th e pas t Yeat s found paralle l i n himself , an d it s historica l confirmation s wer e t o strengthen an d re-defin e his ow n solutions . Third , I fin d tha t Yeats's cyclical notion s o f histor y and ar t paralle l an d suppor t hi s conceptio n of ar t a s a weddin g o f contraries : cycle s ha d thos e ver y motions—u p and down , i n an d out , contractin g an d expanding—tha t becam e th e defining metaphor s o f Yeats' s theory o f art . Finall y I conside r Yeats' s own comment s on hi s first major works : on e a long narrative-dramati c poem, th e othe r a play . The y presag e th e futur e an d indicat e th e need fo r resolution . I sugges t tha t thi s resolutio n i s essentiall y Euro pean, a marriag e o f th e thre e grea t element s i n Europea n literature : epic, drama , an d lyric . The secon d chapte r begins where Yeat s had t o begin—with a youn g poet's searc h fo r a subject , wha t Arnol d ha d rightl y considere d th e first an d principa l busines s o f th e poet . Choosin g a subjec t wa s fo r Yeats a specia l problem , sinc e h e becam e involve d immediatel y i n the Celti c Revival , whic h mad e demand s upo n hi m tha t woul d ultimately wrec k hi s hope s fo r a commo n Iris h literature . Neverthe less, th e attractio n t o folklor e an d mytholog y prompte d Yeat s t o search wit h equa l enthusias m fo r th e etherea l an d th e earthy , th e SWalter Pater , Greek Studies (London , 1895) , p . 28 .

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life o f king an d peasant , "sky" an d "marke t cart. " Ou t o f thi s struggl e with a subject-matte r fitte d t o hi s talent s an d hi s nationalism— his conception o f it—Yeat s forge d finall y a n aestheti c tha t woul d combin e these "two ways of art" in drama. As a resul t o f hi s practica l commitment s t o th e Abbe y Theatr e and t o drama , Yeat s becam e involve d i n th e mos t subtl e aestheti c questions, and thes e ar e th e subjec t o f th e thir d chapter . Yeats' s crisis as a lyri c poet wa s a t n o tim e mor e acut e tha n durin g hi s sojour n i n the theatre , for drama taught him bot h th e necessit y o f action an d th e benefit o f a simpl e language , a n idio m tha t woul d shak e hi m fre e from wha t h e himsel f ha d diagnose d a s a "straine d lyricism. " Ye t h e must tak e car e no t t o mov e to o fa r i n th e directio n o f realism . "Picture," th e descriptiv e an d spatia l elemen t o f poetry , needed , t o guard agains t its paralyzin g effects, th e tempora l motio n o f "gesture, " drama se t agains t it s antithesi s of stasis . Agai n Yeat s mus t reconcil e both elements : neithe r alon e woul d suffice . By 191 0 h e wa s returnin g t o th e writin g o f lyri c poetry , reassure d from th e experienc e o f drama ; bu t i t ye t remaine d fo r hi m t o mak e proper us e o f wha t h e ha d learne d fro m th e stag e i n th e refinemen t of wha t wa s t o be, afte r all , his chie f medium : th e lyri c poem . Agai n drama cam e t o reinforc e an d synthesiz e th e previou s alternatives , though thi s time the Japanese Noh, a drama quite unlike wha t he ha d experienced a t th e Abbey . Pictur e migh t no w b e regarde d a s "stil l intensity"; "gesture " a s "emotio n o f multitude. " Or , t o us e a secon d set o f terms , whic h Yeat s himsel f combine d i n on e o f hi s famou s statements o n art , "marmorean stillness " an d "overflowin g turbulen t energy." A fruitfu l tensio n betwee n thes e opposite s woul d produc e both th e expandin g energ y learn t fro m th e earlie r dram a an d th e silence o f the Noh . Yet that silenc e wa s not t o be regarde d a s an en d in itself , bu t rathe r a s a n ech o o f th e "multitudinous " whic h Yeat s had demande d a s early as 1903 (it wa s still the urg e fo r epic vastness) . For thi s reaso n I hav e subtitle d m y fourt h chapte r "Th e Ech o o f Silence," t o stres s tha t th e No h play s wer e not , a s ha s sometime s been supposed , quit e th e radica l shif t o f groun d the y woul d appea r to be ; tha t the y di d no t constitut e a n abandonmen t o f commitment s to passion and action . I n thi s chapte r I hav e als o undertaken t o trac e Yeats's developin g theor y o f symbolis m and th e provenanc e o f thos e speculations i n th e visua l and plasti c arts . Passion an d actio n were , i n fact , strongl y i n Yeats' s mind betwee n 1910 an d 1917 , th e perio d whe n h e a t las t worke d throug h t o a proper theor y o f traged y (an d comedy) , th e subjec t o f th e fift h

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chapter. A s wit h ever y se t o f opposites , her e to o ther e wa s t o b e a contrast—even a contest—betwee n tumul t an d repose . Althoug h tragedy require d passion—an d Yeat s too k pain s t o defin e hi s term it neede d als o th e repos e o f "reverie, " th e "check " whic h caugh t passion a t th e prope r momen t an d enforce d th e "pause " necessar y to permi t th e hero' s contemplativ e natur e spac e enoug h t o ruminate . Tragedy, then , wa s "passionat e reverie, " an d a t th e en d o f i t wa s th e comic gust o tha t close d th e circl e ou t o f whic h th e her o leapt , firs t through "ecstasy, " finall y throug h "gaiety " an d "joy. " Th e "tragi c correlative," a s I cal l it , wa s Yeats's fina l grea t aestheti c achievement : its embracin g principle s seeme d someho w t o complet e th e aesthetic . By 1917 , and fro m tha t dat e on , Yeat s i s a n artis t wh o create s wit h a full y develope d theor y o f hi s craf t whic h undergoe s littl e change . I t is deepene d an d parallele d b y hi s studie s o f philosoph y an d b y th e writing of A Vision: bu t th e fundamental s have bee n firmly set down. In m y final chapter, th e "singl e image " was , I felt , bes t approache d in par t throug h a consideratio n o f "Th e Statues, " difficul t a s tha t poem i s and despit e th e man y differin g interpretation s o f i t tha t hav e been offered . I admi t readil y tha t I us e th e poem—an d no t al l o f it— to illuminate the aestheti c and , conversely, th e aestheti c t o illuminate aspects of the poem . As in the openin g chapter , I have her e attempte d to plac e "vas t design " an d "singl e image " int o large r contexts , bot h metaphysical an d historical . B y a deliberatel y expansiv e us e o f th e concept o f design an d singl e image, I hav e sough t t o imply th e exten sive meaning s whic h Yeats' s aestheti c bring s t o bea r o n th e poet' s total conception o f hi s ar t i n relatio n t o himsel f an d hi s time . Onc e again, I stres s th e Europeannes s o f Yeats' s thought , implici t i n hi s desperate effort s t o reconcile—fo r th e sak e o f Europe—wha t ha s s o long bee n divided . My us e o f Pate r raise s a legitimat e scholarl y question , a s al l "influence" questions do. It i s generally assume d tha t Yeat s was well rea d in Pater , an d I hav e n o evidenc e t o doub t this ; o n th e othe r hand , I am unabl e t o prov e wit h wha t thoroughnes s Yeat s ha d absorbe d Greek Studies an d Plato and Platonism. Bu t m y argumen t doe s no t rest o n establishin g thi s point . Yeat s parallels Pate r bu t h e doe s no t parrot him ; an d i f "Th e Statues " gain s i n meanin g throug h a n examination o f Pater' s conception s o f Gree k art , history, an d philo sophy I fee l sufficientl y justifie d i n makin g us e o f them . As h e rea d history , especially th e histor y o f art , Yeats cam e t o se e that hi s ow n aestheti c wa s on e traditionall y achieved , i f no t s o self consciously sought , i n th e grea t period s o f art : in Phidia n sculpture ,

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in th e half-anonymit y of Byzantin e mosaics , i n certai n Renaissanc e paintings. I n eac h instanc e th e vas t desig n o f a whol e culture-image , fully partakin g o f "reality, " merge d int o th e triumphan t singl e imag e of art , motio n an d repos e adroitl y balanced i n work s tha t "move d o r seemed t o move. " Since i t i s widel y recognize d tha t Yeats' s late r poetr y become s in creasingly passionate , lif e an d th e rea l worl d becomin g fi t subject matter fo r hi s grea t "occasional " poem s (th e wor d i s use d a s Goeth e used it) , i t i s no t astonishin g tha t i n "Th e Statues " (1938) , Yeat s should cas t hi s lo t wit h "passion " an d th e "on e image" ; thoug h thi s only afte r thei r opposite s hav e bee n thoroughl y accounte d for , th e design carefull y wrought , orde r properl y established . If m y pairing s of opposites ar e se t down i n a simpl e doubl e colum n between th e tw o chie f phrase s tha t ope n an d clos e th e argumen t o f this book , severa l obviou s conclusion s see m inevitable : Vast Desig n Market Car t Sk Gesture Pictur Emotion o f Multitud e Stil Passion Reveri Single Imag e

y

e l Intensit y e

These contraries divide roughly into the activ e and th e contemplative , the expandin g an d th e contracting , th e surg e o f th e experientia l world swep t back , lik e a tide , b y th e containmen t o f form ; or , say , Becoming, th e Heraclitea n flux , checke d b y Plato' s correctiv e philo sophy o f Being , o r order , which , a s Pate r make s clea r i n Plato and Platonism, wa s expressl y directe d agains t Heraclitus . Eac h pairin g suggests th e roug h an d movin g world o f me n an d action s se t agains t the quiet, intense, asceti c world o f discipline and containment . T o fin d an equipois e between the m wa s Yeats's great task— a marriag e between the reckles s momen t o f lif e an d th e forma l momen t o f art . Certain area s about Yeat s are, o f course , a t onc e eliminate d b y th e nature o f th e subjec t I hav e chosen : Yeats' s lif e an d poetr y remai n outside m y scope . Abou t hi s lif e w e alread y kno w a grea t deal ; abou t his poetr y w e d o no t ye t kno w enough , an d I coul d no t hav e th e temerity t o fil l th e ga p i n a boo k o f thi s kind . I hav e no t entirel y neglected eithe r lif e o r poetr y bu t use d the m onl y a s background , and onl y whe n I fel t the y wer e essentia l t o m y argument . I n spit e of m y analysi s of several well-known poem s a s achievements o f Yeats' s aesthetic, I shoul d mak e clea r tha t I hav e no t undertake n t o tes t

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the validit y o f th e aestheti c agains t th e performanc e o f th e poetry , for reason s tha t becom e cleare r i n th e firs t chapter . No r d o I preten d to approac h m y subjec t primaril y fro m th e viewpoin t o f literar y history, t o trac e Yeats' s though t t o "influences, " o r t o attac h him , i n specific ways , t o particula r poet s o r traditions . Suc h attempt s woul d have curtaile d m y emphasi s o n Yeat s himself ; an d ther e alread y exist severa l excellen t studie s o n Yeats' s alliance s wit h suc h poet s a s Blake an d Shelley . Bu t agai n I d o not ignor e th e backgroun d agains t which Yeats' s though t developed , an d th e name s o f Schiller , Pater , Arnold, Symons—t o cit e a fe w examples—mak e thei r appearanc e i n the cours e o f m y argument . I hav e emphasize d no t wha t Yeat s bor rowed bu t wha t h e created , no t tha t whic h i s recognizable elsewher e in differen t dress , bu t tha t whic h i s unique , tha t whic h ca n b e onl y one man' s doing . Yeat s adopte d an d adapte d ideas , an d thi s i s no t a mer e pla y o n words . H e adopte d i n th e sens e tha t man y principle s that wer e t o becom e hi s ow n wer e no t self-begotte n bu t becam e par t of hi s imagination , thoug h h e alway s fel t a littl e il l a t eas e wit h them; an d h e adapte d thes e borrowings i n suc h a way a s to transform them int o somethin g recognizabl y Yeatsian . There remai n tw o aspects o f Yeats which migh t possibl y have bee n given mor e attentio n here : Yeats' s readin g o f philosoph y an d th e esoteric Yeats, whose earlier previews in suc h book s as Rosa Alchemica culminate i n A Vision. Yeat s an d philosoph y remain s a n unwritte n book. Th e Platoni c an d neo-Platoni c backgroun d ha s bee n examine d scrupulously i n F . A. C. Wilson' s tw o book s and , mor e recently , b y Morton Irvin g Seiden' s William Butler Yeats: The Poet As Mythmaker, 1865-7939 ; and th e esoteri c root s in Swedenbor g an d Boehm e and occultis t orders of variou s stripes hav e been give n som e attentio n by Mr . Wilson , Virgini a Moore, an d others. Bu t i n th e twentie s an d thirties Yeat s rea d score s o f philosophers , historians , scientists : Kant , Berkeley, Schopenhauer , Hume , Hegel , Croce , Spengler , Bergson , Russell, Whitehead , Dunne , McTaggart , India n philosophy—th e lis t is b y n o mean s exhauste d here . A goo d dea l o f Yeats' s discussion s o f philosophy i s scattere d rathe r inconspicuously , thoug h hi s corres pondence wit h th e poe t T . Sturg e Moor e ha s bee n collected , an d there on e ma y follo w Yeats' s educatio n i n philosoph y a s h e argue s metaphysics wit h hi s friend . Readin g thi s volum e i s a somewha t un comfortable experience : neithe r Yeat s nor Moore , on e feels , wa s really well suite d fo r th e subjec t a t hand , an d i t woul d tak e a thir d part y —well traine d i n philosophy—t o arbitrat e betwee n them . (Tha t thir d party does i n fac t a t times mak e his appearanc e i n th e correspondenc e

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when T . Sturg e Moore , i n desperation , call s upo n hi s brother , th e philosopher G . E . Moore , t o se t straigh t hi s obstinat e friend. ) Still , Ruskin's famou s visio n o f th e cat—whic h occupie s a sizabl e portio n of th e exchang e betwee n Yeat s and Moore—i s no t th e mai n issu e a t hand; to mak e it suc h is to reduc e the whol e busines s wit h too deprecatory a gesture. While Yeats seems at time s hopelessly stubbor n and naiv e an d Moor e terribl y litera l an d obtuse , th e rea l issu e a t stake—the natur e o f reality—wa s a centra l on e fo r bot h poets . Yeats' s solution remained , I think , tentativ e an d uncertain ; an d h e clearl y never conquere d th e inherite d scepticis m o f hi s father . Ye t thi s very hesitatio n t o adop t a singl e vie w o f realit y i s paralle l t o hi s aesthetic. The aestheti c wa s Yeats' s firs t tas k and , a s I hav e stressed , h e completed i t befor e h e seriousl y undertoo k t o stud y philosophy . Bu t the relationships between th e aesthetic and th e subsequent philosophi c speculations ar e ofte n undeniabl y clear . I n spit e o f this , i t ha s no t seemed prope r t o discus s thi s analog y wit h an y thoroughnes s her e because th e philosoph y seem s a muc h mor e unstabl e an d confusin g subject tha n th e aestheti c an d therefor e threaten s t o flin g u s onc e more upo n "hodo s chameliontos. " I do , however, conced e thi s much : Yeats's philosophi c inquirie s serv e a s a bridg e int o th e fina l versio n of A Vision, a way out o f chaos toward som e form o f unity. A t certai n points i n m y argumen t I have , therefore , mad e som e tentativ e sug gestions t o demonstrat e ho w th e aestheti c ease d it s wa y int o philo sophy, and I have not ignored such works as Per Arnica Silentia Lunae, or Yeats's rather intimate knowledge of Plotinus , Nietzsche , Schopen hauer, an d Bergson . A Vision—counting bot h th e earl y an d th e revise d versions—oc cupied Yeat s fo r bette r tha n twent y years. A wor k whic h i s par t o f a man's lif e fo r s o lon g canno t b e wishe d away . Besides , i t ha s bee n justly pointe d ou t tha t th e earlie r esoteri c interest s wer e mer e pre ludes t o A Vision, s o that i t i s no exaggeratio n t o clai m tha t certai n aspects o f A Vision wer e lifelon g interests . Bu t jus t a s ther e i s a danger i n ignorin g A Vision altogether , s o i s ther e a certai n disad vantage i n overestimatin g it s importanc e a t th e expens e o f othe r aspects of Yeats t o whic h critic s and scholar s have been les s attentive . Yeats's poetr y wa s hi s firs t concern , an d h e himsel f worrie d tha t young me n woul d rea d A Vision instea d o f it . Asid e fro m hi s ar t Yeats had , i n word s alread y quoted , thre e interest s tha t shape d hi s life—a sense of national identity, philosophy, an d a theory of literature .

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My busines s her e i s the las t o f thes e and, to refine this eve n further , to char t th e dominan t pattern s o f th e aesthetic , no t t o catalogu e al l of Yeats' s utterance s o n ar t an d artist s (Yeat s o n Ar t an d Societ y remains a fruitfu l subjec t abou t whic h muc h mor e need s t o be said) . For Yeats , a s fo r an y grea t artist , everythin g ha d "aestheti c implica tions"; hardl y a wor d h e wrote , whethe r o n philosophy , o r history , or on th e occul t fail s t o shade into the issu e of art. Like Goethe , Yeats sought deliberatel y to shape a Weltanschauung; and , as with Goethe , everything radiate d fro m th e artisti c centre , n o matte r ho w profus e and far-flun g th e idea s would become. I have tried t o keep clos e t o th e centre. A Vision an d th e esoteri c writing s bear th e sam e relationshi p to Yeats' s aestheti c a s Goethe' s speculation s o n th e Urpflanze o r Farbenlehre bor e t o his, and th e Autobiography i s remarkably similar in spiri t t o Dichtung und Wahrheit. Ther e i s als o som e trut h i n H. W . Hausermann' s contentio n tha t Yeats' s conclusion s abou t ar t and artist s "are founded o n th e universa l principle s o f ar t itself , no t upon any occult messages dictated by his wise communicators"; thoug h one woul d no t perhap s wis h t o g o s o far a s t o sa y tha t "Ther e i s n o need . . . t o kno w anythin g abou t th e Syste m expounde d i n A Vision," i n orde r to come to terms with th e aesthetic . Strictly speaking, the nee d t o know i s unnecessary since A Vision wa s clearly th e late r product; but certainl y A Vision enable s us to see the aestheti c reflected and refracte d fro m differen t angles . Hauserman n i s quit e righ t i n saying tha t Yeat s "avoide d th e terminology " o f th e "System " whe n he wrot e abou t ar t (th e terminology wa s no t ye t i n existence) ; an d he is also correct in protestin g that readers have refused to take Yeats's critical idea s seriousl y becaus e thei r immediat e confusio n o f the m with th e "System " eithe r discourage s them o r increase s thei r hostility, provided they are hostile to esoteric Yeats to start with. 7 I hope I hav e clarified i n th e cours e o f thi s boo k tha t th e disentanglin g o f th e aesthetic fro m th e "System " i s no t onl y possibl e bu t chronologicall y necessary. A Vision doe s not , of course , remai n outsid e m y pages — both i n th e openin g an d i n th e closin g chapter s I mak e us e o f it s implications t o m y subject ; bu t I shoul d als o ad d tha t man y o f th e aesthetic idea s i n A Vision (o r th e tracin g o f th e histor y o f art) are expressed elsewher e (i n th e Autobiography an d letter s an d assorte d essays) wit h greate r clarity , fre e o f th e rigou r tha t systematizatio n unavoidably imposes . Of thes e paralle l idea s to A Vision I hav e mad e ample use. TH. W. Hausermann , "W. B. Yeats's Criticis m of Ezra Pound, " pp. 454, 437-438 .

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It i s suitabl e t o conclud e thes e introductor y remark s wit h thre e quotations fro m Yeat s tha t lea d u s straightawa y t o th e hear t o f th e matter: The imaginativ e write r differ s fro m th e sain t i n tha t h e identifie s himself—to th e neglec t o f hi s ow n soul , alas!—wit h th e sou l o f th e world. . . . (Discoveries, 1906) . O

All ar t i s th e disengagin g o f a sou l fro m plac e an d history . . . . ("J . M . Synge an d th e Irelan d o f hi s Time, " 1910) . . . . man everywher e i s more o f his tim e tha n o f his nation. . . . (Introduction t o Fighting the Waves, 1934) .

"Time" and "world, " "place " an d "history"—ar e the y al l synonymous? The artist , Yeat s say s i n th e firs t quotation , neglects—mus t neglect , however regretfully , it seems—his own sou l for the sak e of the world's : not ar t fo r art' s sake , no r ar t fo r m y sake . Ye t th e soul o f th e worl d is no t th e world , no t th e sam e a s "place " o r "history"—thos e par ticularizing goa l post s whic h th e historica l self-consciousnes s o f th e nineteenth centur y rathe r overconfidentl y stake d dow n t o defin e th e limits o f ou r field : Zeitgeist. "Place " an d "history " wer e to o fixe d to sui t a cyclica l mind: fro m thes e th e sou l mus t b e disengaged , an d that i s th e busines s o f art . Bu t "time " wa s perhap s a mor e suitabl e word t o describ e th e ver y rea l sens e o f proximit y tha t Yeat s alway s felt towar d th e impingin g event s tha t touche d hi s lif e a t ever y turn . "Time" wa s a t leas t motio n b y definition , wherea s "nation, " lik e "place" an d "history, " wa s to o fixed, too narrow a spac e fo r th e artis t to breath e in : th e soul , thoug h o f th e "world, " mus t "disengage " itself fro m "place" , "history " an d "nation. " Th e artis t must hav e worl d enough an d time—an d yet , a s Yeats would hav e admitte d readily , h e must ultimatel y have nation , plac e an d histor y too : thes e wer e som e of th e component s o f his "vas t design"; an d th e disengagin g soul—thi s was the "on e image " defining its individuality within th e ar t i t creates . The single , origina l poet , stil l creatin g withi n a vas t desig n whic h reflected, lik e a singl e image , th e whol e o f a nation' s traditions , th e "race" and th e "reality" : tha t was Yeats's great aim as an artist . By 190 7 Yeat s was alread y referrin g t o Villier s d e lisle-Ada m a s "crying i n th e ecstas y of a suprem e culture , o f a suprem e refusal , 'a s for living , ou r servant s wil l d o tha t fo r us.' " A decad e o f labou r i n the dram a wa s t o alert Yeats toward th e essentia l dram a o f lif e itself : "One o f th e mean s o f loftiness , o f marmorea n stillness , ha s bee n th e

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choice o f strang e an d far-awa y place s fo r th e scener y o f art , bu t thi s choice has grow n bitte r t o me, and ther e ar e moments whe n I canno t believe in the reality o f imaginations tha t ar e not inset with the minute life o f lon g familia r thing s an d symbol s an d places. " Eve n Shake speare's imaginar y journey s t o Rom e an d Veron a see m t o hi m no w symptomatic "o f unrest , a dissatisfactio n wit h natura l interests , a n unstable equilibriu m o f th e whol e Europea n mind . . . ." 8 T o hel p stabilize th e equilibriu m o f th e Europea n min d wa s fo r Yeat s th e responsibility o f th e moder n poet. 9 ^Discoveries, i n Essays , p . 367 . Discoverie s wa s published separatel y i n December , 1907. I n late r editions , i n The Cutting of an Agate (191 2 an d 1919) , i n whic h Discoveries wa s included , a s wel l a s i n Essay s (1924 ) an d i n Essay s and Introductions (1961) , th e dat e give n a t th e en d o f Discoveries i s 1906 . (I n th e 190 8 Collected Works n o dat e i s given. ) However , i n hi s Bibliograph y of the Writings of W. B. Yeats, Alla n Wad e note s i n th e entr y fo r th e 190 7 editio n o f Discoveries (item 72) : "Finishe d o n 12t h September , 1907. " H e als o note s tha t al l bu t th e las t four chapter s o f Discoveries had bee n publishe d previously , i n variou s places, i n 1906 . The las t fou r chapters—" A Towe r o n th e Apennines, " "Th e Thinkin g o f th e Body, " "Religious Belie f Necessar y t o Symboli c Art, " an d "Th e Hol y Places"—wer e pub lished i n th e autum n o f 1907 , severa l month s prio r t o th e publicatio n o f Discoveries as a separat e volume . I t i s apparent tha t Yeat s wrot e thes e las t fou r chapter s i n 1907 . The quotatio n abov e come s fro m "Th e Hol y Places " an d shoul d therefor e b e considered a s belongin g t o th e yea r 1907 . 9 I hav e argue d tha t Yeats' s literary taste s wer e wid e an d sympathetic , bu t no t tha t he wa s a n unfailingl y goo d judg e o f hi s contemporaries . An y suc h claim s ar e embarrassed b y th e inclusion s an d omission s i n The Oxford Book of Modern Verse, which Yeat s edite d i n 1936 . I a m concerne d primaril y wit h Yeats' s view s o f th e past, wher e hi s judgmen t wa s fir m an d usuall y right . I n makin g hi s choice s fo r th e Oxford anthology , h e admittedl y engage d i n editoria l prejudice s an d perhap s com mitted error s o f judgment : som e poet s omitte d o r scantil y represente d hav e sinc e risen i n value ; man y who m h e overpraise d hav e no t prove n t o b e o f endurin g value. Bu t histor y ha s no t ye t mad e an y definitiv e judgment s o n man y o f th e poet s represented i n thi s volume . Wha t wa s importan t fo r Yeat s wa s a poet' s quality: i n Turner a darin g us e o f images ; i n Edit h Sitwel l a qualit y o f puckis h innocence ; i n Dorothy Wellesle y a n earth y treatmen t o f lov e bu t metaphysicall y oriented . W e cannot forget , o f course , tha t Yeat s mus t hav e chose n som e poem s fro m a sens e of loyalt y an d nostalgia , sinc e s o man y o f th e poet s h e ha d know n i n hi s youth . I f he erred , thi s i n n o wa y contradict s m y clai m tha t h e ha d a far-flun g appreciatio n of differen t kind s o f poetry . Th e Introductio n t o th e Oxfor d antholog y make s i t abundantly clea r tha t hi s choice s wer e als o ofte n governe d b y certai n aestheti c principles (e.g. , th e failur e t o includ e Owen) ; an d i t i s i n th e ligh t o f thes e principles tha t hi s editoria l eccentricitie s ca n b e understood , i f no t alway s justified .

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* TH E VAS T DESIG N Patterns in W. B . Yeats's Aesthetic

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I < & TH E VAST DESIGN : First Principle s

Motions ar e als o symbolic . . . . Goin g an d returnin g are th e typica l eterna l motions , the y characteriz e th e visionary form s o f eterna l life . The y belon g to u-p and down, to in and out. Ellis-Yeat s editio n o f Blak e . . . & the circlin g i s alway s narrowin g o r spreading, because on e movemen t o r othe r i s alway s th e stronger . In othe r words , th e huma n sou l i s alway s movin g outward into th e objectiv e worl d o r inwar d int o itself ; & this movement is double because the huma n soul would not b e consciou s wer e i t no t suspende d between contraries, the greate r th e contras t th e mor e intens e th e consciousness . Note t o "Th e Secon d Coming " Yeats's imagination—i f no t hi s talent—wa s primaril y neithe r lyri c no r dramatic bu t epic . Ha d h e live d in anothe r tim e h e migh t hav e bee n a grea t epi c poet. Regardles s o f ho w man y dream s possesse d hi s life , the earlies t an d greates t wa s t o becom e a moder n Home r o f Ireland , its mythmaker: "... I hated an d stil l hate wit h a n eve r growing hatre d the literatur e of th e poin t o f view . I wante d . .. to ge t bac k t o Homer . ..." I n hi s essa y o n moder n poetr y (initiall y a B.B.C . broadcas t i n 1936), h e ha d characterize d hi s tim e accuratel y a s non-epic : "Th e period fro m th e deat h o f Tennyso n unti l th e presen t momen t has , i t seems, mor e goo d lyri c poet s tha n an y simila r period sinc e th e seven teenth century—n o grea t overpowerin g figures , bu t man y poet s wh o have writte n som e thre e o r fou r lyric s apiec e whic h ma y b e per manent i n ou r literature." 1 Yeat s kne w tha t bot h tim e an d talen t conspired agains t him : th e firs t denie d hi m th e prope r soi l fo r epi c art; th e secon d seeme d bette r suite d fo r th e short , no t th e sustaine d effort. Th e consequen t tensio n betwee n hi s imagination , wit h it s i Essays and Introductions, pp . 511 ; 491 . Th e firs t quotatio n i s cite d fro m " A General Introductio n fo r m y Work, " date d 193 7 an d publishe d fo r th e firs t tim e i n the abov e volum e (1961) .

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protean conceptions of vast designs, and hi s poetic gifts, whic h seeme d to fal l s o naturall y int o th e containe d an d limite d forms , produce d ultimately the uniquenes s an d excitement o f his aesthetic speculations . Yeats sai d ofte n enoug h tha t h e wa s i n sympath y wit h th e lyri c poets, th e creator s o f subtl e an d ecstati c "songs " tha t mad e fo r th e finely controlled intensity of lyric poetry. But, when speakin g on thes e occasions, h e sometime s evoke d nostalgi a an d regre t fo r wha t ha d been sacrificed : th e "tumultuou s an d heroic, " "mankin d i n thei r fulness," "ol d forms , ol d situations, " "heroi c an d religiou s truths, " "half-philosophical, half-mythologica l folk-beliefs, " "grea t an d com plicated images, " "vas t world s moulde d b y thei r ow n weight, " "th e old abounding, nonchalant reverie." H e mad e his point unequivocally in a terce t h e calle d "Thre e Movements " (1932) : Shakespearean fis h swa m th e sea , fa r awa y fro m land ; Romantic fis h swa m i n net s coming t o th e hand ; What ar e al l thos e fish that li e gaspin g o n th e strand ? One kin d o f ar t whic h appeale d consistentl y t o Yeat s has i n com mon a grandeu r of conceptio n an d form : al l heroi c an d bardi c litera ture; Parsifal; Homer ; th e grea t Comedies , Divin e an d Humaine ; Shakespeare, whos e play s h e considere d a s on e vas t "myth" ; Cer vantes; Blake' s Prophetic Books ; Faust; al l th e "ol d poems " tha t ha d "architectural unity " an d "symboli c importance" ; Phidias , Michelan gelo, Titian ; everythin g that coul d "mol d vas t materia l int o a singl e image." In tha t last phrase lies the modus operandi o f Yeats's aesthetic : for th e threa t tha t vastnes s would los e itsel f i n anarchi c floo d wa s always t o b e checke d b y th e assertio n o f th e singl e image . Throug h that singl e image , vastnes s coul d becom e a s intens e an d a s foca l a s a lyri c poem , though a lyri c poe t coul d no t easil y attain both th e epi c grandeur an d th e lyri c compactnes s whic h Yeats' s idea l suggested . It mus t b e admitte d that , i n certai n centra l respects , Yeats' s ar t and hi s conception s of ar t wer e sometime s at odds ; tha t h e di d no t always succee d i n writin g th e kin d o f poetr y h e conceive d o f a s a theoretical ideal . A Vision remain s hi s on e compensator y effor t t o write a n epic : i t fulfille d hi s grea t nee d fo r th e architectur e o f a panoramic scheme , a "singl e image, " though , lackin g bot h her o an d action, i t remains—a s h e lamented— a "System " an d no t a poem . I t has bee n argue d tha t Yeats' s poetr y form s a single , long , structure d poem, provide d w e rea d hi m wit h car e an d sensitivity. 2 Bu t eve n a t 2 The firs t t o argu e thi s wa s Donal d A . Stauffer , The Golden Nightingale; lately the ide a ha s bee n advance d b y Joh n Unterecker , A Reader's Guide to William

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best thi s requires som e artificialit y of effort , fo r the readin g o f a group ing of singl e poems , eac h poe m derivin g fro m a separat e occasion , a distinct spo t o f time , an d a specia l emotiona l impuls e canno t equa l a reading o f Paradise Lost o r the Iliad. Yeats knew this . While it often illuminates Yeats's poetry, th e theor y mus t b e accepte d autonomously . Testing th e poeti c achievemen t agains t theor y doe s no t alway s yiel d happy results : it lead s to a limitatio n eithe r of the theor y or of the poetry. Yeats' s poetr y i s s o various , i n conception , technique , form , and theme , tha t n o on e representativ e theory , no t eve n hi s own , could suppor t it . Often , a t th e ver y momen t whe n Yeats' s critica l prose wa s pleadin g on e cause , hi s poetr y wa s objectifyin g another . Yeats thought a s he would ; but h e wrot e a s he could . This i s not t o suggest tha t theor y an d practic e wer e unrelated . O n the contrary , it wa s Yeats' s awareness o f th e disparit y betwee n wha t he wante d an d wha t h e coul d achieve—an d his . labours t o joi n wis h to fulfilment—whic h guide d th e directio n o f hi s aestheti c thinking . Theory profoundl y affecte d practic e an d vic e versa; and , especiall y in hi s matur e years , Yeats composed man y poem s whic h successfull y objectified theory . But becaus e conceptio n tende d t o deman d wha t executio n coul d not alway s deliver , i t i s no t surprisin g tha t th e shap e o f Yeats' s aesthetic reveal s the visibl e an d sometime s violen t sign s o f a struggl e to compromise: or , if compromise suggests something too negative, of a struggle t o achiev e unit y throug h opposition , a metho d which , a s we kno w already, governed hi s conception s o f man , life , an d history . The nee d t o unif y throug h oppositio n wa s not , a t first , a thoroughl y deliberated philosophi c assumption , despit e Yeats' s earl y readin g o f Blake, wher e th e attractiv e "contraries " wer e firs t encountered . Pri marily, I thin k Yeat s sough t ou t th e contrarie s whe n h e discovere d that certai n assumption s about ar t whic h h e brough t t o hi s earlies t trials a s a poe t seeme d t o oppos e wha t h e wa s doing . A s woul d b e normal fo r an y youn g poet , Yeat s was anxiou s t o expres s himsel f i n a voic e mad e hi s own ; but hi s power s wer e no t ye t equa l t o th e tas k of attainin g the magnitud e o f th e ar t h e consistentl y admired, an d hi s early readin g o f Blak e an d Swedenbor g pu t hi m permanentl y o n guard agains t "egoism. " From th e first , h e fel t tha t grea t ar t mus t b e conceive d vastly : th e Butler Yeats. Bu t perhap s th e mos t convincin g accoun t o f Yeats's poetry a s a carefull y arranged sequenc e o f poem s tha t suggest s a singl e wor k i s Hug h Kenner' s "Th e Sacred Boo k o f th e Arts, " i n Gnomon (McDowell , Obolensk y Inc. , Ne w York , 1951), pp . 9-29 .

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imagination behin d i t mus t b e capabl e o f expandin g itself , a s well a s expanding th e imaginatio n o f th e audience . Thi s ha d bee n Shelley' s chief metapho r fo r describin g th e powe r o f poetr y i n th e Defence (which Yeat s kne w thoroughl y an d admired) : "Poetr y enlarge s th e circumference o f th e imaginatio n b y replenishin g i t wit h thought s of eve r ne w delight.. . which for m ne w interval s an d interstice s whose voi d fo r eve r crave s fres h food" ; i t "burst s th e circumferenc e of th e reader' s mind , an d pour s itsel f fort h togethe r wit h i t int o th e universal elemen t wit h whic h i t ha s perpetua l sympathy" ; i n tragedy , "The imaginatio n i s enlarged b y a sympath y wit h pain s an d passion s so mighty , tha t the y disten d i n thei r conceptio n th e capacit y o f tha t by whic h the y ar e conceived.... " I n th e presenc e o f tragedy , Yeat s wrote, "W e fee l ou r mind s expan d convulsivel y o r sprea d ou t slowl y like som e moon-brightene d image-crowde d sea . Tha t whic h i s befor e our eye s perpetuall y vanishe s an d return s agai n i n th e mids t o f th e excitement i t creates.. . ."3 Yeat s quickl y recognize d tha t grandeu r i n art coul d n o longe r b e achieve d quantitatively , by crowdin g a wor k with larg e cast s o f characters , man y plots , a multitud e o f idea s an d emotions; allusio n an d suggestion , symbo l an d emblem , therefor e soon became central to his aesthetic as techniques o f gaining capacious ness an d echo , th e reverberatio n o f vas t world s rathe r tha n th e vas t worlds themselves . I f on e migh t retai n th e effect s o f Hug o whil e wringing th e nec k o f hi s rhetori c and eloquence , the n th e lyri c o f th e future coul d promis e a fulfilmen t o f suggeste d vastnes s neve r befor e achieved. The expansio n metaphor , whic h Yeat s uses i n hi s theoretica l pros e with marke d repetitiousness , suggeste d tha t outwar d surg e towar d vastness whic h h e crystallize d s o perfectl y i n hi s phras e "emotio n o f multitude." But th e vas t design mus t never lose itsel f o n th e peripher y of th e circle : poetry , sai d Shelley , i s "a t onc e th e centr e an d cir cumference o f knowledge" ; poet s "measur e th e circumferenc e an d sound th e depth s o f huma n nature.... " Th e "void " mus t b e con tinually filled : "Tha t whic h i s befor e ou r eye s perpetuall y vanishe s and return s again" ; th e spac e lef t empt y b y expansio n i s reoccupie d with rhythmi c perpetuity. In Yeats' s scheme suc h reoccupatio n occur s when th e echo , havin g travelle d t o th e limit s o f form , return s an d traverses th e spac e i t ha s cleare d i n expandin g and , b y contraction , returns t o th e centr e again . Here , then , th e artis t gain s hi s "stil l intensity"; her e ech o become s focus , th e "vas t design " coalesce s int o the "singl e image. " Bu t th e stillnes s i s intense ; underneat h i t "stir s 3

"The Tragi c Theatre, " Essays, p . 303 .

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the beast " and alway s the potentia l fo r a repeated gestur e o f expansion . Yeats, a s H . W . Hauserman n ha s written , "considere d perfectio n t o lie i n a stat e of balanc e betwee n th e 'flux ' an d consciou s limitation," 4 between expansio n an d contraction . Pate r ha d describe d Gree k ar t and civilizatio n a s divided betwee n tw o "opposing tendencies" : "Th e centrifugal an d centripetal.. . the Ionian , th e Asiati c tendency, flying from th e centre.. . [and] th e Doria n influenc e o f a sever e simplifi cation . .. calm . .. [promoting] a composed , rational , self-consciou s order... ."5 An d Northro p Fry e ha s applie d thi s notio n t o th e audi ence: Whenever w e rea d anything , w e fin d ou r attentio n movin g i n tw o directions a t once . On e directio n i s outwar d o r centrifugal , i n whic h w e keep goin g outside ou r reading , fro m th e individua l words t o th e thing s they mean , or, i n practice , to our memor y o f th e conventiona l associatio n between them . The othe r direction i s inwar d o r centripetal , i n whic h we try t o develo p fro m th e word s a sens e o f th e large r verba l patter n the y make.6 All attempt s t o reconcil e expansio n an d contractio n touc h some how o n th e majo r issu e o f th e "concret e universal"—a n ar t a t onc e both uniqu e an d generic . Bu t fo r Yeat s th e questio n wa s crucial : i n creating th e specifi c an d unique , wha t pric e di d th e poe t pa y fo r hi s "originality"—what Blak e calle d "egoism" ? Thi s questio n aros e early , in Yeats' s firs t essa y o n symbolis m whic h h e wrot e fo r th e editio n o f Blake co-edite d wit h Edwi n Elli s i n 1893 . Althoug h i t i s tru e tha t in thi s piece, "Th e Necessit y o f Symbolism, " Yeat s tende d t o se e th e problem mor e metaphysicall y than aesthetically , the ver y philosophi c bias of the youn g Yeats reminds us properl y tha t fo r a poet th e realm s of though t hav e n o har d an d fas t boundaries . I t i s Blak e Yeat s i s explicating but th e thought , of course, expresses his ow n conceptio n as well: The min d or imaginatio n o r consciousnes s o f ma n ma y b e sai d t o hav e two poles, the persona l an d impersonal , or , as Blake preferre d t o call them, the limi t o f contractio n an d th e unlimite d expansion . Whe n w e ac t fro m the persona l w e ten d t o bin d ou r consciousnes s dow n a s t o a fier y centre . When, on th e othe r hand , we allow ou r imaginatio n t o expand awa y fro m this egoistic mood, we become vehicles for the universa l though t and merg e in th e universa l mood. 7 4

Hausermann, "W . B . Yeats' s Criticis m o f Ezr a Pound, " 443 . Pater, Greek Studies (London , 1895) , pp . 264-265. 6 Northrop Frye , Anatomy of Criticism (Princeto n Universit y Press , 1957) , p . 73 . 7 Tfee Works of William Blake, Poetic, Symbolic, and Critical, ed . Edwi n Joh n Ellis an d Willia m Butle r Yeats , I , 242 . 5

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The centr e i s her e equate d wit h th e personal , an d th e persona l with th e egoistical ; an d th e egoistical , finally , i s th e opposit e o f th e universal—the finite . Thi s Blakea n antithesi s wa s t o influenc e Yeat s profoundly. Al l hi s lif e h e wa s t o b e tor n betwee n hi s conceptua l sympathies fo r "half-anonymous " culture-art—suc h a s th e mosaic s o f Byzantium, i n whic h th e individua l artis t wa s submerged—an d th e passionate intensit y o f his ow n artisti c voice, th e "persona l utterance " which coul d s o easily tur n t o egois m o r los e itsel f a s a n unattache d voice singin g i n th e dar k lik e a forlor n nightingale—lik e th e nightin gale-poet i n Shelley' s Defence. Yeats' s attitud e towar d individualis m as egois m wa s alway s equivocal: whil e h e hate d th e surrende r int o the multiplicit y of th e East , whic h se t fre e th e grea t horror s o f th e primary, objectiv e age , h e pursue d wit h earnes t longin g th e sor t of coherence i n co-operativ e venture s i n ar t i n whic h th e singl e voic e blended int o th e choir . Yeats' s mask-theory , whic h permitte d a ma n to posses s man y selve s an d anti-selves , seems , whe n applie d t o poeti c theory, essentiall y an attemp t t o escape th e tyrann y of a singl e identi fiable persona ; o r t o inves t th e person a wit h persona e tha t def y a categorical definitio n o r reduction . Originality , h e argued , i s no t th e artist's business—i t i s hi s shar e i n Cain' s curse . Bu t th e word s mus t often hav e taste d lik e as h i n hi s mouth , fo r Yeat s was a moder n an d with th e inheritanc e o f hi s modernity , i n spit e o f himself , cam e th e terrible, insisten t urg e t o b e original , t o be , a t an y rate , wha t th e people turned enem y least wanted yo u to be. "A poet writes always of his personal life," but neve r a s if addressin g himself t o som e singl e ma n i n th e confessional : a poe t "i s mor e typ e than man , more passion tha n type," an d th e ascen t int o higher abstrac tions her e i s awa y fro m th e cri du cceur. Whil e th e poet s o f th e eighteenth centur y ha d thei r weaknesses , Yeat s admire d thei r publi c stance: "the y wer e no t separate d individua l men ; the y spok e o r trie d to speak out o f a people t o a people; behind the m stretche d th e genera tions." I n a prose that ironicall y betrays the uniqu e voic e o f hatre d o f which Yeat s was occasionally capable, h e turne d o n th e persona l wit h fury, lat e i n hi s life : "al l tha t i s personal soo n rots ; it mus t b e packe d in ic e or salt"; "Tal k t o me o f originality an d I wil l tur n o n yo u wit h rage."8 Still, the intensit y he sough t could no t b e scored s o easily by following th e dictate s of his epi c dream s of vastness an d impersonality . Th e present impinge d uncomfortabl y an d mad e it s demands : "Contem 8 "A General Introduction for my Work," Essays and Introductions, pp. 509-510, 522.

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porary lyri c poems ... seemed to o long.... The Englis h min d i s medi tative, rich , deliberate... . I planne d t o writ e shor t lyric s o r poeti c drama wher e ever y speec h woul d b e shor t an d concentrated , kni t b y dramatic tension...." 9 Bu t thi s wa s onl y on e sid e o f th e coin : th e meditative coul d becom e static , or reverie itsel f migh t tur n dramatic — these wer e problem s h e wa s t o solv e in th e year s of trial s and failure s that pushe d hi m t o maturit y an d control . Meanwhile , no t lon g afte r he bega n hi s caree r a s a poet , Yeats found himsel f i n th e exceedingl y promising bu t precariou s positio n o f bein g attracte d b y opposit e ideals: a vas t imaginatio n seekin g t o expres s itsel f i n tense , short , dramatic poetry . Wha t h e needed—an d found—wa s historica l sup port, precedent, fo r Yeats was i n al l things conscious of continuity an d anxious t o mak e hi s plac e i n wha t h e late r cam e t o cal l th e "pro cession." II

Yeats wa s b y natur e n o puris t an d hi s aesthetic , thoug h i t i s remarkably self-consistent , offers littl e to th e puris t critic . Th e vexin g question o f genuin e "influences, " fo r instance , i s nearl y impossibl e to solve with certainty because Yeats was at time s an errati c reader an d occasionally to o cavalie r a s a reporte r o f hi s reading . Yet th e shap e of the theor y itself , wit h it s insistenc e o n epi c grandeur , lyri c intensity , and dramati c tensio n wa s onl y i n par t th e resul t o f a n imaginatio n which foun d itsel f frustratingl y oppose d b y it s ow n talents : i n par t it wa s als o th e resul t o f a n historica l even t o f whic h Yeat s was wel l aware—the re-discovery and re-interpretatio n of Greece and th e Renais sance. Th e earlies t encounte r wit h thi s doubl e reviva l wa s probabl y in Pater' s The Renaissance, an d fo r a tim e tha t boo k mus t hav e been for Yeat s what i t ha d bee n fo r Wilde: hi s "golde n book. " For Pater , th e Renaissanc e inherite d "sweetness " fro m th e Greek s and Roman s an d "strength " fro m th e medieva l world . I n additio n t o "sweetness" th e classica l worl d ha d th e qualit y o f Allgemeinheit, breadth: it s sweetnes s wa s par t o f it s naivete , i n th e sens e i n whic h Schiller distinguishe d "naive " fro m "sentimental " poetr y i n hi s famous essay ; its Allgemeinheit was its power . In additio n to "strength," th e medieva l worl d bequeathe d t o th e Renaissance—an d thus t o moder n times— a qualit y o f introspectio n an d intensity , o f the persona l traged y foun d i n contraction , no t expansion , fo r on e contracted i n th e en d upo n one' s ow n soul . O n th e basi s o f thi s flfcuJ., p . 521.

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historical diagram , wit h it s variousl y apportione d debt s an d offering s of on e ag e t o another , Pate r buil t hi s basi c distinctions : Allgemeinheit—breadth, generality , universality,—i s th e wor d chosen by Winckelmann, an d afte r hi m b y Goeth e an d man y Germa n critics , t o express tha t la w o f th e mos t excellen t Gree k sculptors , o f Pheidia s an d his pupils , whic h prompte d the m constantl y t o see k th e typ e i n th e individual, t o abstrac t an d expres s onl y wha t i s structura l an d permanent, to purge from th e individua l al l that belongs only t o him, all th e accidents, the feeling s an d action s o f th e specia l moments , all t h a t . . . is ap t t o loo k like a froze n thin g i f on e arrest s it... . That wa s th e Gree k wa y o f relievin g th e hardnes s an d unspiritualit y of pur e form. Bu t i t involve d t o a certai n degre e th e sacrific e o f wha t w e call expression; an d a syste m o f abstractio n whic h aime d alway s a t th e broad an d genera l type , a t th e purgin g awa y fro m th e individua l o f . . . mere accident s of a particula r time and place , impose d upo n th e rang e of effects ope n to the Greek sculptor limit s somewhat narrowly defined . Whe n Michelangelo came , therefore , wit h a geniu s spiritualise d b y th e reveri e of th e middl e age, penetrated by it s spiri t o f inwardnes s an d introspection, living no t a mer e outward lif e lik e th e Greek , bu t a lif e ful l o f intimate experiences,... a syste m whic h sacrificed s o much of what was inward and unseen coul d no t satisf y him . To h i m . . . work whic h di d no t brin g what was inwar d t o th e surface , whic h wa s no t concerne d w i t h . . . individual character an d feeling , th e specia l histor y o f th e specia l soul , wa s no t wort h doing a t all. 10 Michelangelo brough t t o sculptur e "individualit y an d intensit y o f expression," an d thi s partiall y medieva l importatio n i s wha t mos t clearly distinguishe s medieva l fro m classical : "th e presenc e o f a con vulsive energ y i n i t . . . felt, eve n i n it s mos t gracefu l products , a s a subdued quaintnes s o r grotesque. " I t i s eviden t wher e Pater' s ow n sympathies lie : i n th e conflic t whic h thi s medieva l energy , thi s "gro tesque," brough t t o th e stabl e Gree k ideal . I n hi s essa y o n Winckel mann, th e mos t revealing o f the serie s i n The Renaissance, h e admit s that th e Helleni c idea l i n whic h ma n wa s a t on e wit h himself , nature, an d th e worl d wa s enviable, an d th e beyon d int o whic h ma n stepped a pit ful l o f danger an d uncertainty . Bu t th e ris k seeme d bot h worth takin g and inevitable . If ma n wa s t o b e "save d fro m th e ennui which eve r attache s itself t o realisation,... it was necessar y tha t a con flict should come , tha t som e sharpe r not e shoul d griev e th e existin g harmony, an d th e spiri t chafed by i t bea t ou t a t las t onl y a large r an d profounder music." 11 10 Walter Pater, The Renaissance (London , 1925) , pp. 66-67. "Ifcid., pp . 67 , 73-74 , 222 .

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11

Arnold, who m Pate r attended , ha d himsel f denne d Hellenism , after a fashion , a s Allgemeinheit—a kin d o f centrality , a t least , a stat e of Bein g agains t th e eve r Becomin g flu x o f Hebraism . Ye t wa s i t no t Arnold wh o demande d actio n fro m poetry—actio n specificall y com mitted t o th e conflict , th e commitmen t agains t whateve r th e her o faced i n hi s til t wit h a hostil e fate ? Sufferin g mus t fin d translatio n in action ; "incident , hope , o r resistance " mus t reliev e an d brea k "mental distress" ; somethin g mus t b e "done. " Yeats , w e know , ap proved thi s passag e fro m th e Prefac e t o th e poem s o f 1853 , fo r h e used i t a s a precedent fo r hi s rejectio n o f Wilfred Owe n an d th e wa r poets fro m th e Oxford Book of Modern Verse., And, lookin g bac k ove r his life , h e write s elsewher e i n 1937 , " I ha d begu n t o ge t ri d o f everything tha t i s not , whethe r i n lyri c o r dramati c poetry , i n som e sense characte r i n action ; a paus e i n th e mids t o f actio n perhaps , bu t action alway s it s en d an d theme." 12 At th e star t o f the centur y Coleridg e had mad e hi s own distinction s between "Greek " an d "Gothic, " an d readin g the m i n th e ligh t o f Arnold an d Pate r an d Yeats , w e see how germina l Coleridge' s remark s were. The terminolog y o f Coleridge's distinction appear s at first turned on it s head—bu t onl y a t first : The Greek s idolize d th e finite , an d therefor e were th e master s of al l grace , elegance, proportion , fancy, dignity , majesty—of whateve r . .. is capable of being definitel y conveye d b y define d form s o r thoughts : th e modern s revere th e infinite , an d affec t th e indefinit e as a vehicl e o f th e infinite; — hence thei r passions , thei r obscur e hope s an d fears , thei r wanderin g through th e unknown , thei r grande r mora l feelings , thei r mor e augus t conception o f ma n a s man, thei r futur e rathe r tha n thei r past—i n a word , their sublimity. 13 "Sublimity" wa s a wor d Yeat s use d infrequentl y bu t it s meanin g wa s conveyed b y "ecstasy, " a word h e wa s ver y fon d o f using , an d ecstas y is a lyri c o r dramati c achievement , neve r a n epi c one . I t i s reache d 12

"An Introductio n fo r m y Plays, " Essays and Introductions, p . 530 . S. T . Coleridge , "Lecture s o n Shakespeare, " a s quote d b y D . G . James , The Romantic Comedy (London , 1948) , p. 241 . Jame s goe s on at lengt h to develo p Coleridge's distinction , an d I a m indebte d t o him fo r th e quotation. That Coleridge' s idea s o n thi s subjec t wer e no t "original " bu t wer e echoe s o f th e Schlegels and of Schille r has bee n note d by moder n critics . See especiall y Arthu r O. Lovejoy's "Th e Meanin g o f 'Romantic ' i n Earl y Germa n Romanticism, " an d "Schiller an d th e Genesi s o f Germa n Romanticism, " bot h i n Essay s in the History of Ideas (Th e John s Hopkin s Universit y Press , 1948) . Lovejo y trace s in grea t detai l the romanti c philosoph y o f finit e an d infinite , an d th e romanti c distinction s between the Gree k an d th e moder n temper . Se e als o Ren e Wellek , A History of Modern Criticism, 1750-1950 (London , 1955) , II , 5-187 . 13

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only throug h tensio n o r action, throug h ultimat e contraction , inward ness, th e turnin g o f sel f towar d self . Contractio n is , paradoxically , a road towar d th e infinite , fo r i t i s th e Sel f whic h contain s infinit e alternatives, infinit e mysteries . What make s for conflict is the irresolu tion o f the striving . Whereas th e Greek s looke d out , th e modern s loo k in: th e epi c emotio n reconcile s th e individua l t o th e worl d an d th e world assimilate s an d contain s him . Epi c i s alway s depersonalized , and eve n Gree k sculptur e ma y b e sai d t o hav e striven—i n it s ques t for Allgemeinheit—foi th e epi c inclusiveness . Dram a an d lyri c ob jectify: th e individua l appropriate s th e world , no t i n orde r t o mak e himself resembl e th e worl d but t o make th e worl d resembl e him . Thi s Romantic conceptio n wa s initiate d an d furthere d b y Kant , Fichte , Hegel, and , abov e all , by Schopenhauer : "Di e Wel t ist mein e Vor stellung": consciou s wil l become s self-consciousnes s and, i n Schopen hauer, individua l wil l abdicate s t o th e powe r o f a universa l Will . Paradoxically, therefore , thoug h th e individua l lose s i n hi s powe r t o will, th e awarenes s o f hi s ow n visio n o f th e worl d give s hi m a cor responding freedom , unlimited , infinite . Thi s Schopenhaueria n doc trine mus t hav e influence d Yeats , fo r h e tell s u s tha t h e ha d rea d Schopenhauer "a s a youn g man"—certainl y befor e th e 1920's . Art , we must remember, is also a means by which w e escap e fro m Schopen hauer's Will , eve n i f onl y temporarily ; th e essentia l poin t Schopen hauer make s about lyri c poetry i s its intensely persona l nature , thoug h of cours e such an obviou s point i s developed wit h subtlet y i n Schopen hauer's aesthetic : The expressio n o f th e Ide a o f mankind , whic h devolve s o n th e poet , can no w b e carrie d ou t i n suc h a way tha t the depicte d is also a t th e same time th e depicter . This occur s i n lyri c poetry.. . where th e poe t vividl y perceives an d describe s onl y hi s ow n state ; henc e throug h th e object , a certain subjectivit y i s essential t o poetr y o f thi s kind... . In th e balla d th e depicter stil l expresse s t o som e exten t hi s ow n state.. . though muc h more objective tha n the son g [the lyric], it [th e ballad] still ha s somethin g subjective i n it . Thi s fade s awa y mor e i n th e idyll , stil l mor e i n th e romance, almos t entirel y i n th e epi c proper, an d finall y t o th e las t vestige in th e drama , whic h is th e mos t objective.. . form o f poetry. 14 14

Arthur Schopenhauer , The World as Will and Representation, tr. E. F . J . Payn e (Indian Hills , Colo., 1958) , I , 248-249 . "Di e Darstellun g de r Ide e de r Menschheit , welche de m Dichte r obliegt , kan n e r nu n entwede r s o ausfiihren , das s de r Dar gestellte zugleic h auc h de r Darstellend e ist: diese s geschieh t i n de r lyrische n Poesi e . . . w o der Dichtend e nu t seine n eigene n Zustan d . . . beschreibt , wobe i daher , durch de n Gegenstand, diese r Gattun g ein e gewiss e Subjektivita t wesentlic h ist . . . .

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When tha t whic h i s rendere d i s equivalen t t o hi m wh o render s it , we hav e lyri c poetry ; then , i n stages , thi s equatio n widen s until , i n drama, th e artis t an d hi s materia l ar e mos t remove d an d mos t finite , since th e distanc e betwee n creato r an d create d i n dram a necessaril y dictates limitations which lyri c poetry does not. That Yeats should see k at onc e th e mos t subjectiv e an d objectiv e modes—lyri c an d drama is therefor e no accident : h e desire d both . Infinite an d finit e wer e als o distinguishabl e i n architecture , where , as i n sculpture , onc e agai n a cultur e displaye d it s ethos : inwar d o r outward. I n a n essa y o n cathedrals , whil e contrastin g Cologn e wit h Canterbury, Arthu r Symon s pit s Coleridge' s an d Pater' s conceptio n of Gothi c agains t a cold , reasonable , outward-lookin g Protestantis m which bear s curiou s resemblance s t o thei r imag e o f a complacen t Hellenism. I n Cologn e h e ca n fin d n o "ecstasy " bu t "onl y a cal m certainty." Ther e i s grandeur bu t i t i s all finishe d grandeur ; Cologn e Cathedral everywher e "aspires " bu t ultimatel y "onl y t o a sor t o f emptiness, a vas t nakednes s o f spac e . . . ou t o f whic h nothin g grows." A t Canterbur y h e get s th e sens e o f "vital expansion, " bu t no t the expansio n o f mer e massiveness—-tha t h e ha d foun d a t Cologne ; rather "reall y a kind of soul," a kind o f expansion whic h is , in essence , the resul t of an inne r reflection : "sou l i n stone " no t "min d i n stone." 15 This distinctio n betwee n "soul " an d "mind " was , o f course , centra l to Yeats , an d i t wa s i n th e Renaissance—wher e Pate r ha d gone — that h e foun d on e o f th e crossroad s i n th e histor y o f th e issue . Yeats's conceptio n o f th e Renaissance , an d hi s frequen t habi t o f paralleling that period to his own time , see m to offer th e mos t effectiv e approach t o evaluating his alway s vacillating attitude towar d persona l utterance and general myth, subjective and objective. In Yeats's scheme of history , th e Renaissanc e figure d cruciall y both a s a culmination an d as a seed-bed , a grav e an d a cradle , a tim e o f unit y an d o f dispersal , the las t an d th e firs t o f frontiers . A s earl y a s 1898 , i n "Th e Autum n of th e Body, " Yeats sketche d a history o f poetr y i n whic h th e "thing ness" o f poetr y i s see m a s ascendin g steadil y fro m pre-Homeri c ar t through Arnold , wit h a correspondin g declin e o f a universa l mythi c In de r Romanz e driick t de r Darstellend e seine n eigene n Zustan d . . . i n etwa s aus : viel objektive r al s da s Lie d ha t si e daher noc h etwa s Subjektives , diese s verschwinde t schon meh r i m Idyll , noc h vie l meh r i m Roman , fas t gan z i m eigentliche n Epos , un d bis auf di e letzt e Spu r endlic h i m Drama , welche s di e objektivest e . . . Gattun g de r Poesie ist. " Schofenhauers Sammtliche Werke (Leipzig , n.d.) , I , 334—335 . 1B Arthur Symons , The Collected Works of Arthur Symons, IX , Studies in Seven Arts (London , 1924) , 107-111 . Th e essa y o n "Cathedrals " i s date d 1903 .

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comprehensiveness: myt h become s history . Withi n thi s scheme , th e Renaissance stand s a t th e centre : The firs t poets.. . had no t Homer' s preoccupatio n wit h things , an d h e [Homer] wa s no t s o ful l o f thei r excitemen t as Virgil . Dant e adde d t o poetry a dialecti c whic h . .. was th e inventio n o f mind s traine d b y th e labour o f l i f e . . . and no t a spontaneou s expressio n o f a n interio r life ; while Shakespear e shattere d th e symmetr y o f vers e an d o f dram a tha t h e might fil l the m wit h thing s an d thei r accidental relation s t o on e another . Each o f thes e writer s ha d com e furthe r dow n th e stairway.. . but i t was onl y wit h th e moder n poets , wit h Goeth e an d Wordswort h an d Browning, tha t poetry gav e u p th e righ t t o consider al l things in th e worl d as a dictionar y o f type s an d symbol s an d bega n to cal l itsel f a criti c o f lif e and a n interprete r o f thing s a s the y are. 16 Spenser wa s perhap s th e firs t poe t o f th e Renaissanc e t o succum b t o the separatio n o f "thingness " an d "sensuousness. " Throughou t The Faerie Queene Yeat s foun d " a conflic t betwee n th e aestheti c an d moral interests, " a quarrel h e did not find befor e th e Renaissance . "T o no Englis h poet , perhap s t o no Europea n poe t befor e hi s day, had th e natural expressio n o f persona l feelin g bee n s o impossible , th e clea r vision o f th e lineament s of huma n characte r s o difficult. . . . " Escap e into allegor y was, it seems , Spenser' s onl y solution : h e ha d los t th e poet's powe r t o mak e character s self-sufficien t symbols , expressiv e o f the persona l feeling s o f th e poe t an d fittin g creation s of a n individua l world view . Poetry' s newl y acquire d courtshi p wit h th e worl d o f affairs, it s no w mor e specificall y shape d politica l nature , burdene d i t with a publi c responsibilit y that rejecte d th e individua l ordering , th e imaginative affinitie s tha t th e worl d o f ar t ha d alway s abstracte d fro m the worl d o f reality . "Ful l o f th e spiri t o f th e Renaissance , a t onc e passionate an d artificial , lookin g out upo n th e worl d now a s craftsman , now a s connoisseur , he [Spenser ] wa s t o foun d hi s ar t upo n [Tasso' s and Ariosto's ] . . . rathe r tha n upo n th e mor e humane , th e mor e noble, th e les s intellectua l ar t o f Malor y an d th e Minstrels. " Over powered b y thi s ne w art , minstrelsy died: th e Anglo-Frenc h Renais sance wa s supersede d b y Puritanism , "Merr y England " vanishe d forever, an d Bunyan' s Pilgrim's Progress (th e ultimat e extensio n o f The Faerie Queene~) marke d th e birt h o f modern England. 17 In th e ol d bardi c spirit , Yeat s stil l foun d a n "imaginativ e unity " centred o n "aestheti c realities, " jus t a s th e Churc h ha d onc e centre d on "mora l realities" ; independen t o f al l othe r realities , thi s bardi c 16 "The Autum n o f th e Body, " Essays , p . 236. ""Edmund Spenser, " ibid., pp . 445-447 , 442 , 454 .

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tradition migh t creat e ane w a "communion o f heroes. . . . " Mankind , Yeats said , play s wit h heroi c masks ; in th e "ancien t story-tellers " w e hear o f thes e dream-ideals , of what ma n migh t hav e becom e "ha d no t fear an d th e failin g wil l an d th e law s o f nature trippe d u p [his ] . . . heels."18 Bot h fea r an d th e failin g wil l ar e equivalent s o f scepticism , speculation, secularize d intellection , al l o f whic h caus e a separatio n between ma n an d ma n b y creating , a s i n Hamlet , uniqueness : wha t the scepti c gain s i n individualit y by isolatio n fro m belief , h e lose s i n kinship wit h hi s fellow s b y separatio n fro m them . Th e ma n wh o questions an d contemplate s th e univers e alter s hi s consciousnes s o f it s o that hi s vie w take s som e singular shape , which , i n th e end , ma y annihilate him . Th e caus e of this mixed blessing—th e urge t o questio n and th e consequence s o f individual vision—Yeats located i n th e Renais sance. But, compare d wit h th e doting , weakene d imag e o f a middle-clas s imagination—Puritan, allegorical , unheroic—th e arroganc e o f th e Faustian ma n seeme d infinitel y preferabl e t o Yeats , in ar t a s i n life . Better tha n eithe r wa s th e Gree k temper , o r writer s lik e Cervante s or Boccaccio , artists wh o share d a commo n imaginatio n i n tha t the y confronted lif e an d experienc e directly . Fo r on e thin g the y wer e no t distracted b y th e worl d o f events , no t lure d awa y fro m th e cycl e of the seasons , birth, death , joy , sorrow—"al l tha t i s the unchangin g sub stance o f literature. " Without havin g opene d th e flood-gate s o f ar t b y yielding t o th e onrushing , eve r pressin g worl d o f circumstanc e an d event, thes e artist s "ha d no t t o dea l wit h th e worl d i n suc h grea t masses tha t i t coul d onl y be represente d t o thei r mind s b y figure s an d by abstrac t generalisations. " Writin g "ou t o f thei r ow n ric h ex perience," the y create d symbol s for thei r ar t draw n directl y fro m th e familiar an d th e immediatel y apprehended ; th e impersonalit y o f allegory foun d n o plac e i n thei r craf t o r vision : the y saw th e world , saw it s splendour i n th e ver y detail tha t ha d no t ye t bee n los t t o sens e or imagination . For Yeat s th e los s of thi s abilit y to celebrat e "th e ver y detail" tha t sens e an d imaginatio n onc e apprehende d signalle d th e end o f a n age ; wha t followe d wer e th e symptom s of ou r presen t ills , an emphasi s o n abstraction , a los s o f feeling . Considerabl y earlie r than Eliot , Yeat s ha d diagnose d a "dissociatio n o f sensibility" : It i s th e change , tha t followe d th e Renaissanc e an d wa s complete d b y newspaper government and th e scientifi c movement , tha t ha s brought upo n us al l thes e phrase s an d generalizations , mad e b y mind s that woul d grasp ""Lady Gregory' s Cuchulain of Muirthemne," Collected Works, VIII , 137 , 157 .

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what the y hav e neve r seen . . . . Theories, opinion s . . . flowed in. ... Even our greates t poets se e the worl d wit h preoccupied minds. Great a s Shelley is, thos e theorie s about th e comin g change s o f th e worl d . . . hurry hi m from lif e continuall y . . . [ ;] ever y generatio n w e ge t furthe r awa y fro m life itsel f ____ We los e ou r freedo m mor e an d mor e a s w e ge t awa y fro m ourselves . . . because w e . . . believe tha t th e roo t o f realit y i s no t i n th e centre bu t somewher e in tha t whirling circumference.19 From Dante — who brough t a well-controlled , individua l passio n t o poetry— through Botticelli , D a Vinci , an d Raphael , ther e appear s t o be a strivin g fo r unity , a confluenc e o f passio n an d thingness . Soon , however, their intense quietness is disturbed b y the awakenin g "sexua l desire" i n th e ar t o f Michelangel o an d Titian ; th e nervou s spiri t o f the moder n tempe r i s now manifest . Shakespeare i s an initia l culmina tion— "a ma n i n who m huma n personality , hithert o restraine d b y it s dependence upo n Christendo m o r b y it s ow n need fo r self-control , burst lik e a shell." 20 Milton' s belate d attempt s t o accomplis h a ne w synthesis o f secula r an d divine , whic h ha d defeated , i n part , eve n Michelangelo, en d i n ultimat e failure . Rhetoric , artifice , an d a con scious, unnatural dependence on classical myth accentuat e th e cleavag e between sacre d an d profane . Replacin g th e forme r unity i s "mechanical force" ; th e sou l i s shattere d int o "fragments, " Baco n triumphs , and befor e us i s the Ag e o f Rationalism. 21 An d wit h i t come s anothe r age o f Roma n decadence . Onl y no w th e cause s ar e mor e recessed , more complex ; an d thi s account s fo r Yeats' s ambivalenc e towar d th e Renaissance: I detest the Renaissanc e because it made the human mind inorganic; I adore the Renaissanc e because i t clarifie d for m an d create d freedom . I to o expect the counter-Renaissance , bu t i f w e d o no t hol d t o freedo m an d for m i t will come , not a s an inspiratio n i n th e head , bu t a s an obstructio n i n th e bowels.22 O '

This two-side d vie w o f th e Renaissanc e constitute s th e see-sa w o f Yeats's ow n aestheti c balanc e o f anonymit y an d persona l passion , the res t an d reassuranc e of for m an d th e excitemen t o f it s violation. Yeats rea d histor y a s a constan t struggl e between individualis m an d abstraction, betwee n th e extreme s o f Wester n assertiv e turbulenc e and Easter n massiv e passivity . Whil e th e Renaissanc e liberate d th e artist i t gav e hi m th e freedo m t o develo p beyon d for m itself , s o that , 19

Tfce Irish Dramatic Movement in Play s and Controversies, pp. 96—98 . W. B . Yeats , A Visio n (rev . ed. , 1956) , pp . 293-294 . zilfcid., pp . 295-296 . 22W. B . Yeats , O w tfc e Boiler , p . 27 . 2

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paradoxically, his very individualism led ultimately to abstraction—and, as he wa s to suggest , t o th e East . Thi s freedo m was , i n som e cases , a kind o f suicide : th e artis t becam e s o individual , s o unique , tha t h e surrendered himsel f t o hi s ow n nove l techniques ; whe n thos e tech niques conquered , th e individua l disappeared fro m sight . Eccentricity , a preoccupatio n o f th e sel f fo r th e self' s sake , a kin d o f super-hu manism: thes e carrie d me n int o th e chas m o f abstractio n wher e for m was betrayed , traditio n denied . I n tha t chasm , Yeat s saw—a t first most of his great contemporaries: Eliot , Joyce, Pound, Virgini a Woolf . The Romantic s wer e th e las t t o cop e wit h th e assertivenes s o f heroism shor t o f a transcendenc e int o th e abstract : beyon d the m la y the dissolution . Th e moder n artis t ha s broke n wit h hi s romanti c forbears, fo r who m ma n wa s stil l th e essentia l hero . Manfre d an d Prometheus reflec t th e powe r o f Hegelian idealism , an d i t i s true tha t they emerg e a s embodie d ethica l forces ; bu t someho w th e powe r o f heroism stil l assert s itsel f i n huma n terms . Wit h th e adven t o f natu ralism tha t to o i s lost : "Th e romanti c movemen t wit h it s turbulen t heroism, it s self-assertion, is over, superseded b y a new naturalis m tha t leaves ma n helples s befor e th e content s o f his ow n mind . On e think s of Joyce' s Anna Livia Plurabelle, Pound's Cantos. . . ," 23 In almos t every kin d o f moder n art , ma n becam e a victi m o f large r and large r abstractions : History , Fate , State , Philosophy . (Yeat s wa s himself awar e tha t hi s ow n Syste m wa s symptomatic , his gyre s n o less potentially mechanistic device s tha n Hegel' s dialectic. ) Afte r ou r deliverance fro m natur e b y th e Greeks , "intellec t o r Spiri t . . . bega n to prevail . . . ." I n Hege l cam e a climax: soo n "religio n woul d b e ab sorbed i n th e State , ar t i n philosophy , God' s Will prove d t o be man' s will." Agains t thi s tendenc y Balza c symbolize d fo r Yeat s a defende r of th e faith ; int o hi s mout h h e pu t a n imaginar y refutation . " 'Man's intellect o r Spiri t ca n d o nothin g bu t bea r witness ; Natur e alon e i s active. . .. I refuse t o confine Natur e t o claw, paw, and hoof.'" Indeed, it i s " 'men o f ideas' " wh o star t civilization s on th e roa d t o decline , men lik e Hegel, "Indifferen t . .. t o the individua l soul" ; " 'There i s a continual conflic t . . . th e perfectio n o f Natur e i s th e declin e o f th e Spirit,'" an d vic e versa . Dante' s Divine Comedy " 'summed u p an d closed the Europ e tha t created Mon t Saint-Michel, " an d the "Comedie humaine ha s closed th e counter-movement. ' "24 From divin e t o human : thi s i s th e topograph y w e hav e traversed ; from huma n t o abstract: thi s is the roa d w e ar e abou t t o take—or hav e 23

W. B . Yeats, "Bisho p Berkeley, " Essays and Introductions, p . 405 . "The Hol y Mountain, " ibid., pp. 466-468.

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already taken , beginnin g wit h th e nineties . Essentiall y Yeat s refuses , in hi s imaginar y soliloquy, to let Balza c accept Hegelia n optimism , o r even t o understan d it ; Balzac' s ow n dialectic , h e claims , wa s fa r closer t o th e synthesize d India n wisdom , whic h doe s no t concer n itself wit h th e histor y o f civilizations , bu t focuse s rathe r o n man' s unbounded sou l i n relatio n t o an eterna l universe . The Renaissance , then, bega n th e historical shif t fro m individualis m to abstractio n by fallin g victi m t o it s ow n inne r paradoxes : i t move d toward Unit y o f Bein g throug h th e effort s o f individuals , whil e a t the sam e tim e i t solidifie d individualit y a t th e expens e o f tha t ver y unity. A s i n mos t revolutions , th e temporar y king , refusin g t o relin quish th e power s give n t o him , no w wishe s t o remai n a permanen t fixture: "'th e egg , instea d o f hatching , burst.'" 25 A passag e i n th e Autobiography make s thi s even cleare r tha n i t i s in A Vision. Aroun d the yea r 145 0 men "attaine d t o personality . . ., 'Unit y o f Being'. . . . Then th e scattering came . .. and fo r a time personality seeme d bu t th e stronger fo r it. " I n th e play s o f Shakespeare , th e strengt h o f th e characters rest s i n thei r willingnes s t o le t "al l thing s serv e thei r passion," a passion tha t i s total an d comprehensive , "th e whol e energ y of thei r being. " Bot h th e worl d o f natura l thing s an d th e worl d o f institutions an d me n ar e "bu t symbols , an d metaphors , nothin g i s studied i n itself , th e min d i s a dar k well , n o surface , dept h only. " For all thei r individua l strength, th e artists ' vision s suggest somethin g final, something consummately unified: "Th e me n tha t Titia n painte d . . . seemed a t moment s lik e grea t hawk s a t rest." 26 Neither th e turbulenc e o f Michelangel o no r th e intensit y o f Titian lasted long . Progressively , th e Renaissanc e i s see n a s movin g towar d the "mor e reasonable , mor e orderly , les s turbulent..., " unti l inevi zsibid., p . 468 . 26 Autobiography, p . 174 . A not e o n m y us e o f th e material s in th e Autobiography is i n order . Th e Autobiography wa s publishe d i n separat e volume s befor e bein g collected fo r th e firs t tim e into a singl e volume i n 1938 . Reveries over Childhood and Youth wa s publishe d i n 1914 ; The Trembling of the Veil i n 1922 ; Dramatis Personae 1896-1902 i n 1935 ; Estrangement i n 1926 ; The Death of Synge i n 1928 ; an d The Bounty of Sweden i n 1924 . I a m awar e tha t i n citin g Yeats's ideas a s recorde d in thes e variou s volumes , I mus t us e som e caution . O n th e whole , however , I hav e marshalled evidenc e fro m th e Autobiography a s representin g Yeats' s though t a t th e time unde r discussion , not th e dat e o f writin g (whic h canno t alway s b e determine d accurately), o r th e dat e o f publication . So , fo r example , thoug h Yeat s publishe d hi s memories o f th e eightie s an d ninetie s i n 192 2 an d i n 1935 , I hav e assume d that , on th e whole , w e ma y tak e the m a s accurat e account s o f th e stat e o f hi s min d during thos e tw o closing decade s o f the las t century . I t woul d see m tha t th e opposit e risks ar e greater still : som e critics have quote d Yeats' s remarks from th e Autobiography with n o ey e t o dat e a t all , s o that a t time s view s meant t o represen t Yeats' s opinion s in th e ninetie s hav e bee n cite d a s if, indeed , the y wer e Yeats' s views in 193 5 o r 1938 .

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tably it is visited by the "sudde n change." Gone now is the min d "mad e like ' a perfectl y proportione d huma n body, ' " for th e tim e i s now no t with bu t agains t Unity : i t i s the beginnin g o f poses an d masks , of th e artistic imaginatio n a s a n isolated , disguise d forc e turnin g i n th e gyre tha t run s agains t history. 27 Th e seed s o f thi s dissolutio n wer e sown i n th e promisin g fertil e soi l o f Renaissanc e individualism . Eve n as a youn g ma n Yeat s had wondere d abou t th e splintere d impressio n he go t fro m th e multipl e plot s o f Elizabetha n drama . Compare d t o the "elaborat e unit y o f Gree k drama, " th e Elizabetha n ha d n o inten sity t o equa l it. 28 A lessenin g o f intensit y persiste d afte r Shakespeare ; the shif t i n focu s wa s radical . "Imagination " itsel f "sank" ; th e "supreme intensity " characteristi c o f th e greates t Renaissanc e poet s an d painters an d sculptor s "passed to another faculty"— discursive reasoning, intellect. I t seeme d a s i f Shakespeare , Dante , o r Michelangel o "ha d been rebor n wit h al l thei r ol d sublimity , thei r ol d vastnes s o f concep tion, bu t [were ] speakin g a harsh , almos t unintelligible , language. " With th e adven t o f science , th e greates t effort s o f th e huma n min d will ceas e t o b e imaginative , an d th e greates t achievement s wil l b e the "movemen t o f philosoph y from Spinoz a to Hegel.'' 29 Shakespeare ha d alread y foreshadowe d th e shift : hi s originality, the garment o f his individua l vision, went counte r t o Yeats's delight i n traditional subject-matter . Artistic technique , th e executo r o f originality , interfered wit h traditio n and convention . Becaus e ther e wa s something irresistibly attractiv e i n th e spectacl e o f th e individua l her o Yeat s preferred Shakespear e t o Chaucer , bu t begrudge d hi s preferenc e because th e dramatist , eve n mor e tha n th e poet , ha d carrie d th e violation o f Unit y further . "Ha d no t Europ e share d on e min d an d heart, unti l bot h . . . began t o brea k int o fragment s a littl e befor e Shakespeare's birth? " I n orde r t o mak e hi s vers e mor e meditative , even Chauce r ha d alread y "robbe d . . . [it] of it s speed, " splittin g th e unity o f music an d vers e he ha d inherite d fro m th e ora l tradition . Fo r the sak e of exploring "undisturbed " th e "effect s o f tangibility, " "painting [had ] parted fro m religio n i n th e late r Renaissance. " And , in keeping wit h th e moder n temper , paintin g had , i n ou r ow n time , sought t o "characterize , wher e i t ha d onc e personified, " rejectin g "all that inherite d subject-matte r which w e hav e name d poetry." 30 Yeats sa w hi s ow n tim e a s anothe r tur n o f th e whee l simila r t o flbid., pp . 175-176. 28Ow the Boiler, pp . 28-29 . 29 "Bishop Berkeley, " Essays and Introductions, p . 396. 30 * Autobiography, p . 117 .

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that o f th e Renaissance , repeatin g th e dissolution s o f th e thirteent h century. Th e year s 1875-192 7 resembled 1250-1300 : the y wer e both , he say s in A Vision, period s o f "abstraction"—"precede d an d followe d by abstraction. " Standin g a t th e threshol d o f th e firs t "climax " o r "weariness," the moder n generatio n is poise d betwee n a conclusio n and a beginning , "an d whe n th e clima x passe s [we ] wil l recogniz e that ther e commo n secula r though t bega n t o brea k an d disperse." 31 All suc h chang e ensue s fro m a n ag e o f progress , a tim e whe n me n still sough t t o reform , t o impos e themselve s upo n th e world . Onl y very recentl y ha s a change becom e apparent . Eve n Tolsto y coul d stil l be guide d b y "belief " an d "preference" : th e autho r counted ; hi s posi tion mattered . Wit h Flaubert , th e dispassionat e objectivity or neutra lity o f th e artis t firs t too k recognizabl e shapes . Ye t th e unit y o f a n ar t with n o personal point o f view was a partial illusion: i t wa s "synthesi s for it s own sake,.. . book s where th e autho r ha s disappeared , paintin g where som e accomplishe d brus h paint s wit h a n equa l pleasure , o r with a bore d impartiality , th e huma n for m o r a n ol d bottle , dirt y weather an d clea n sunshine. " Fo r ar t th e result s were bot h goo d an d bad: ba d becaus e th e vanishe d autho r substitute d fo r hi s poin t o f view no t a cultura l bu t a technica l unity ; goo d because , "Havin g bruised thei r hand s u p o n . . . limit, men , fo r th e firs t tim e sinc e th e seventeenth century , see the worl d as an objec t of contemplation , no t as somethin g t o b e remade.. . ,"32 Nietzsch e ha d noted , an d rejected , this moder n preoccupatio n wit h objectivity , bot h i n histor y an d i n art: Might no t a n illusio n lur k i n th e highes t interpretatio n o f th e wor d "objectivity"? ... We thin k o f th e aestheti c phenomeno n of th e detach ment fro m al l persona l concer n wit h whic h th e painte r see s th e pictur e and forget s himself , i n a storm y landscape , ami d thunde r an d lightning , or o n a roug h sea ; and w e requir e th e sam e artisti c visio n an d absorptio n in hi s objec t fro m th e historian . Bu t i t i s onl y a superstitio n t o sa y tha t the pictur e give n t o suc h a ma n b y th e objec t reall y show s th e trut h o f things. Unles s i t b e tha t object s ar e expecte d i n suc h moment s t o paint or photograp h themselve s b y thei r ow n activit y o n a purel y passiv e medium!33 31A Vision, pp. 299-300 . MlbiA., p . 300 . sspriedrich Nietzsche , The Use and Abuse of History, tr . Adria n Collin s (Librar y of Libera l Arts, no . 11 ; Ne w Yor k an d Indianapolis , Ind., 1949 , 1957) , p . 37 . "Un d sollte nich t selbs t bei de r hochste n Ausdeutun g des Worte s Objektivita t eine Illusio n mit unterlaufen ? . . . man mein t jene s asthetisch e Phanomen , jene s Losgebundensei n vom personliche n Interesse , mi t de m de r Male r i n eine r stiirmische n Landschaft , unter Blit z un d Donner , ode r au f bewegte r Se e sei n innere s Bil d schaut , ma n mein t

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Such objectivity , sai d Nietzsche , i s a "myth, " an d t o pursu e i t i n earnest woul d result , a s Yeat s saw , i n th e wors t o f abstractions , i n a surrender o f personalit y t o th e "world-process, " t o us e a wor d tha t was beginnin g t o be applied t o history. Certain reference s t o moder n ar t an d artist s i n th e 192 5 editio n of A Vision wer e eliminate d fro m th e 193 7 revisio n an d fro m al l subsequent editions , an d th e excision s sho w a significan t shif t i n Yeats's attitud e towar d hi s contemporaries . I n 192 5 h e stil l equate d some of them wit h th e si n o f abstraction. Placin g Pound , Eliot , Joyce, and Pirandell o togethe r i n a group , h e regard s the m i n 192 5 a s artists wh o "eithe r eliminat e fro m metapho r th e poet' s phantas y an d substitute a strangenes s discovere d b y historica l o r contemporar y research o r who brea k u p th e logica l processe s o f though t b y flooding them wit h associate d ideas o r word s tha t see m t o drif t int o th e min d by chance. " Wha t h e mean t b y th e "poet' s phantasy " i s uncertain , except tha t i t may be taken, at leas t i n on e sense , t o be tha t whic h th e substitutes ar e not: imaginativel y reconstructe d vision s o f lif e tha t depend neithe r o n current nor o n historical fact, no r o n th e accidenta l patterns that lif e i s heir to . In 192 5 th e vanishin g artis t still bedeville d Yeats. No t ye t quit e certai n whethe r thi s non-persona l elemen t wa s indeed th e impersona l quality he ha d himsel f bee n seeking , hi s judg ment o f contemporar y artist s tende d t o b e veile d wit h cautiou s hos tility. Certainl y he ha d no t ye t full y recognize d ho w clos e t o hi s ow n were certai n o f thei r aims : that , fo r on e thing , thei r disruptio n o f unity wa s mad e fo r th e sak e o f rearrangin g th e patter n i n a mor e meaningful unity . Their mean s sometimes blocked ful l understandin g of wha t the y wer e doing , thoug h hi s fea r o f technica l dictatorshi p was wel l founded : They [Brancusi , Wyndha m Lewi s and others ] ar e al l absorbe d i n som e technical researc h t o th e entir e exclusio n o f th e persona l dream. I t i s a s though th e form s i n th e ston e o r i n thei r reverie bega n t o mov e wit h a n energy... not tha t o f th e huma n mind . Very ofte n thes e form s ar e mecha nical ... mathematical..'.. [They were ] ... masters o f a geometrica l pat tern o r rhythm whic h seem s t o impose itself wholl y fro m beyon d th e mind, the artis t "standin g outside himself." 34 das vollig e Versunkensei n i n di e Dinge : ei n Aberglaub e jedoc h is t es , das s da s Bild , welches di e Ding e i n eine m solchermasse n gestimmte n Mensche n zeigen , da s empirische Wese n de r Ding e wiedergebe . Ode r sollte n sic h i n jene n Momente n di e Dinge gleichsa m durc h ihr e eigen e Tatigkei t au f eine m reine n Passivu m abzeichnen , abkonterfeien, abphotographieren? " 3 *A Vision (London : T . Werne r Laurie , 1925) , p . 211 . Al l previou s an d sub sequent citation s fro m A Vision ar e fro m th e revised editio n unles s otherwis e noted .

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Pound h e hel d responsibl e t o th e en d fo r th e "lac k o f form " an d "obscurity" o f th e ne w younge r poets . They were , h e said , elsewhere , all victim s o f th e flood : "Nature , steel-boun d o r stone-buil t i n th e nineteenth century , becam e a flux where ma n drowne d o r swam ; th e moment ha d com e for some poet t o cry 'the flux is in m y ow n mind.' " Such a poet , i t turne d out , wa s Turner , ridin g "i n a n observatio n balloon, blu e heave n above , eart h beneat h a n abstrac t pattern. " Ab straction seeme d no w t o hav e reache d it s limits : natur e an d th e "sensual scene " hav e bee n abandone d fo r technica l pattern ; "th e individual i s nothing " i n thi s poetry , onl y a n abstrac t topography , "objects withou t contour, " remain—"huma n experience " itsel f ha s ceased t o b e par t o f specifi c live s an d i s "cu t of f int o thi s plac e an d that place , th e flux." 36 Suc h a n art , whil e i t sometime s dazzle d him , did no t satisf y Yeats' s genuin e belie f i n traditio n an d convention , the typ e o f ar t h e foun d i n Japan—"seren e . . . n o exasperation , n o academic tyranny , it s traditio n a s naturall y observe d a s th e law s o f a game. " Wha t h e feare d mos t i n th e ne w art—thoug h mor e strongl y in 192 5 than later—wa s its direction towar d a dead end . H e recognize d that fo r a n ar t t o be "transmittable " an d "teachable" 36 i t ha d t o obey , with grace , certai n agreed-upo n conventions ; i n Joyc e and Poun d an d Eliot h e foun d a n ar t to o inimitable, an d wit h a conscienc e sensitiv e to th e nee d fo r a lin e o f tradition , he hel d bac k hi s ful l assen t t o th e end. Th e arroganc e o f Renaissanc e individualism , he felt , ha d finall y transcended th e sel f int o wha t i n 192 5 seeme d almos t hopeles s ab straction. But i n 193 0 Pirandell o an d Wyndha m Lewi s excite d hi m onc e again: the y exemplifie d "th e transitio n fro m individualis m t o uni versal plasticity" 37—a transition that describes Yeats' s own developmen t as truly as theirs. Increasingly, Yeats strove to rid hi s poetry of "moder n subjectivity"—that drago n o f Erro r which , i n hi s ow n time , ha s engendered abstractio n on th e on e han d an d decaden t psycholog y on the other—wha t Goeth e ha d calle d "unhealthy " art . Th e resurgenc e of interes t i n th e ora l tradition , i n son g an d ballad , i n th e mi d an d late thirtie s was a deliberate attemp t t o recover th e spiri t o f "universa l plasticity." " I wan t t o make a las t song, " Yeat s write s i n 1935 , "swee t and exultant , a sor t o f Europea n geeta . . . not doctrin e bu t song." 38 But "universa l plasticity" was not t o be equated wit h utte r anonymity, zsThe Oxford Book of Modern Verse, 1892-1935, chose n b y W . B . Yeats , pp . xxv—xxx. T o avoi d unnecessar y note s I refe r t o thes e page s inclusively . 36 Autobiography, p . 333 . ^The Letters of W. B. Yeats, ed . Allan Wade , p . 776 . ssibid., p. 836 .

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nor wit h th e impersona l massivenes s of the East . Plasticit y would hel p to softe n th e rigi d feature s o f th e stubbornl y eccentric , s o tha t on e might mak e a n ar t individua l bu t stil l teachabl e an d transmittabl e because tha t individualit y woul d operat e withi n a processio n o f uni versal symbols , lik e Dante' s o r Blake's . Always ther e ha s bee n a contes t betwee n Eas t an d West : bot h offered alternatives . Fro m th e Eas t cam e massivenes s a s wel l a s th e exquisitely individual ; fro m th e Wes t intellectua l abstractio n an d passionate individuality . Often, i n attempt s t o stav e of f the "spiritua l turbulence" o f th e West , th e artis t looke d Eas t fo r th e delicat e an d the subdued—fo r th e perfectio n o f design. I n th e day s of th e Cheshir e Cheese an d earlier , Yeat s recalls th e "selectio n fo r admiratio n o f ol d masterpieces wher e 'tona l values, ' o r th e sens e o f weigh t an d bul k that i s th e particula r discover y o f Europe , ar e th e leas t apparent : some flowe r o f Botticelli's , perhaps , tha t seem s a separat e intellectua l existence." Eve n Spenser' s "sensuou s deliberation, " "th e magi c o f Christabel o r Kubla Khan" see m i n thei r "wisdom , magic , sensation " to be "Asiatic." Increasingly, Yeats thinks, "We hav e borrowed directly from th e Eas t an d selecte d fo r admiratio n or repetitio n everythin g i n our ow n pas t tha t i s leas t European , a s thoug h gropin g backwar d towards ou r commo n mother." 39 Tha t "sens e o f weigh t an d bulk " characterizing th e "spiritua l turbulence " o f a Michelangel o i s agai n the overripenes s of a developmen t tha t bega n i n individua l for m an d ended i n abstraction . Th e movemen t ha s no t ye t abated . Moder n poetry, stil l ridin g o n th e cres t o f thi s wave , i s obsesse d wit h "philo sophy." Al l ensuin g ills , al l deviation s from tha t poin t o f unit y somewhere in the "vas t design" of the Byzantin e mosaic, are traceable to this undiminished momentum , thi s surgin g beyon d o f wha t bega n a s a motion towar d synthesis . Som e hav e alway s trie d t o brea k out ; th e Impressionists, fo r instance , wh o failed. 40 The East-Wes t dualis m i n Yeat s wa s neve r t o b e wholl y resolved; if on e view s i t sympathetically , i t ma y b e considere d a profitabl e irresolution, a tensio n tha t gav e th e poetr y muc h o f it s intensity . Fo r abstraction wa s not monopolize d by the West . Grante d tha t Hegelia n idealism sacrifice s th e individua l sou l fo r th e sak e o f "system s o f thought" an d a self-consciou s sens e o f history , th e Eas t ha s a wa y of losin g itself i n "Asiati c vague immensities." Certai n "typica l books " of ou r tim e Yeat s describe d a s bein g ver y Easter n indeed : " . . . Ulysses, Mrs . Virgini a Woolf' s Waves, Mr . Ezr a Pound' s Draft of 39 40

"An India n Monk, " Essay s and Introductions, pp . 432-433 . 'Autobiography, pp . 334-335 .

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XXX Cantos—sugges t . . . a delug e o f experienc e breakin g ove r u s and withi n us , meltin g limits . . . . " Essentiall y thi s wa s an ar t wher e not onl y th e artis t but th e man , th e object o f art , melts , spills , over flows. Here man i s "no har d brigh t mirro r dawdlin g b y th e dr y stick s of a hedge , bu t a swimmer, or rathe r th e wave s themselves. " Tha t i s the point : ma n ha s disappeare d int o th e element s i n whic h h e exist s —an inversio n o f classica l myth wher e h e ofte n emerge s ou t o f thos e very elements. "In thi s new literature . . . man in himself i s nothing."41 Written fo r th e Introductio n t o Fighting the Waves thi s remar k suggests a t leas t on e o f Yeats' s own intende d meaning s o f thi s play : though Cuchulai n i s defeated h e fights the waves , a desperate attemp t to avoi d th e engulfment , th e "helplessness " o f moder n man , i n th e face o f whic h Yeat s himsel f wa s sometime s helpless . Modern ar t has achieved opposing aims: i t has replaced tru e "Geist " with "Zeitgeist, " bu t i t ha s regaine d a kin d o f infinit y fo r ma n b y de-individualizing the individua l i n th e process . Yeats fashioned something o f a compromise : subdue d b y th e waves , th e singl e spiri t sur renders t o th e vaste r one. This much i s defeat. Bu t th e wave s havin g "mastered" th e swimme r accep t hi m a s well, carr y him t o Byzantium so that he ma y find his sou l again. To di e is to have lived through th e death. What, therefore, remains genuinely individua l i n modern ar t is the spiritua l prid e inherite d fro m th e Renaissanc e ego , bu t losin g itself i n a vastnes s of it s ow n makin g even thi s prid e sometime s dis appears. Yeat s wa s bot h caugh t an d repelle d b y thes e waves , th e Joycean profusio n which , however , h e eventuall y preferre d t o th e "pale victims of modern fiction—that suffe r tha t the y may hav e mind s like photographi c plates." 42 Whe n h e glimpse d th e purpos e behin d the "flooding " o f mind s lik e Bloom' s i n Ulysses, h e suddenl y recog nized somethin g Asiati c pretendin g t o b e European . Prefacin g The Words upon the Window-Pane h e wrote : "to-da y imaginatio n is turning ful l o f uncertainty to something i t think s European , an d whethe r that somethin g will be 'arty ' and provincial , or a for m o f life , i s as ye t undiscoverable."48 Virgini a Woolf , Lawrence , Pound , eve n Eliot : i n them Yeat s foun d th e las t barrie r o f ar t stil l intac t (th e realist s ha d given i n fro m anothe r direction) , fo r they a t least ha d style—stil l that. All was not lost : "I f abstractio n had reache d . . . it s climax escap e might b e possibl e f o r . . . individual men.... " Thoug h Chaucer' s characters ha d "disengage d themselves " fro m th e "crowd, " ha d "eac h 41

See Wheels and Butterflies, p . 65 . ^Letters, p . 827 . «See Wheels and Butterflies, p . 5 .

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in tur n [become ] the centr e of som e Elizabetha n play , and had afte r split int o thei r element s and so given birt h to romantic poetry, " mus t he "revers e th e cinematograph?" Yeat s asked. Metaphorically, th e film image wa s analogou s t o th e gyres , to th e spool , th e bobbin , windin g and unwinding , discoverin g its way back. Yeats thought tha t literatur e must agai n embar k o n thi s "reversal , me n bein g . . . displaye d i n casual, temporary , contact a s at th e Tabar d door. " Thoug h h e migh t prefer Shakespeare' s individua l heroes , wa s i t no w tim e t o retur n t o Chaucer's "crowd" ? A readin g o f Tolstoy's Anna Karenina confirmed "such a turnin g back " whereve r Tolstoy' s "theoretica l capacity " ha d given way , wherever abstrac t philosoph y ha d no t interfered . Ther e was stil l a chance o f agai n followin g th e pilgrim s "t o som e unknow n shrine": bot h natio n an d individual , "with grea t emotional intensity, " might ye t "giv e to all those separate d element s an d t o all tha t abstrac t love an d melancholy , a symbolical, a mythological coherence." 44 In th e interi m w e migh t contemplat e ou r lot . The ma n wh o ha d passed fro m Chaucer' s grea t processio n throug h Shakespeare' s singl e hero tragedies t o th e uniqu e Romanti c Manfre d ha d finall y becom e a moribun d hero— a decadent . Whe n thi s accelerate d movemen t away from coherenc e ha d reache d it s poin t o f n o return , i t lef t onl y th e rather barre n fruit s o f fragmentatio n and isolation . Yeat s place d par t of th e blame on the nineties , on "ou r for m o f lyric, our insistenc e upo n emotion whic h ha s n o relatio n t o an y publi c interest. " Lione l John son's insistenc e tha t "lif e i s ritual " stoo d i n mockin g contradictio n t o the ritua l o f th e live s he an d th e Rhymer s actuall y lived . Pate r wa s the grea t tempter . Hi s philosoph y "taugh t u s t o wal k upo n a rope , tightly stretche d throug h seren e air , and w e wer e lef t t o kee p ou r feet upo n a swayin g rope i n a storm." 45 From thi s experienc e Yeat s learned tha t th e "symbolica l . . . mythologica l coherence " coul d no t be found where , for a time, he sough t it: i n th e "autum n o f the body, " in Villiers de 1'Isle-Adam, wh o "create d person s fro m who m ha s falle n all eve n o f persona l characteristic." 48 A s Yeat s wa s soo n t o discover , such character s had n o energy. The cinematograp h ha d show n clearl y that th e individua l wh o ha d slowl y disengage d himsel f fro m a common cultur e ende d u p being , a t th e tur n o f the century , a lonely an d bloodless creature. Tru e h e ha d transcende d bot h Renaissanc e egoism and Romanti c uniqueness , bu t hi s individualism—i f on e coul d no w call i t that—was , alas , n o retur n t o Chaucer' s crow d bu t rathe r a **Autobiography, pp . 118-119 . *Wnd., pp . 180-181 . 46"The Autumn o f the Body, " Essays , p. 233.

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dehumanization o f self . Axe l woul d undertak e n o pilgrimage s except toward death . I n time , th e shadow y characters o f th e ninetie s woul d become entirel y abstract—deliberatel y so . An d i n th e firs t versio n of A Vision, Yeat s sa w thi s tren d exemplifie d i n th e turnin g t o myt h in Joyc e o r Eliot : "I t i s a s thoug h myt h an d fact , unite d unti l th e exhaustion o f th e Renaissance , have no w falle n s o far apar t tha t ma n understands fo r th e firs t tim e th e rigidit y o f fact , an d call s up , b y that ver y recognition, myt h . . . which no w bu t grope s it s wa y ou t of the mind' s dar k bu t wil l shortl y pursu e an d terrify." 47 Though , a s I have alread y indicated , h e cam e t o understan d hi s contemporarie s better, Yeat s neve r entirel y retreate d fro m thi s equatio n o f moder n art wit h abstraction , lackin g no t onl y th e huma n elemen t o f indi viduality bu t th e sens e o f histor y a s well . By 193 7 Yeat s i s beginnin g "t o se e thing s double—double d i n history, worl d history , persona l history." 48 Increasingly , sometime s against hi s will , his sens e o f histor y deepens—the las t poem s confir m this; th e Europ e h e i s witnessin g i s n o longe r wha t i t was , an d h e knows it . An d th e knowledg e account s fo r a temporar y bitterness. 48 Some twent y year s back , Tolstoy , Dostoevski , an d Flauber t wer e read wit h pleasure , bu t t o Balza c alone doe s h e return . For , wher e the Frenc h an d Russian s push a view of lif e "peculia r t o th e author, " "Balzac leave s us whe n th e boo k i s close d ami d th e crow d tha t fill s the boxe s and th e gallerie s of gran d opera . . . . " Becaus e "there i s so much histor y in its veins," that crowd "is always right." With Flauber t or Tolsto y th e wor k become s a poin t fo r scholar s t o argue : "reader s stand abov e the them e o r besid e it , the y judg e an d the y reject . . . . " Rescued fro m abstractio n by th e detaile d scop e o f Balzac' s vision, h e could se e tha t Balzac' s theme s "hav e becom e philosoph y withou t ceasing t o b e history. " I t i s no t merel y bul k an d multitud e whic h achieve this : i t i s "becaus e tha t firs t sketc h tha t give s unit y i s a n adaptation t o hi s [Balzac's ] need an d tim e o f al l tha t moulde d Europe."50 Someho w tha t Europ e ha d t o b e recovered . Th e "mai n road," h e tol d Doroth y Wellesley , i s stil l th e "roa d o f naturalnes s and swiftness " which fo r thirty centuries ha s flourishe d richly, magni"7A Vision (192 5 ed.) , p . 212 . ^Letters, p . 887 . *9Karl Jasper s writes : "Tw o . . . Europea n phenomen a ar e roote d i n freedom consciousness o f history, and th e wil l t o knowledge"; The European Spirit, tr . Ronal d Gregor Smit h (London , 1948) , p . 39 . Freedo m (a s fo r Yeats ) i s fo r Jasper s a n essential Europea n drive , and consciousnes s of histor y a n inevitabl e consequence; th e "will t o knowledge " is , o f course , a dependen t driv e o f historica l self-consciousness . so "Louis Lambert, " Essay s and Introductions, pp . 445-446 .

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ficently. T o " 'think lik e a wis e man , yet expres s ourselve s lik e th e common people ' "—Lady Gregor y ha d sai d thi s t o hi m man y year s ago: i t wa s still his creed . Th e other s were goldsmith s "workin g wit h a glas s screwe d int o on e eye, " observing an d recording , bu t knowin g nothing abou t bein g "secret " or how t o "exult." I n th e tru e processio n march th e swordsmen—th e imag e i s almos t melodramatic—and , abov e all, "w e need , lik e Milton , Shakespeare , Shelley , vas t sentiments , generalizations supporte d b y tradition." 51 In spirit , a t least , Yeat s dissociated himsel f fro m th e Englis h tradi tion—though h e kne w well enough al l his life wha t hi s real debt s wer e —and distinguishe d i t fro m th e Iris h whic h h e considere d t o hav e moved i n a differen t direction , havin g begu n i n "folkthought. " I n England Eliot' s "realism" an d th e "socia l passion " o f the wa r poets ha d put a n en d t o romantic art and ha d opene d th e wa y for an "impersona l philosophical" poetry . Bu t th e Iris h hav e no t succumbed : the y hav e "hardened an d deepene d thei r personalities, " an d throug h poet s lik e Stephens an d Syng e hav e "restore d th e emotio n o f herois m t o lyri c poetry."52 That heroism , it i s clear, is both epi c an d romanti c in spirit , using thos e term s a s Yeat s understoo d them : capaciou s an d "self asserting." Har d an d deep , bot h thes e poet s wer e abl e t o mak e a n art a t onc e intens e an d ful l o f scope : the y fulfille d th e basi c require ments o f th e aestheti c Yeat s wa s t o fashio n fo r himself . Through method s uniquel y hi s own , Yeats developed a n aestheti c of equipoise : epi c grandeu r (reverie) , lyri c sweetnes s (ecstasy ) an d dramatic intensity (passion). Synthesis—o r Unit y of Being—wa s salvation: throug h a balance d interpla y o f epic , lyri c an d dramatic , ab straction migh t b e defeated , egoism avoided , an d traditio n preserved . Undoubtedly Yeat s conceived o f himsel f a s on e o f thos e individual s "turning back, " reversin g th e cinematograph , seekin g th e "mytho logical coherence " whic h th e Renaissanc e ha d defeate d an d th e modern perio d prevented . Meanwhil e th e jugglin g wa s no t alway s without dangers ; mor e tha n onc e on e elemen t o r anothe r slippe d through Yeats' s fingers , an d h e wa s no t alway s awar e o f it . in

A theory of art which propose d a surge toward widening dimension s and a n opposit e narrowin g towar d a centr e o r ape x o f intensit y wa s particularly suite d t o Yeats , wh o wa s t o fashio n a theor y o f histor y 51

Letters, p . 853. "Modem Poetry, " Essays and Introductions, pp . 506—507 .

52

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E VAST DESIGN

and personalit y governe d by the interlockin g movemen t of two gyre s and th e waxin g an d wanin g o f th e moon . Althoug h thi s "System, " which ha s gaine d Yeat s a goo d dea l o f notoriety , wa s no t complete d until 1925 , lon g afte r th e basi c aesthetic philosoph y had bee n though t out an d promulgated , the generall y cycli c nature o f both th e aestheti c and th e philosoph y wa s no mer e coincidence—Yeat s though t i n cycli c metaphors. In thi s century , th e ancien t cyclica l view s o f lif e an d histor y hav e again becom e fashionable : Spengle r an d Toynbee , Yeat s and Joyce philosophers an d writer s alik e hav e bee n tempted . Thi s retur n t o a circula r vision of life i s more than mer e nostalgia: w e ar e attemptin g to reconcil e th e indefinit e lin e o f progres s t o th e firme r limit s o f th e cycle; t o joi n perpendicula r movemen t t o th e mor e stati c concep t of the circle , wher e movemen t i s essentiall y carrie d ou t i n a successio n of arc s that lead back to the poin t o f departure. Eve n Nietzsch e foun d himself somewha t betraye d b y hi s "ewig e Wiederkehr, " whic h ha d the effec t o f sabotagin g Zarathustra' s limitles s ascent . But , a peculia r restlessness, characteristicall y occidental, make s th e implici t stillnes s of th e circl e to o har d a disciplin e t o endur e fo r long . Ou r "passion " —it is Yeats's word—will not le t us; the pric e w e pay fo r our impatienc e is a submission to the futile , aimles s oscillation of the Will that masters the Schopenhaueria n universe . S o even withi n th e circl e ther e i s th e open deman d fo r motion, and to o often w e hav e ende d u p lik e Hux ley's furiousl y pedallin g her o a t th e en d o f Antic Hay, spinnin g th e wheels an d goin g nowhere—a n objectification , a s W. Y . Tindall sug gests, o f moder n futility . Ye t eve n Huxley' s machin e i s a therapeuti c bicycle, an d Tindal l i s righ t t o cal l a syste m o f cycle s " a comfortin g system. . . . " A t leas t th e circl e provide s th e illusio n o f movemen t and th e certaint y o f return . An y theor y o f linea r progress , howeve r optimistic in it s previsioning of the future , of higher an d bette r thing s to come , i s ultimatel y pessimisti c fo r th e ma n t o who m histor y i s a live continuum: with each step upwards we leave behind us somethin g dead an d irretrievable . Ultimately, th e curren t reactio n agains t th e tyrann y o f progres s via linea r ascen t i s n o mer e expressio n o f restlessnes s a t wha t seem s an endles s pursui t o f infinity , bu t a genuin e sens e o f anxiet y a t no t arriving anywhere a t th e end . T o bu y a one-way ticket is to surrende r a measur e of certainty—th e ol d dispensation s wer e mor e encouraging : ... either wit h th e sou l fro m th e myt h t o unio n wit h th e sourc e o f all , the breakin g o f th e circle , o r fro m th e myt h t o reflectio n an d th e circl e renewed fo r bette r o r worse . Fo r bette r o r wors e accordin g t o one' s life ,

FIRST PRINCIPLE S 2

9

but neve r progres s a s w e understan d it , neve r th e straigh t line , alway s a necessit y t o break awa y an d destroy , o r t o sink i n an d forget. 53 All return s t o olde r tradition s ar e a for m o f reassurance : ma n take s fright a t th e gapin g distanc e betwee n hi s avowe d positio n o f advanc e and hi s origins—i t i s like standin g o n a ladde r whos e to p an d botto m rungs ar e equally shrouded i n a mist. To reassur e himsel f ma n climb s down, testin g hi s abilit y t o recognize , i n spit e o f distance , hi s remot e beginnings. S o with th e cycl e o f a man' s life ; poet s hav e alway s use d it symbolicall y as a comforting metaphor, a realizatio n tha t man' s life , having unwoun d itself , i s gathering u p onc e more ; tha t deat h closes , not widens, the gap between hi s present and his past. Winding and unwinding motion s dominat e Yeats' s thought an d especiall y hi s poetry ; these motion s were , i n effect , hi s defence s agains t th e moder n urbanized worl d i n endles s fligh t fro m th e past . Yeat s himsel f gre w up amongs t th e ultra-sophisticated , an d hi s effort s t o re-establis h a relationship wit h th e ancien t soi l wer e bu t on e resul t o f th e sophis ticated dream reversed toward-th e prelapsarian state . Back to innocence is t o ben d th e straigh t lin e int o th e curv e o f circle ; an d tha t shapin g is a creativ e effor t whic h show s in hi s art . In additio n t o th e gyres , Yeat s conceive d o f a differen t geometri c pattern t o accoun t fo r th e relationshi p betwee n movemen t an d still ness: "Go d i s a circl e whos e centr e i s everywhere. " Whil e th e sain t resides i n th e centre , th e poe t move s to the circumference , t o th e rin g "where everythin g come s roun d again. " H e i s no t t o "seek " bu t t o contemplate th e processio n wit h delight : "al l tha t i s fo r eve r passin g away tha t i t ma y com e again. " Fro m hi s periphera l positio n th e artis t must be content wit h th e recurrin g tides . "Is it," Yeat s asked, "that all things are made by the struggl e of the individua l and th e world , of th e unchanging an d th e returning . . . ?" 54 Yeats' s poeti c landscap e offer s the answer : tre e an d root s and branches ; sk y and soil ; dance r an d th e Great Wheel; and, abov e all, flood and tide . Cuchulain' s struggl e wit h the waves becomes an emblem of man's immersion into an d emergenc e from th e flu x o f motion . Whe n Byro n firs t attempte d t o swi m th e Hellespont h e wa s defeate d b y th e tid e an d th e nort h wind ; s o h e tried agai n i n calme r weathe r an d succeeded . Cuchulai n make s n o choices o f thi s kind : hi s tragi c expectation s ar e no t give n a secon d opportunity, an d hi s plung e int o th e se a is a fina l commitmen t t o th e dolphin-torn an d gong-tormente d tide . True , th e enchafe d flood , th e "filthy moder n tide, " a s Yeat s calle d it , i s perpetuall y threatenin g t o 58 Introduction t o The Cat and the Moon, i n Wheels and Butterflies, p . 125 . ^^Discoveries, i n Essays, pp . 356-357 .

30 THE

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annihilate us , bu t it s movemen t (a s Conra d understood ) i s a s neces sary a s th e stillnes s o f permanence : ... if n o change appears No moon ; onl y a n achin g heart Conceives a changeles s work o f art . The enormou s tensio n o f endlessly balancin g flu x an d permanence , motion an d stillness , o f retrievin g th e ech o an d directin g i t bac k t o the centre—al l thi s wa s exhaustin g an d risk y business , an d n o on e was more responsibly aware of these risk s in th e balancin g o f opposite s than wa s Yeats. Modern art , painting an d sculptur e i n particular , ha d already lost the juggling game, ha d le t th e pieces , cube d an d spli t fro m the perfectio n of form , fl y of f i n al l directions . A s lat e a s 1934 , how ever, Yeat s seeme d stil l optimistic : "Perhap s no w tha t th e abstrac t intellect ha s spli t th e min d int o categories , th e bod y int o cubes , w e may b e abou t t o tur n bac k toward s th e unconscious , th e whole , th e miraculous. . . ," 55 T o tur n bac k t o thes e wa s wort h a risk . IV

The firs t tw o majo r work s Yeat s wrot e exemplifie d fo r hi m th e peculiar proble m h e face d a s a n artis t lure d t o differen t roads , bot h of them e an d o f method : [The Countess Kathleen] i s a n attemp t t o mingl e persona l though t an d feeling wit h th e belief s an d custom s of Christian Ireland; wherea s . .. [The Wanderings of Oisin] endeavoure d to se t fort h th e impres s lef t o n m y imagination b y th e Pre-Christia n cycl e o f legends. The Christia n cycle... needed, I thought , a dramati c vehicle . Th e tumultou s [sic] an d heroi c Pagan cycle.. . expressed itsel f naturally—o r s o I imagined—i n epi c an d epic-lyric measures. No epi c method seemed sufficiently minut e an d subtle for th e one , and n o dramati c metho d elastic an d all-containin g enoug h for the other. 56 55

Introduction t o The Cat and the Moon, i n Wheels and Butterflies, p . 126 . Preface t o The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics, 1892 , i n Variorum Edition of the Poems, p . 845 . Yeat s doe s no t identif y wha t h e defer s t o a s the "chie f poem " o f thi s volume , bu t i t i s clea r fro m th e contex t tha t h e mean s The Countess Kathleen. Tha t pla y wa s originall y writte n i n blan k vers e an d i t i s no t unusual fo r Yeat s t o refer t o a pla y a s a "poem" ; moreove r the pla y i s a n ap t exampl e of a wor k attemptin g t o expres s Christia n Ireland . Th e onl y alternativ e possibilit y would b e "Th e Deat h o f Cuchullin " (late r change d t o "Cuchulain' s Figh t wit h th e Sea"); thi s poem, o f les s tha n on e hundre d lines , i s writte n i n couplets , an d thoug h we migh t cal l i t dramati c narrativ e i t i s hardl y " a dramati c vehicle " an d contain s nothing particularl y Christia n i n it s theme . 56

FIRST PRINCIPLE S 3

1

Here then wer e the choices, but Yeat s could no t go on writing separat e works t o sui t eac h method : th e possibilit y o f combination , ha d i t no t occured t o hi m i n theory , woul d i n tim e hav e force d itsel f upo n hi m in practice . I n fact , h e neve r agai n wrot e anythin g lik e The Wanderings of Oisin an d perhap s nothin g quit e lik e The Countess Kathleen. But Celti c theme s cam e t o interpos e and , briefly , t o offe r som e solu tions : There wa s somethin g i n wha t I fel t abou t Deirdre , abou t Cuchulain , that rejecte d th e Renaissanc e an d it s characteristi c metres , an d thi s wa s a principal reaso n wh y I create d i n danc e play s th e for m tha t varie s blank verse wit h lyri c metres . Whe n I spea k i n blan k vers e an d analys e m y feelings, I stand at a moment o f history whe n instinct , its traditional song s and dances , it s genera l agreement , i s o f th e past... . The contrapunta l structure o f th e verse.. . combines th e pas t an d present. 57 It was the sam e reason tha t had le d Milton t o abandon rhym e (think s Yeats); and h e i s convinced tha t rhyme is "one o f the secondar y causes of tha t disintegration of the personal instincts" which ha s filled moder n poetry wit h "dee p colou r fo r colour's sak e . . . overflowing pattern . . . background o f decorativ e landscape , an d . . . insubordinatio n o f detail."58 I n othe r word s stylizatio n ha s supplante d style ; wha t ap peared t o b e "personal " wa s onl y falsel y so , an d th e trul y "persona l instinct" migh t afte r al l b e retaine d throug h a blan k vers e lightene d by lyri c metres . Th e combinatio n o f pas t an d presen t woul d achiev e something clos e t o th e weddin g o f anonymit y and persona l utterance . For Goethe , wrot e Pate r i n "Winckelmann, " th e questio n was : "Can th e blithenes s an d universalit y o f th e antiqu e idea l b e com municated t o artisti c productions, whic h shal l contai n th e fulnes s o f the experienc e o f th e moder n world? " I t wa s n o les s a questio n fo r Yeats, thoug h h e migh t hav e phrase d i t somewha t differently . Unit y of Bein g woul d b e achieve d onl y whe n anonymou s an d personal , epic, lyric , an d dramatic , join i n th e makin g of a new art , a n ar t pre eminently Europea n i n tha t i t woul d contai n th e whol e o f Europe , including what Arnold somewhat quaintly called th e "Celtic" element. For "th e Celti c alone, " Yeat s wrot e i n 1897 , i n "Th e Celti c Elemen t in Literature, " "ha s bee n fo r centurie s clos e t o th e mai n rive r o f European literature. " As Yeat s himself suggested o n a numbe r o f occasions , th e Comedie 57 68

"A Genera l Introductio n fo r m y Work," Essays and Introductions, pp . 523-524 . "Edmund Spenser, " Essays , pp . 443-444 .

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Humaine—that mos t Europea n o f works—wa s hi s promp t book . Balzac, h e confessed , was his rescuer : Is i t tha t wheneve r I hav e bee n tempte d t o g o t o Japan , China , o r Indi a for m y philosophy , Balza c ha s brough t m e back , reminde d m e o f m y preoccupation wit h national , social , persona l problems , convince d m e that I canno t escap e fro m ou r Comedie humaine?59

In Yeats' s analysi s o f th e structur e an d meanin g o f th e Comedie Humaine, on e glimpse s a t it s bes t th e orientatio n tha t fe d an d sus tained hi s belief s about art . H e sa w th e entir e epi c a s a vas t desig n of societ y dominated by a Darwinia n struggl e in whic h "eac h charac ter [is ] an expressio n of will." And wil l is "passion whic h i s but blin d will . . . always a t crisis , or approachin g crisis ; everythin g els e seem s eliminated, o r i s made fantasti c or violen t [so ] tha t th e will , withou t seeming t o d o so , ma y excee d nature." 60 Thu s th e vas t epi c desig n reduces itsel f ultimatel y to th e intens e passio n o f a single , powerfu l image o f will. Clearly, t o achiev e th e singl e imag e on e ha d firs t t o posses s th e power of creating the vas t design. Although "n o man believe s willingly in evi l o r i n suffering, " th e "strengt h an d weigh t o f Dant e an d o f Balzac come s fro m [such ] unwillin g belief. " Whe n h e compare d modern writers—Balza c excepted—t o Dante , Villon , Shakespeare , o r Cervantes Yeat s found , instea d o f "strengt h an d weight, " somethin g "slight an d shadowy." 81 Dant e an d Balza c mov e u s throug h thei r sheer powe r o f expansio n whic h hold s inheren t i n i t th e promis e o f intense contraction. The "fier y centre " an d th e "egoisti c mood" whic h to Blak e ha d seeme d s o heretica l wer e i n th e en d inescapable . I f false egois m masqueradin g as genuin e persona l voic e wer e rejected , then Yeat s migh t yet effec t a prope r relationshi p betwee n th e desir e to surrende r al l fo r th e sak e of Allgemeinheit an d th e nee d t o retai n more than a mere portion of one's individuality . To we d onc e again — or fo r th e firs t time—th e strengt h o f th e epi c wit h th e sweetnes s o f the lyric , the powe r o f dramatic intensity with th e ecstas y of persona l suffering: suc h wa s hi s aim , stil l finall y Blakean , stil l European : . . . to commingl e th e ancien t phantasie s o f poetr y wit h th e rough , vivid , ever-contemporaneous tumul t o f th e roadside;.. . [to] drea m o f . . . a n art tha t murmured , thoug h wit h wor n an d failin g voice , o f th e da y whe n Quixote an d Sanch o Panza , lon g estranged , ma y onc e agai n g o ou t gail y 59"The Hol y Mountain, " Essays and Introdwtions, p . 448 . "Louis Lambert, " ibid., p. 444 . If I Were Four-and-Twenty, pp . 15-17 .

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into th e blea k air . Eve r sinc e I bega n t o writ e I hav e awaite d wit h impatience a linkin g al l Europ e ove r o f th e hereditar y knowledg e o f th e countryside ... with ou r ol d lyricism so full o f ancient frenzie s an d heredi tary wisdom ; a yokin g o f antiquities ; a Marriag e o f Heave n an d Hell. 62

The opportunit y of such a marriage between th e "roug h . . . tumult " of th e "countryside " an d th e "ol d lyricism " o f "ancien t frenzies " seemed t o awai t Yeat s propitiousl y a t th e ver y outse t o f hi s caree r when, i n castin g abou t fo r a subject-matter , his imaginatio n seize d eagerly upon folklor e an d mythology , Irish peasants and Celti c heroes. But som e marriages are preceded by long periods of doubt and struggle and thi s marriag e wa s no t t o b e consummate d easily. 62

PJays in Prose and Verse, p . 435.

2 * MARKE T CART AND SKY : The Two Way s of Art

An ar t ma y become impersona l becaus e i t ha s to o much circumstances or to o little, becaus e th e worl d i s too little or to o much wit h it , because it is too near the ground o r to o far u p among th e branches . Discoveries Art i s a loft y tree , an d ma y shoo t u p fa r beyon d our grasp , bu t its roots ar e in dail y lif e an d experience . Arthu r Hallam , "On Some o f th e Characteristic s o f Moder n Poetry an d Th e Lyrica l Poems of Alfre d Tennyson " As yo u kno w al l m y ar t theorie s depen d upo n jus t this — rooting o f mythology i n th e earth . Lette r t o T. Sturg e Moore (1927) If Yeat s might choos e a subject-matte r tha t wa s suitabl e t o bot h hi s talents an d hi s artisti c ideals , the n th e aestheti c problem s o f forgin g an ar t ou t o f tha t subject-matte r woul d b e relativel y simple t o solve . So a t leas t i t appeared . Unfortunatel y th e searc h fo r a subject-matter was complicate d b y thre e majo r inconveniences : firs t ther e wa s th e clamour of a political nationalism seeking a literature tha t woul d serv e its ow n ends ; secon d th e Celti c Reviva l offere d th e poe t tw o rathe r differing point s of interest which eventuall y he would have to reconcil e —the peasan t o r th e king ; an d thir d Yeats' s ne w enchantmen t wit h some o f th e recen t symboliste principle s o f ar t mad e th e pursui t o f certain sympathie s fo r th e commo n peasan t a rathe r uncomfortabl e and straine d effort . Yeats' s firs t ai m wa s t o define what h e considere d "national"—no eas y task; hi s secon d wa s eithe r t o make a clea r choic e between folklor e an d mythology , o r t o brin g th e tw o together , t o combine "tw o way s o f art " b y combinin g tw o subject s o f art , s o tha t he could indee d hav e an art neither "to o near th e ground " no r "to o fa r up amon g th e branches " an d stil l retai n a t leas t on e majo r symboliste attitude: it s hostility t o the middl e clas s and t o realism . Yeats certainl y coul d no t plung e deepl y int o th e aesthetic s o f

MARKET CAR T AN D SKY 3

5

poetry unti l h e ha d settle d thes e preliminar y problems , s o fa r a s they coul d b e settled ; h e kne w tha t a choic e o f them e an d subjec t would shap e an d modif y hi s method , an d h e wa s neve r technicia n enough t o thin k o f beginnin g wher e h e kne w h e shoul d end : wit h the principle s o f hi s craft . Th e issue s wer e pressin g enough , fo r th e young Yeat s found himsel f almos t immediatel y involve d i n th e grow ing nationalis t movemen t o f Irelan d whic h artist s an d intellectual s were prepare d t o interpre t an d t o translat e int o cultura l terms ; that cultura l aim s shoul d clas h wit h politica l realitie s wa s inevitable . As an artist , Yeats was littl e inclined, eve n a t first , t o compromis e hi s integrity in exchang e fo r immediate gains; he was , constitutionally, an unpolitical creature . Despit e thi s reluctance , however , h e quickl y be came absorbed i n th e drea m o f a Celtic revival, and onc e hi s heart wa s committed he fel t fre e t o join the commo n enterprise . To hi s ow n conception s o f a renewe d Celti c cultur e h e brought , besides hi s loyalt y to artisti c freedom , a sens e o f tradition—a n edific e largely of his own making, really, which h e aimed t o erect a s a mansion in th e Ne w Hol y Cit y h e envisione d in hi s dreams. Instead, the man sion becam e a fortress : tradition , i t turne d out , wa s th e stronges t defence agains t a n encroachin g secula r nationalis m prepare d t o tur n modern Irelan d i n direction s wholly opposit e t o what Yeat s imagine d for her . Lik e on e o f Spenser' s allegorica l House s i n The Faerie Queene, Yeats' s Hous e o f Traditio n wa s turne d int o a plac e o f purgation, standin g defiantl y an d a t wa r i n a n allegorica l struggl e against Realism , Politica l Nationalism , an d Secularism . I t wa s hi s version o f Axel's castle, though h e coul d not hav e thought of i t as such until, i n 1894 , he sa w a performance of Axel i n Paris . When, i n 1921 , Yeat s publishe d hi s No h plays , h e ha d reached — from on e poin t o f view—wha t ma y justl y be calle d th e poin t farthes t from hi s origina l intentions . Th e earl y drea m o f a Celti c Twiligh t had remaine d a drea m only , an d th e twiligh t ha d deepene d int o a final darknes s rathe r tha n a ne w dawn . Hopefu l a t th e star t tha t h e might, throug h a choic e o f subject , elevat e int o th e commo n con sciousness a genuinel y Celti c mythos , bound b y bot h traditiona l an d national allegiance s to th e Iris h past—an d present—Yeat s ha d found , by 1915 , no sustained support for his efforts , an d i n tha t year b e wrote the first of his No h plays , At the Hawk's Well Bu t hi s not e t o The Only Jealousy of Emer (1919 ) i n Four Plays for Dancers stil l ex pressed th e idea l subject-audienc e relationshi p that ha d governe d hi s initial beliefs : "I n writin g these littl e plays I kne w tha t I was creatin g something which coul d only fully succee d i n a civilization very unlike

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ours. I thin k the y shoul d b e writte n fo r som e countr y wher e al l classes shar e i n a half-mythological , half-philosophica l folk-belie f which th e write r an d hi s smal l audienc e lif t int o a ne w subtlety." 1 True, th e audienc e h e envisione d a t firs t wa s neither s o small no r s o select a s h e suggeste d i n 1919 , but th e "half-mythological , half philosophical folk-belief " wa s th e assumptio n o n whic h h e ha d founded hi s conviction s o n th e subjec t fo r the ne w literature . By generatin g a n energ y o f passionat e dimensions , th e articulate d memories o f hi s imagination , originatin g fro m a remot e bu t roote d past, would , h e thought , recove r fo r Irelan d th e heroi c ag e tha t bot h the cultura l traditio n an d th e nationalis t necessit y coul d support . Most directly and fruitfull y th e epi c vision was to be fed b y the Celti c mythology whic h wa s bein g rediscovere d whe n Yeat s firs t bega n t o write. Vagu e bu t grand , remot e bu t exciting , Celti c mytholog y an d peasant folklor e unifie d fo r Yeats the idea l feuda l relationships whic h were t o govern hi s poetic s a s well a s his politics . The poem , wit h it s internal schemat a o f obligation s an d exchange s an d it s hierarch y o f images delicatel y balance d betwee n th e mos t roote d an d earth y an d the mos t rarefie d an d spiritua l order s o f experience , woul d resembl e the ver y society of aristocrat and peasan t tha t ha d create d i t a s a type . Without bein g quit e awar e o f it , Yeat s wa s alread y shapin g hi s aesthetic fro m th e momen t h e chos e hi s themes . T o se e the worl d of lords an d ladie s a s containin g an d dependin g upo n th e peasant s and th e soil ; t o imagin e a societ y o f a n heroi c ag e tha t wa s trul y free o f clas s wars: thes e were th e vision s of a poe t wh o wished , quit e literally, "t o sing " o f "wha t i s past , o r passing , o r t o come. " Fo r th e true poet mus t combine, and surpass , all three function s of the ancien t epic bard : historian , contemporary, and prophet . The demand s of such a role seemed naivel y antithetical to the need s of a nationa l renaissance . Al l bu t forgotten , th e Iris h pas t wa s n o living forc e i n th e Irelan d o f th e lat e nineteent h century—an d Yeat s knew it . The first aim, he felt , mus t be to educate th e people, t o bring them t o th e knowledg e o f "the imaginative periods o f Iris h history.. . with th e heart.. . ."2 Bu t th e discover y of their ow n cultur e mus t lea d iNote o n The Only Jealousy of Enter i n Fou r Play s for Dancer s (London , 1921) , p. 106. ^Letters to the New Island, p . 107 . Man y o f Yeats' s occasiona l review s an d essay s have no t bee n collected , especiall y thos e datin g fro m c. 1886-1899 . Thes e wer e published i n The Bookman, The Dome, The Sketch, United Ireland an d othe r periodicals an d newspapers . I t migh t b e usefu l some da y t o collect al l o f Yeats's prose, but fo r th e presen t stud y I hav e foun d th e evidenc e i n th e collecte d volume s o f essays ampl e an d rich . Certainl y th e Letters to the New Island represent , I think , the bes t o f Yeats's early criticism ; mos t o f th e remainin g uncollecte d piece s wer e brie f

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the Iris h beyon d it : the y mus t forsak e provincialism , wel d Catholi c and Protestan t sensibilities , an d acknowledg e thei r Europea n origins . In attemptin g t o brin g Iris h ar t t o suc h a n embracin g consciousness , Yeats mad e formidabl e enemies , chiefl y amon g th e nationalist s an d the Catholics . Bot h insiste d o n misunderstandin g th e meanin g o f th e "tradition" whic h the y wer e eage r t o resurrect fo r their ow n purposes , not th e poet's . Ar t wa s to serv e no t t o lead . Ye t what wa s art ? Wha t was tradition? "Supreme art, " Yeat s insisted, "i s a traditiona l statemen t o f certai n heroic an d religiou s truths , passe d o n fro m ag e t o age , modifie d b y individual genius , bu t neve r abandoned." 3 Entere d i n hi s diar y o f 1909, Estrangement, an d precedin g Eliot' s "Traditio n an d th e Indivi dual Talent " by eight years , this remark was conventional enough , bu t its restatemen t no w mad e i t see m nove l and , o f course , ou t o f date . Written towar d th e en d o f hi s intens e participatio n i n th e Abbe y movement—itself a shar p reactio n agains t prevailin g dramati c con ventions—Yeats's definition allows, however, for the artist' s impatienc e with tradition , i n particula r wit h classica l tradition. A t th e sam e tim e he clarifie s th e traditio n which h e champion s an d clearl y distinguishe s between th e two : The revol t o f individualis m cam e becaus e th e traditio n ha d becom e degraded,... a spuriou s cop y ha d bee n accepte d i n it s stead . Classica l morality—not quit e natura l i n Christianise d Europe—dominate d thi s tradi tion a t th e Renaissance , an d passe d fro m Milto n t o Wordswort h and t o Arnold . .. until i t becam e a vulgarit y ... just a s classical form s passe d o n from Raphae l t o th e Academicians . Bu t Anarchi c revol t i s comin g t o a n end, and th e art s are about t o restate th e traditiona l morality . A grea t wor k of a r t . . . is a s roote d i n th e earl y age s a s th e Mas s whic h goe s bac k t o ... folklore.4 All literatures, he maintained, were rooted in the lif e o f the "commo n man," thoug h h e neve r intende d simpl y t o endo w th e masse s wit h poetic imagination ; their functio n wa s mor e participatio n tha n crea tion. I n al l ancient literatur e he discovere d th e spiri t of improvisation: song, dance, th e whol e lif e o f a village "mingles wit h th e middl e age s until... [one] n o longe r ca n se e i t a s i t i s but a s i t was"; 5 an d s o ar t reviews o f littl e consequenc e written by a need y youn g man ; an d eve n som e of th e more importan t items, writte n in th e nineties , ar e merel y germinal sketches of wha t was t o appea r in th e mor e forma l essay s publishe d i n boo k form . s AutoTyiografhy, p . 298 . *lbid. '"Literature an d th e Livin g Voice," Plays and Controversies, p . 168 .

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and audienc e ar e at onc e unite d i n a tradition tha t stresse s thei r inter dependence. Thi s drea m o f recapturin g th e middl e age s ha d echoe d through th e Blac k Fores t o f Axel an d th e Germa n romantics , wh o in turn ha d looke d to the minstrels, Walther von der Vogelweide, Parsifal an d Tristan. Fo r ove r a centur y th e drea m ha d bee n a n ofte n fertile theme , thoug h fo r Yeats , a s for hi s predecessors , th e appropria tion o f th e middl e age s wa s i n n o sens e historical ; i t wa s spiri t an d essence whic h wer e sought . Englis h literature , Yeat s claimed , lacke d this traditio n mor e tha n an y othe r Europea n literature ; th e greates t English writer s ha d alway s writte n primaril y fo r a n audienc e fi t though few — a cultivate d se t oriente d towar d th e writte n tradition . Although on e ma y dispute th e validit y o f his view , th e generalizatio n provided Yeat s with hi s rea l point : tha t Iris h literatur e ha d it s roots i n bardic traditions , while th e Englis h ha d falle n victi m t o th e printin g press.6 By opposin g th e writte n an d unwritte n traditions , h e reveale d hi s line o f argument : i f great literature s grow fro m th e soil, and i f great art must continue in thi s tradition, if, indeed, i t i s now necessar y to retur n to it , the n wha t i s th e traditio n fo r Iris h poet s writin g i n Englis h t o be? O f on e thin g h e wa s certai n fro m th e start : Iris h poet s mus t no t begin i n th e writte n tradition s o f England ; the y mus t firs t retur n t o their ancien t themes — "heroic" and "religious" — and thi s would involv e them no t onl y with Iris h peasants but als o wit h Celti c kings, no t onl y with th e fol k bu t wit h it s aristocratic apex. A seriou s suggestio n tha t art , an d a n ar t shape d presumabl y i n th e spirit o f a nationa l renaissance , shoul d occup y itsel f wit h ancien t themes an d date d tradition s i n a contemporar y ag e ful l o f urgen t "problems" wa s bound t o meet wit h considerabl e hostility . Reclaimin g the ancien t myth s in Irelan d als o presented a practical problem ; Celti c mythology wa s no t Christian , an d Yeat s himsel f ha d realize d th e discomfiture o f the classica l tradition i n a Christian world . Attemptin g to meet thi s issue, h e pointe d ou t tha t "th e Iris h peasan t ha s invented , or . .. somebody ha s invente d fo r him, a vague , thoug h no t altogethe r unphilosophical, reconciliatio n betwee n hi s Paganis m an d hi s Christi anity";7 and , "Th e Chris t wh o ha s move d th e worl d wa s half India n half Gree k i n temper." 8 At the beginning, however, the problem o f "paganism" wa s relatively minor; it was the whol e ide a o f a "revival" tha t was met i n som e quar «IZ>zy A. E . (Towe r Pres s Booklets , no. 1 ; Dublin , 1906) , p . 12 . B y 190 6 Yeat s ha d alread y rea d man y o f th e grea t European masters , an d Goeth e an d Balza c were , o f course , t o becom e importan t authors i n hi s life . 1 "Letters, p . 241. isifcid., p . 239 . 17 "A Balla d Singer, " Letters to the New Island, pp . 137-138 .

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of nationalis m that woul d willingl y abduct Celti c mytholog y fo r poli tical purposes . Tradition wa s mean t t o embrac e th e whol e nationa l culture , bu t modern societ y ha d alread y gon e to o fa r i n th e directio n o f frag mentation. Ignoran t o f thei r past , th e people—th e populac e a t largewere corrupte d b y vulgar taste. I n ever y way the y oppose d th e heroi c and th e beautiful ; and , in time , th e righ t o f th e artis t t o hi s ow n vision o f themselves . Clearl y Yeats' s position ha d eventuall y t o shif t from th e masses to the "few"; with The Secret Rose he openl y declare d himself o n th e wa y towar d creatin g a selec t poetr y fo r a selec t audience.18 As on e read s Yeats' s earl y prose , ofte n mer e remark s hastil y pu t together, especiall y i n th e crisi s year s wit h th e Abbey , on e detect s an uneasines s o f ton e an d a n uncertaint y o f positio n whic h wer e no t deliberate, a s wa s th e late r studie d casualness . I t wa s fa r easie r t o reject, an d vigorously , what h e wa s against ; bu t wha t wa s h e for ? Like Sha w an d Joyce , Yeat s possesse d an d ofte n articulate d a n un common ambivalenc e towar d hi s natio n an d people ; t o divid e hi s loyalties equall y betwee n ar t an d countr y wa s impossible , bu t th e struggles wer e considerable . I n th e trues t sens e a n Iris h "nationalist, " he nevertheles s did no t flinc h fro m condemnin g wha t h e fel t woul d be ruinou s fo r Iris h lif e an d art ; indeed, h e though t i t hi s mission , his duty , t o protest: The poetr y o f Youn g Ireland , whe n i t wa s a n attemp t t o chang e o r strengthen opinion , wa s rhetoric ; bu t i t becam e poetr y whe n patriotis m was transforme d int o a persona l emotio n b y th e event s o f life... . Literature i s alway s personal , alway s on e man' s visio n o f th e world , on e man's experience... . If creativ e mind s preoccup y themselve s wit h inci dents fro m th e politica l histor y o f Ireland , s o muc h th e better , bu t w e must no t enforc e the m t o selec t thos e incidents... . I a m a Nationalist.. . and thi s mad e certai n thought s habitua l wit h me , an d a n acciden t mad e these thought s tak e fir e i n . . . dramatic expressio n an d I mad e Cath-

leen ni Houlihan ou t o f this... .19

It i s to Yeats's credit tha t h e wa s able t o withstand th e pressure s an d temptations no t onl y o f other s bu t als o o f force s withi n himself ; and i t wa s hi s final , irrevocabl e rejectio n "o f tha t movemen t toward s externality i n lif e an d though t an d Art" 20 whic h i n th e en d mad e "Letters, p . 186. 19 "An Iris h Nationa l Theatre," Play s and Controversies, pp. 55-56 . 20"The Theatre, " Essays, p . 209.

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a persona l victor y possible . I n short , hi s rejectio n o f a sociall y con scious proble m literatur e save d hi m fro m som e inevitabl e pitfall s that awaite d a n idealisti c "nationalist. " Yet Yeat s wa s n o mer e romantic , rejectin g th e presen t becaus e i t was ugl y an d replacin g i t wit h th e pas t simpl y becaus e i t wa s beauti ful. I t i s tru e tha t fo r som e tim e Yeat s cherishe d a n idea l "disem bodied beauty " a s th e sol e ai m o f al l art , a belie f whic h h e subse quently repudiated , bu t i t i s just a s true tha t thi s "aestheti c doctrine " was always anchored in som e personal reality. Since he di d no t choos e to interpret th e worl d a s a materialist, he di d no t see k t o mak e hi s ar t from observatio n alone . Bu t "life"—th e meanin g o f tha t wor d wa s crucial. I f "life " mean t th e recordin g o f mer e events , the n Yeat s certainly woul d oppos e a n ar t base d o n it ; fo r t o hi m "life " wa s a t least half-spirit , half-soul , an d fidelit y t o "truth " wa s precisel y th e recognition o f the unseen . Ar t wa s no t onl y a mirro r bu t a lam p an d events, onc e illuminated , too k o n th e lustr e o f transformation : "Al l changed, change d utterly.... " T o Yeat s th e realist s wer e liars ; fo r telling onl y of what the y saw , how coul d the y conceivabl y convey th e whole truth ? Thi s h e kne w eve n befor e h e foun d confirmatio n i n Berkeley an d th e Platonists . Strugglin g wit h a n Abbe y Theatr e steadily turnin g away from hi s own ideal s toward comedy and realism , he wrote : Literature i s ... th e grea t teachin g powe r o f the world , th e ultimat e creato r of al l values... . Literature mus t tak e th e responsibilit y o f it s power , an d keep al l it s freedom : i t m u s t . . . describe th e relatio n o f th e sou l an d th e heart t o th e fact s of l i f e . . . as it is , not a s we woul d hav e i t b e . . . . It mus t be a s incapable o f tellin g a li e a s nature.... I woul d soone r ou r theatr e faile d througOh th e indifference.. . o f ou r audiences tha n gaine d . . . popularit y b y an y los s o f freedom. 21

These sentence s ar e certainl y ful l o f integrity . The y revea l als o some basi c conviction s abou t ar t an d societ y whic h Yeat s ha d t o formulate befor e h e coul d reall y com e t o term s wit h aesthetics . Th e great bul k o f prose he wrot e in hi s earl y years, and th e correspondin g decline o f critica l essay s i n th e late r years , ar e a matte r o f natura l development. H e coul d b e a n artis t onl y afte r h e ha d bee n a critic . And onc e h e wa s a n artist , the criticis m woul d becom e mor e casual , more subtle , les s definitive. Even som e o f his fellow-artist s insisted tha t ar t cam e secon d t o th e nation, a n argumen t whic h h e answere d b y saying , in effect , tha t th e 21

"An Irish Nationa l Theatre, " Plays and Controversies, pp. 57-59 .

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two coul d no t b e pu t int o a hierarchica l order . H e kne w an d under stood th e fundamenta l weaknesse s o f a n ar t devote d t o patrioti c causes, o r a n ar t seekin g t o satisf y popula r tastes , tw o aim s tha t wer e not dissimilar . Invariably, the firs t resulte d i n failure ; th e secon d i n dry, steril e stereotypes . Wheneve r a publi c demand s "typical " o r representative characters on the stage , he warned, i t wants nothing bu t "personified opinions." 22 Ballad s were no t enough ; Iris h literatur e ha d never create d a "Personality, " a Goethe , o r Dante , o r Shakespeare : a European. Fo r suc h a ma n t o flourish , th e ai r mus t b e fre e o f al l constricting influences : patriotism , an d politica l culturism , clerica l censorship, an d socia l causes. A s th e "voic e o f th e conscience, " litera ture wa s never t o suppor t th e moralit y of other s but , on th e contrary , to "affir m it s morality " against th e veste d interest s o f bot h th e secula r and th e religiou s arm s o f society , agains t al l officia l an d doctrinair e powers.23 If literature were given absolut e freedo m to furro w it s native soil, th e kin d o f nationalis m tha t wa s i n som e sens e eve n patrioti c would com e o f it s ow n accord . Like Eliot's , Yeats' s approach t o traditio n derive s it s forc e fro m it s insistence tha t thos e wh o "create " tradition s are themselve s th e mos t original o f artists . Tradition, unlik e conventio n wit h whic h i t i s often confused, i s living history: "The grea t myth-makers and mask-makers, the me n o f aristocratic mind . .. have imitators , but creat e no universa l language. Administrator s of tradition , they see m t o cop y everything , but i n realit y cop y nothing, and no t on e o f the m ca n b e mistake n fo r another.... "24 Whe n h e discovere d Byzantiu m and th e No h drama , he woul d need t o modify thi s view, but fo r th e presen t th e poin t tha t tradition fe d o n an d wa s fed b y origina l genius require d th e accentua tion Yeat s gav e it . For a tim e th e prospect s o f becomin g a poe t looke d hopeless , an d lesser me n gav e up. Bu t Yeat s ha d th e happ y capacit y to se e his ow n struggles an d defeats , hi s failure s an d illusions , i n th e ligh t o f a greater design . I t ofte n save d hi m fro m persona l pessimis m an d cosmic optimism . N o desir e fo r martyrdo m persuade d hi m tha t th e "fascination o f what' s difficult " was , after all , necessary. Everythin g ultimately wa s "unified by an imag e . . . symbolical or evocative of th e state o f mind , whic h i s o f al l state s o f m i n d . . . the mos t difficul t t o that man , race , o r nation.... " Th e difficul t brough t traged y bu t tragedy, a s h e wa s late r t o say , was "joy, " "becaus e onl y th e greates t 22

"First Principles, " ibid., p . 93 . ^Letters, p . 356. ^Autobiogra'phy, p . 334 .

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obstacle tha t ca n b e contemplate d withou t despai r rouse s th e wil l t o full intensity. " Attackin g all poetry whic h depende d fo r it s reputatio n on mora l or political polemics , Yeats was himsel f attacke d fo r depend ing s o little o n either . Agains t "th e greatest obstacle " hi s las t lin e o f defence wa s tradition : i t wa s hi s birthright , hi s ancestra l home . H e capitalized o n th e analog y "betwee n th e long-establishe d lif e o f th e well-born an d th e artist' s life. " Lik e th e tru e aristocrat s th e poet s "come fro m th e permanen t thing s an d creat e them" ; th e "ol d blood" of th e aristocra t i s paralleled b y th e artist' s "old emotions." An d bot h "despise th e mo b and suffe r a t its hands. . . ."20 I t wa s a happy analog y —it allie d poetr y once mor e t o patronage. Bu t i t wa s als o to alienat e i t from a potentia l audience . In a n unpublishe d journa l Yeat s wrote : "We , eve n mor e tha n Eliot, requir e traditio n an d thoug h i t ma y includ e muc h tha t i s his, it is not a belief or submission, but exposition of intellectual needs . . . the need of old forms, old situations. . . ,"26 Whe n traditio n serve s a s a "need " it fulfil s th e spiritua l functio n o f ceremony throug h aestheti c means; a s Elio t migh t sa y it take s the plac e o f belief . Although Yeat s appears to deny tradition the statu s of belief, he means , mor e probably, to distinguis h betwee n th e conceptio n o f a fundamentalis t traditio n and tha t o f a continuin g revelation . This h e neede d t o d o precisel y because h e wishe d t o rejec t muc h o f th e classica l an d Christia n tradition s o central t o Eliot . To convinc e Irelan d o f thi s "need " o f it s ancient heritag e becam e hi s firs t missionar y aim. Yet th e nee d o f a traditio n an d th e demand s o f nationalis m coul d never b e resolve d completely , though t o be expose d t o th e choic e o f a subject wa s t o touc h clos e t o th e basi c problem s o f a n aesthetic . I f a poe t choose s myt h o r folklore , h e mus t clearl y abando n realis m a s a method ; and i f he i s prepared t o rejec t wha t i s popularly i n demand , he mus t himsel f fac e rejection . "W e cannot, " Yeat s insisted — the "we" wa s prematurel y inclusive — "discover ou r subjec t matte r b y deliberate intellect , fo r whe n a subjec t matte r cease s t o mov e u s w e must g o elsewhere. . . . We mus t not as k is the worl d intereste d i n thi s or that , fo r nothing i s in questio n bu t ou r ow n interest . . . ,"27 Still Yeats' s positio n wa s fa r fro m clear : h e wishe s t o hav e a n "inherited subject-matte r know n t o th e whol e people " i n orde r t o create a literatur e tha t woul d b e " 'distinguished an d lonely. ' "28 Wbid., pp . 119-120 , 287-288 . Quoted b y Ellmann , The Identity of Yeats, p . 240 . 'Discoveries, in Essays , p. 358. ^Autobiography, pp . 116 , 62 . 26

21

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Intent o n revivin g a n ar t sustaine d b y a drea m o f a feuda l relation ship whic h neve r existed—peasan t an d lor d i n idea l harmony—h e found i t difficul t t o explain hi s contemp t fo r th e peopl e an d t o justif y his insistenc e o n th e artist' s righ t t o a persona l vision . I n a natio n determined t o lea d it s belate d revolutio n t o th e ultimat e establish ment o f a republic , Yeats' s admiratio n fo r th e aristocrati c values—i n spite o f hi s balancin g worshi p o f th e peasant—di d no t rall y muc h support. Caugh t i n a societ y i n whic h bot h aristocrac y an d peasan t were, i n differen t ways , decadent an d moribund , h e face d th e inevi table strengt h o f th e urba n middl e clas s wh o wante d n o par t o f aristocratic ceremony or peasant lore . Th e middl e clas s wanted realis m and a n ar t devote d t o mirrorin g it s ow n problem s an d aspirations ; Yeats wante d a "spiritual " literatur e whic h woul d fin d it s "reality " i n the universal s of myth and i n th e histor y of the soil . Here Yeats fought his Armageddon . Whe n h e emerge d fro m it , th e fat e o f th e battl e was difficul t t o determine : i t wa s onl y certai n tha t h e wa s alone . What h e salvage d wa s neithe r a reclaime d traditio n no r a culture conscious nationalism , but th e provocativ e discover y tha t a s a n artis t he no w face d tw o distinc t direction s whic h h e woul d hav e t o choos e between, unles s h e coul d develo p a metho d tha t woul d permi t hi m to mak e use o f wha t wa s fo r hi m essentia l i n both . ii

It ha d neve r bee n Yeats' s intentio n t o sacrific e "th e people " i n th e abstract. Bu t thos e wh o becam e hostil e ha d n o mor e knowledg e o f or sympath y for art tha n Yeat s had fo r their immediat e problems . T o preface th e Poems o f 1895 , Yeat s had writte n reassuringly : " I would , if I could , ad d t o tha t majesti c heraldr y o f th e poets , tha t grea t an d complicated inheritanc e o f image s whic h writte n literatur e ha s sub stituted fo r th e greate r an d mor e comple x inheritanc e o f spoke n tradition, som e ne w heraldi c images , gathere d fro m th e lip s o f th e common people." 29 Dublin , h e realize d a t once, wa s cosmopolitan; th e old traditions, if they were to be found a t all, were i n th e country . What i s popular poetry ? The questio n provide d Yeat s wit h a titl e for a n essa y h e wrot e i n 1901, 30 an d fo r it s dat e i t seem s peculiarl y irrelevant. A t a tim e whe n th e sophisticatio n o f fin de siecle an d th e social realis m o f Sha w an d Ibse n had , a t eithe r end , flattene d th e 2

»Preface t o Poem s (1895) , revise d 1901 ; se e Variorum Edition, p. 847 . This essa y first appeared i n th e Cornhill Magazine (March , 1902 ) thoug h i t was later include d i n Ideas of Good and £vil. Yeats date d i t 1901 . 30

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notion o f ar t a s a "popular " activity , Yeats' s attempt s t o recove r th e essence o f folklor e see m gauch e an d naive . I n spit e o f som e goo d regional poetry, and in spite of Hardy's Wessex and Kipling' s "ballads, " few writer s (an d fewe r readers ) wer e takin g th e peasan t ver y seriously i n 1900 . Then , a s now, folklor e was ap t t o b e regarde d a s a quick headlin e or a quaint gestur e o f somewhat limite d an d temporar y interest t o th e overl y urbanized, a pleasan t anti-imag e fo r th e sophis ticated. But Yeat s was in earnest . I n retrospect , moreover , th e questio n appears muc h les s anachronistic . I f th e ninetie s i n Englan d wer e t o some exten t echoe s o f th e continent' s rococ o an d earl y romanticis m a centur y earlier , Yeats' s attractio n t o th e cottage s ma y b e parallele d to Goethe' s youthfu l fiel d trip s t o collec t Volkspoesie. Mor e quickl y than eithe r ha d suspecte d bot h Yeat s and Goeth e discovere d tha t fol k art i s no t wha t the y ha d though t i t was . But , fo r Yeat s a t least , th e recognition wa s sobering without corroding the essentia l mytho s whic h related ar t an d folk . A s lat e a s 1906 , whe n h e ha d learne d man y answers t o th e questio n he pose d himsel f i n 1901 , h e stil l maintaine d a characteristi c stance o n th e issu e o f popula r poetry . Towns , books , specialization, an d fragmentation : these wer e th e blightin g influence s which ha d mad e i t "mor e possibl e t o produc e Shelley s an d les s an d less possible t o produce Villons . Th e las t Villon dwindle d int o Rober t Burns. . . ." 31 Despit e Yeats' s qualifie d admiratio n fo r Shelley , th e antithesis between th e romanti c rebe l an d th e tru e vagabon d poe t wa s quite consistent . I n 192 5 Yeat s articulate d hi s ow n differenc e fro m Shelley i n a not e o n The Rose: "th e qualit y [I ] symbolise d a s Th e Rose differ s fro m th e Intellectua l Beaut y o f Shelle y an d o f Spense r in tha t I have imagine d i t a s suffering wit h ma n an d no t a s somethin g pursued an d see n fro m afar." 32 I t i s a primary distinction: embodimen t of th e idea l rathe r tha n distanc e fro m i t necessaril y alter s th e idea l itself, makin g it less distinct as an idea l yet mor e recognizable . The essa y o f 190 1 ask s a rhetorica l question . " I wanted, " Yeat s confesses, "t o write 'popula r poetry ' . . . fo r I believe d tha t al l goo d literatures wer e popula r . . . an d I hate d wha t I calle d th e coteries . I thought tha t one must write without care , for that wa s of the coteries , but wit h a gust y energy . . . . " Confusin g creativ e labou r wit h th e sterility o f academi c rules , h e fel t tha t al l consciou s effor t i n ar t wa s hostile t o th e furor -poeticus; an d s o prejudice d h e ha d resolved—th e consciousness o f th e resolv e wa s itsel f ironic—t o becom e a "popular " poet. Th e misinterpretatio n o f "popular " ha d le d hi m rapidl y t o th e 31

Discoveries, i n Essays , p . 330 . See Variorum Edition, p. 842 .

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vaporous, the shadowy , the pursui t "fro m afar"; it very nearly wrecke d his earlies t poetry . Fortunatel y h e sa w throug h hi s illusion s quickly , eliminated th e "red s an d yellow s Shelle y gathere d i n Italy, " an d se t to wor k o n a "wintry " style . Poetr y considere d a s a faithfu l imitatio n of folkway s steere d hi m clos e t o th e disastrou s error s o f th e realists , whom h e ha d censure d fo r their nai'v e confusion of ar t an d life . I t wa s urgent, too , tha t h e discove r quickl y th e hollownes s o f poet s wh o cultivated "folk-poetry " self-consciously , th e pseudo-popula r poets : "I ha d bee n bus y a ver y little while befor e I kne w tha t wha t w e cal l popular poetr y neve r cam e fro m th e peopl e a t all. " Convince d tha t poetry mus t reflect , nevertheless , "th e colour s o f one' s ow n climat e and scenery, " an d tha t suc h poetr y i s the n properl y sun g o r spoke n to music , Yeat s early conceived o f a poetr y possessin g tw o necessar y qualities: regionalis m (nationalis m i n th e cultura l sense ) an d suita bility fo r publi c performance . I f th e moder n publi c prove d t o b e ignorant of the subjec t tha t was the faul t o f the public , not th e poetry . From thi s poin t o f vie w Yeats' s later poetr y i s "private " onl y becaus e the Irishnes s h e ha d buil t int o s o man y o f hi s poems wa s no t ye t a part o f th e Wester n consciousness . I n time , h e hoped , Cuchulai n might becom e a symbo l of th e Wes t n o les s tha n Odysseus , Hamlet , or Faust . About th e pseudo-popula r poets, then , Yeat s had n o illusions . Poet s like Longfello w o r Campbel l wrot e a middle-clas s poetry , contrive d and unnatural . They ha d alread y forgotte n th e unwritte n traditio n without having learned th e written: the y were not poets. And betwee n the writte n traditio n (which h e ha d a t firs t distrusted ) an d th e un written h e bega n t o se e affinities, tha t th e on e ha d buil t o n th e other . Both tradition s were , i n thei r way , valid ; bot h wer e "alik e strang e and obscure , and unrea l t o all who hav e no t understanding , an d both , instead of that manifest logic, that clear rhetori c of th e 'popula r poetry' [the Longfello w variety] , glimmer[ed ] wit h thought s an d images . . . ," 33 Villo n an d Milto n wer e no t incompatible ; eac h wrot e poetr y that was , howeve r differently , rooted . Moreove r distinction s ha d become blurred ; Yeat s discovered—t o hi s delight—tha t sometime s th e genuine balla d did no t diffe r greatl y from th e made poem , tha t coteri e and popula r poetry had s o intermingled tha t th e fol k themselve s coul d scarcely tel l the m apart . I n an y case , th e speculation s abou t popula r poetry guide d hi m towar d a clarificatio n o f hi s own , rathe r confused , sense of th e origi n an d histor y of poetry . Essentially i t wa s a vie w no t very fa r fro m Dryden' s distinctio n betwee n Home r an d Virgil : th e 33

"What i s Popular Poetry? " Essays, pp . 5-6 , 10 .

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intuitive an d visionary , the gran d an d th e spacious , wa s neither bette r nor wors e tha n th e Virgilia n elegance , th e refine d an d th e subtle . I t was histor y tha t ha d mad e th e division ; on e o f Yeats' s aim s wa s t o reunite th e tw o kind s o f poetr y or , a t least , t o mak e thei r oppositio n serve a s a usefu l tensio n tha t woul d b e profitabl y dramatic . Still, th e division s fall int o place : th e ancien t an d unwritte n poetr y places littl e betwee n itsel f an d it s audience—i t i s direct . Opposit e t o it stand s th e consciou s poet , wh o select s an d alters , shape s an d i s i n turn shape d by , th e worl d o f hi s art . Broadl y th e distinctio n divide s body fro m soul . Th e desir e t o hav e th e bes t o f bot h world s wa s no t a mer e confusion ; Yeat s sa w precedenc e eve n i n th e Renaissance , i n Spenser. I n hi s essa y on Spense r h e writes : "Hi s religion , wher e th e paganism tha t i s natura l t o prou d an d happ y peopl e ha d bee n strengthened b y the platonism of the Renaissance , cherishe d th e beaut y of th e sou l an d . . . the bod y wit h . . . a n equa l affection. " Becaus e h e was naturally delighted wit h Spenser' s Acrasia n islands, Yeats's interes t in Spense r ha s seeme d t o b e clearl y th e romanti c affinit y o f op e lyri c poet fo r another . Suc h a n explanatio n i s onl y partial . I n Spenser' s peculiar blend o f paganism and Platonis m Yeats recognized th e "doubl e fountainhead" which , h e felt , woul d fee d Iris h literature . Catholi c and Celti c Irelan d was , i n som e way , neare r t o th e Renaissanc e tha n to an y othe r age . Poise d betwee n th e "heroic " an d th e "religious " truths, Irelan d wa s potentiall y i n th e idea l positio n o f annunciatin g a doubl e traditio n tha t ha d serve d Spense r an d Milton . Bu t give n this opportunit y th e poe t mus t avoi d wha t Yeat s considered Spenser' s failures. Specifically , h e mus t sideste p allegory , th e officia l moralit y that i s boun d t o b e passionless . Spense r ha d trie d to o har d "t o b e o f his time" ; h e ha d succeede d onl y i n replacin g th e Churc h wit h th e State—he was moved b y "expedient emotions. " I n an y fina l assessmen t he mus t b e judge d a s a n artis t o f th e coteries , a poe t wh o ha d not , ultimately, bee n abl e t o surrende r hi s contrivin g consciousness . Th e conflict betwee n th e mora l allegoris t an d th e sensua l mythographe r prompted Yeat s to generalize: "I s not al l history but th e comin g o f tha t conscious ar t whic h firs t make s articulat e an d the n destroy s th e ol d wild energy?" I n th e end , a s he was to write i n "Th e Statues, " "knowl edge increase s unreality"—th e artist' s fal l fro m innocenc e begin s wit h articulation. The expression , in conscious form, o f a Dionysian impuls e leads inevitabl y t o it s self-destruction . Ye t eve n consciousnes s coul d salvage som e o f th e "ol d wil d energy " s o long a s i t di d no t tur n int o self-consciousness. Syng e ha d successfull y articulated a peasan t simpli city tha t wa s n o les s artles s tha n th e play s whic h gav e i t life . Ha d

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Spenser gon e t o Ireland , no t a s a governmen t officia l bu t "a s a poe t merely," h e woul d hav e discovere d i n th e soil , i n th e people , i n "wandering story-tellers, " al l o f th e Fair y Kingdo m "unfaded " an d fresh. H e would , i n fact , "hav e foun d me n doin g b y swif t stroke s of th e imaginatio n muc h tha t h e wa s doin g wit h painfu l intellect , with tha t imaginativ e reaso n tha t soo n wa s t o driv e ou t imaginatio n altogether an d fo r a lon g time. " Folk ar t an d coterie , inspiratio n an d labour , naivet e an d sophistica tion, bod y an d soul , imaginatio n an d intellect : th e pairing s kee p multiplying. Clearl y ther e wer e tw o grea t way s of art , tw o directions , two traditions , two methods . Th e ar t tha t followe d th e Renaissanc e revealed t o Yeat s a conspicuous declin e o f heroi c grandeur , a diminu tion fro m th e epi c t o the lyric , from th e gran d t o the subtle . "Imagina tive reason " ha s steadil y force d th e poe t t o retrea t t o smalle r groun d where, wit h increasin g subtlety , h e ha s wrough t a n exquisit e art . Bu t the pric e ha s bee n a los s o f "marchin g rhythms" ; poetry , say s Yeat s in th e Spense r essay , ha s "cease d t o hav e an y burde n fo r marchin g shoulders, sinc e i t learne d ecstas y fro m Smart.. . and fro m Blak e ['s] . . . joyous little songs . .. of almost unintelligible visio n [s], and fro m Keats, wh o san g o f a beaut y s o wholl y preoccupie d wit h itsel f tha t its contemplatio n i s a kin d o f lingerin g trance. " Now th e poet , h e continues , "mus t si t apar t i n contemplativ e in dolence playin g with fragil e things. " Though thi s sounds lik e a weary echo o f decadence , th e conjunctio n o f contemplativ e wit h indolenc e spelled ou t a philosophica l intensit y that , howeve r limite d it s mani festation, wa s stil l o f sufficien t strengt h t o giv e th e lyri c some passion . What ha s fade d ou t o f poetr y i s it s "sanguineou s temperament, " it s energy; th e fragmente d civilizatio n inherited fro m th e Renaissanc e n o longer permit s th e poe t a fre e an d nonchalan t choic e o f subject , an d the "poetica l will " itsel f ha s bee n surrendered . Abdicatio n o f suc h freedom ha s naturall y reduced th e poe t t o writin g "ou t o f thos e part s of himsel f which ar e too delicate an d fier y fo r any deadenin g exercise. " The imag e of th e artis t bent o n self-preservation , existing onl y withi n the limit s of his inner sel f whic h h e dar e no t expos e to a hostile world , is peculiarl y contemporary . Johnson , Dowson , Thompson , Wilde — the "tragi c generation"—ha d live d an d die d tha t way . Immunit y against th e worl d i s gained b y submersio n i n th e destructiv e element ; isolation weaken s an d ultimatel y starve s th e poe t who , lik e Kafka' s hunger artist , feed s onl y o n himself . T o compensat e fo r it s los s o f vigour, poetr y has, wit h eac h succeedin g generation , "mor e an d mor e loosened th e rhyth m . . . broke n u p an d disorganised , fo r th e sak e

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of subtlet y o f detail , thos e grea t rhythm s whic h mov e . . . i n masse s of sound. " Wha t poetry has gained i n refinemen t it "has lost in weigh t and measur e an d i n it s powe r o f tellin g lon g storie s an d o f dealin g with grea t an d complicate d events." 34 In th e Atlanti s tim e o f poetr y th e poe t coul d b e subtl e withou t being obscure , symboli c i n a public , no t a private , idiom . An y imag e he use d wa s know n t o th e "commo n people, " ever y though t cam e from th e "commo n thought. " I f th e legend s o f Iris h myt h an d folklor e fail t o inspire a new fait h i n th e "commo n ploughland, " poetry stand s to b e doome d foreve r t o producing fragmente d poets : "w e ma y neve r see again a Shelle y an d a Dicken s i n th e on e body , bu t b e broke n t o the end." 35 The cycl e wa s tellingl y vicious . I n orde r t o regai n unity , t o mak e contact onc e mor e wit h th e essentia l soi l tha t nourishe s th e imagina tion, th e poe t ha d t o assum e a n audienc e willin g t o tak e hi m back . Too lon g a n absenc e had , however, widene d th e breach , s o tha t i t seemed al l but unbridgeable . A societ y that ha d rejecte d th e poe t lef t only a few who woul d listen , an d th e limitatio n o f his audienc e woul d again forc e th e poe t t o retreat. And i f th e poet—fo r bette r o r fo r wors e —suddenly wishe d t o impos e upo n a societ y n o longe r receptiv e t o its ow n past , wa s thi s no t a violatio n o f th e interpla y betwee n artis t and audienc e whic h ha d onc e give n freedo m t o both ? I f th e Abbe y went th e directio n o f socia l realis m an d comed y rathe r tha n Celti c myth, wa s thi s a betraya l or , t o th e contrary , a n attemp t t o rene w a contractual obligation ? T o hi s surpris e Yeat s ofte n foun d himsel f trapped i n hi s ow n confusion , lik e th e poe t i n on e o f EichendorfF s romantic novels , wh o havin g indicted th e writte n traditio n fo r bring ing a n en d t o innocenc e proceed s t o writ e a poe m o n th e subject . Only wit h tim e was Yeats able t o differentiate betwee n rea l contradic tions an d legitimat e antinomies . An d th e "entanglement s o f moods, " on whic h h e blame d al l th e sorro w o f life , wer e ofte n a rea l shir t of Nessus o n hi s back . I n orde r t o mak e hi s ow n visio n o f ar t adequat e he neede d peasan t an d king , folklor e an d myth , th e passion s o f th e soil an d th e ecstati c spiritualit y of som e Platoni c heaven . I f th e sou l travelled throug h spiri t an d mire , a s with th e arro w of Zeno's paradox , it wa s impossibl e t o sa y where i t wa s a t an y give n moment—whether , indeed, i t eve r was anywhere . It i s fortunat e tha t Yeats' s firs t critica l pros e survives , fo r throug h it alread y speak s (and not alway s faintly) th e voic e o f th e late r poet , 34"Edmund Spenser, " ibid., pp . 454 , 460-461, 463 , 462, 470, 470-472. ^Discoveries, i n ibid., pp . 366—367 .

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at time s wit h a n astonishin g foreshadowin g o f subsequen t positions . When i n th e thirtie s h e provide d a n introductio n fo r a collectio n o f these earl y reviews, written mostl y in th e lat e eightie s an d earl y nine ties, Yeat s himsel f remarks : " I .. . notice d tha t I ha d i n late r lif e worked ou t wit h th e excitemen t o f discover y thing s know n i n m y youth a s thoug h on e forgo t an d rediscovere d oneself." 36 Mos t o f th e poems h e wrot e abou t ar e no w forgotten , but , take n together , thes e "letters" t o Ne w Englan d newspaper s ar e th e perfec t prelud e t o th e later exfoliatio n o f Yeats' s insisten t theme s whe n h e wrot e o n th e nature of poetry. 37 Reviewin g William Watson' s Words-worth's Grave and Other Poems, i n 1890 , h e formulate d the fundamenta l dichotomy of ar t i n term s of poeti c intention : " . . . th e min d o f ma n ha s tw o kinds o f shepherds : th e poet s wh o rous e an d trouble , th e poet s wh o hush an d console . I t i s ofte n pleasan t t o tur n t o th e latter ; t o turn , when bewildere d b y th e gigantic , t o me n wh o hav e nothin g extra vagant, exuberant , mystical ; t o tur n fro m th e inspire d t o th e ac complished." Inspiratio n an d accomplishmen t see m her e t o paralle l epic grandeu r an d lyri c subtlety , thoug h "accomplished, " i n thi s instance, carrie s more th e overtone s o f coteri e scholarshi p tha n o f th e ecstatic. Watson's boo k i s a hushing an d consolin g one, thoug h i t "ha s sprung fro m th e critica l rathe r tha n th e creativ e imagination, " something t o ti p th e scale s agains t i t fro m th e start . "Scholarly, " "cul tivated," withou t a singl e "ragge d o r slovenl y line, " i t i s stil l a poetr y deficient, no t onl y i n passion , but i n spiritua l refinemen t as well . Yet th e choic e i s no t rigid : th e poe t mus t no t b e ful l o f eithe r Ossianic passio n o r scholarl y perfection . Somewher e betwee n the m is th e ar t o f lyri c effusio n an d Whitmanesqu e energy , neithe r epi c nor lyric . Yeat s found i t sometime s i n som e o f th e mino r Iris h poet s who made a momentary ripple in the se a of the "revival." What counted was no t alway s th e genr e bu t th e poet' s approac h t o hi s subject . I n two works by John Todhunter he sa w again outline s o f a division. On e work reflecte d th e "ar t poet" : i t was "scholarly" an d "poetical, " though not withou t it s ow n dignity . Compare d t o i t a secon d wor k wa s "un elaborate," "almos t to o simple. " Th e firs t wa s "cosmopolitan " an d written i n th e "mos t artificia l i f mos t monumental " o f metres , blan k verse; th e secon d wa s "fluid " an d ful l o f "barbari c measures. " I n describing th e latte r wor k Yeat s use d essentiall y th e languag e o f th e anti-coterie critic : "simple, " "breezy, " "fre e aired " an d "to o altogethe r se

Letters to the New Island, p . vii . Quotations i n thi s an d followin g paragraph s ar e fro m ibid., pp . 205 , 208 , 212 , 177, 186 , 190-191 . 37

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different fro m th e clos e back parlo r atmospher e o f nineteent h centur y life." Bu t th e fault s o f suc h poetr y ha d bee n avoided : ther e wa s n o "rhetoric," "persona l ambition, " "posing, " n o "tryin g fo r effect" ; th e "sadness" o f th e poetr y wa s "nature's , no t man's— a limpi d melan choly." Youthful an d exuberant, i t resembled th e spiri t of Greece, whil e its opposit e wa s "Ol d wit h word s an d thought s an d reverie s . . . complex wit h tha t ever-increasin g subdivisio n o f though t an d com plexity o f phras e tha t mark s a n ol d literature. " Bot h work s fel l int o a final pattern: th e on e as "young a s nature" an d belongin g t o "Irelan d and youth" ; the othe r "a s old as mankind" an d belongin g t o "old Eng land an d ol d age. " The distinctio n wa s noteworth y fo r it s oppositio n o f th e naivet e of yout h t o th e wisdo m o f ol d age . B y definitio n a renaissanc e i s a rebirth, a new dispensation , an d Yeat s was justified, a s was th e youn g Nietzsche, i n clamourin g fo r th e fres h breat h o f youth . Ye t passio n (youth) an d wisdo m (ol d age ) becam e increasingl y necessar y a s a combination i n achievin g th e highes t clima x i n th e searc h fo r Unit y of Being . First , however , Yeat s ha d mad e particula r not e o f th e division, whic h a centur y earlie r Schille r ha d se t dow n i n hi s classi c essay o n naiv e an d sentimenta l poetry . Becaus e th e societ y fro m which i t spran g wa s stil l unified , Gree k art , Schille r ha d pointe d out, wa s "naive" ; th e Gree k artis t di d no t reall y "imitat e nature. " In s o fa r a s hi s unifie d cultur e permitte d hi m t o creat e idea l form s without being conscious of striving fo r perfection, th e artis t wa s a t on e with hi s model—h e wa s identifie d wit h nature . Thes e naiv e artist s did no t drea m nostalgicall y o f returnin g t o essences ; thei r ar t wa s essence. "The y are, " wrot e Schiller , "wha t w e were : The y ar e wha t we again ought to become" ("Si e sind was wir waren: si e sind, was wir wieder werde n sollen") . O n th e othe r hand , th e "sentimental " artist , self-conscious o f hi s distanc e fro m hi s culture— a moder n an d frag mented cultur e a s Yeat s himself had observed—seek s t o resurrec t an d to reac h ou t fo r th e vanishe d ideal s o f a Golde n Age . Naiv e poet s "felt naturally ; w e fee l th e natural " ("empfande n natiirlich ; wi r empfinden da s Natiirliche") ; an d naiv e poet s "mov e u s throug h nature" ("riihre n un s durc h Natur" ) whil e th e sentimenta l poet s "move u s throug h ideas " ("riihre n un s durc h Ideen") . Dorothy Wellesle y ha d observe d tha t Yeat s rarely spok e o f nature , that h e di d no t see m t o se e i t really , an d tha t i t wa s certainl y absen t from hi s poetry. It woul d b e temptin g t o ascribe thi s t o Yeats's "naive" poetic nature—i n Schiller' s sense—particularl y afte r Yeat s ha d passe d through th e initia l stage s o f th e "sentimental " poet—"Th e wood s o f

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Arcady ar e dead"—whic h Schille r woul d hav e classifie d a s Senti mental-Elegaic. Certainl y Yeat s did linge r a t th e star t i n tha t positio n where th e poe t feel s a yearnin g fo r a Golde n Age ; but , accordin g t o Schiller, th e sentimenta l poe t coul d expres s himsel f i n onl y thre e modes: idyllic , satiric , an d elegaic . Whil e h e coul d mour n fo r som e vague past , Yeat s wa s temperamentall y unsuite d t o becomin g eithe r satiric, wher e th e poe t i s awar e o f th e disparit y betwee n pas t an d present, o r idylli c where th e poe t i s wishin g awa y presen t fo r a sub stituted future . Schiller' s distinction s canno t b e pushe d to o far , bu t they remai n perhap s th e mos t usefu l way s o f approachin g moder n poetry. An d Yeats , on e feels , i s close r t o bein g a t time s th e "naive " poet of our age than any other , for the acut e awarenes s in his criticis m of th e distanc e betwee n presen t an d past , ma n an d nature , mad e i t possible t o ri d hi s poetr y o f th e sam e issue . Th e poetr y i s seldo m a lament (thoug h ofte n angry) , or , whe n i t is , almos t alway s ac companied b y th e reassuranc e o f th e ne w gyre : All thing s fal l an d ar e built again , And thos e tha t buil d them again ar e gay. Or ther e i s an acceptanc e o f change an d th e necessit y of illusion: Man i s i n lov e an d love s wha t vanishes , What mor e i s there to say ? Also, Schiller' s distinctio n betwee n natur e an d idea s i s essentiall y the sam e a s Yeats' s between emotio n an d intellect . Dissociatio n wa s relative t o th e poet' s separatio n fro m th e world , th e firs t ste p towar d providing hi m wit h a n objec t fo r imitatio n and , thereby , diminishin g his immediacy . In on e o f th e review s Yeats writes: As a literatur e age s i t divide s natur e fro m ma n an d sing s eac h fo r itself . Then eac h passio n is take n fro m it s fellow s an d sun g alone , an d cosmo politanism begins , for a passio n has n o nation . But [i n th e "younger " of the tw o work s unde r discussion ] . .. man an d natur e ar e one , an d every where i s a wil d an d pungen t Celti c flavour . Whe n a literatur e is ol d i t grows s o indirect an d comple x tha t i t i s only a possessio n fo r th e few... . By appealing t o a minority, literature was face d i n th e wron g direc tion, bu t th e difficult y wa s that th e majorit y wer e n o longe r th e fol k but th e mob . Writte n an d unwritte n tradition s mus t merg e an d bot h must, i n th e process , avoid th e middle—th e middl e clas s a s subjec t and audience. Thoug h opposite i n intention an d method, th e scholarl y literati an d th e fol k migh t all y themselve s agains t a commo n enem y and strive toward a common goal . S o Yeats envisioned i t in 1900 , whe n

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he hope d fo r a n audienc e o f "few"—" a fe w simpl e peopl e wh o under stand fro m shee r simplicit y wha t w e understan d fro m scholarshi p and thought." 38 With ag e a literatur e become s no t onl y separate d fro m man ; i n the consciousnes s o f tha t separation , i t wil l als o begi n t o compensat e by turnin g mello w (and , i n th e nineties , yellow ) throug h fallin g victim t o a n overrip e romanticism . Whe n suc h exces s become s over refined an d analytica l it produces th e heroe s o f Wilde an d Huysmans . Ancient passions are metamorphosed fro m masculinit y int o effeminate, sensual impulses . A s Yeat s gre w wear y o f "tha t overcharge d colou r inherited fro m th e romanti c movement, " an d bega n t o reshap e hi s style, h e too k car e no t t o abando n th e emotion s wit h a compensator y irony, a spiritua l drynes s o f statemen t fo r whic h h e ha d equa l con tempt. What h e sought , h e explaine d i n characteristicall y paradoxical language, wa s "an impressio n as of col d ligh t . . . a n emotio n whic h I describe d t o mysel f a s cold." 39 Repeatedly i n th e earl y review s I hav e bee n analysing , Yeats was apt t o mar k ou t tw o direction s tha t th e artis t migh t tak e and , jus t as consistently , he wa s hesitan t t o mak e har d an d fas t commitments . Both way s had thei r attraction s an d dangers . On e poet' s verse s wer e "meditative an d sympathetic , rathe r tha n stirrin g an d energetic" ; there wa s n o thunder , onl y th e "vio l an d th e flute. " "I t i s easy, " h e admitted, "t o b e unjus t t o suc h poetry , bu t ver y har d t o writ e it. " Again, i t wa s a poetry emerging "straigh t ou t o f th e [sic] nature fro m some vVell-sprin g o f refinemen t an d gentleness, " makin g fo r "hal f the patho s of literar y history." Another poe t wa s praise d fo r minglin g "austerity an d tendernessf, ] a ver y Celti c quality" ; whil e "precise , definite thought s . . . sheer intensity" were favourabl y compare d t o the "world sadness " o f tw o ver y sentimenta l youn g ladies. 40 Everywhere, however , ther e wa s a n insistenc e o n som e hardnes s of ton e and fabric ; a t the tim e Yeats was a harsher criti c o f others tha n of himself . Fo r example , i n 1894 , h e wrot e t o Olivi a Shakespear , having rea d he r novel , Beauty's Hour: "I thin k Geral d want s a sligh t touch mor e o f definition . A fe w line s . . . woul d d o al l .. . [; ] he develops int o rather a plastic person... but yo u shoul d sho w tha t thi s is characterization and no t a limitation of knowledge." A secon d nove l was criticize d stil l mor e vigorously : " I wonde r ho w yo u woul d far e were yo u t o pic k ou t som e eccentri c ma n . . . fro m th e Villier s d e 38"The Theatre, " Essays , p . 204 . Autobiography, p . 45 . ^Letters to the New Island, pp . 123 , 96, 88.

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Lisle Adam s an d Verlaines , an d se t hi m t o mak e lov e t o you r nex t heroine?" Mrs . Shakespear' s novel s wer e to o subjective , passive , an d plastic; h e advise d he r t o make he r me n "salient , marked , dominant, " thereby treblin g th e "solidity " o f he r work . Shadowy , vague , he r heroes wer e "to o passiv e . . . driven hithe r an d thithe r b y destiny . . . refined, distinguished , sympathetic"—sentimental : h e migh t jus t a s well hav e said it. 41 From hi s earliest experiment s wit h th e dram a Yeat s learned quickl y tha t withou t intensity , withou t som e "col d emotion, " passivity become s a mer e burde n o n th e plot . A latent , explosiv e passivity woul d a t leas t sugges t th e "beas t underneath, " a s h e wa s late r to phrase it . To shor e up one' s poetry with somethin g "salient , marked , dominant" wa s itsel f a protectio n agains t weakness , an d suc h weak ness, Yeats noted, was never visible in genuine folk art . Through al l its tenderness penetrate d alway s th e severe r touch , sometime s eve n th e cruel. But th e mar k o f certitud e an d self-assuranc e wa s neve r a privat e matter alone ; on e neve r fel t "th e poet " had , self-defensively , take n a manl y stance . Indeed , "th e poet " hardl y cam e t o mind . Yeat s wa s thinking o f th e ancien t culture-creations , specificall y th e tomb s o f Mausolus whic h h e ha d see n i n th e Britis h Museum : "I n . . . tha t ruined tom b raised b y a quee n t o her dea d lover , and finishe d b y th e unpaid labou r o f great sculptor s . .. we cannot distinguis h th e handi work o f Scopa s from . . . Praxiteles; and I wante d t o create onc e mor e an ar t wher e th e artist' s handiwork woul d hid e a s unde r thos e half anonymous chisels. . . ." H e wante d "simpl e emotion s which resembl e the more, the more powerful they are, everybody's emotion. . . ."42 Such "simple emotions, " befor e the y coul d resembl e thos e o f others , ha d initially t o b e wreste d fro m one' s ow n nervou s system . N o poe t o f intelligence, seekin g t o restor e singlehandedl y th e ancien t lineament s to a literature that ha d abandone d them , coul d fai l t o se e the parado x of hi s dream . Fo r th e ver y ac t o f restoratio n was , o f course , intensel y personal, an d fo r a singl e poe t t o undertak e th e consciou s burde n o f what had once been th e collectiv e and unconsciou s pattern o f a cultur e was t o cour t al l th e passionat e pain o f effor t an d th e strai n o f conflic t characteristic of the lon e voice. Anonymity, striven for with th e intens est persona l effort , provide d Yeat s wit h onl y a temporar y solutio n (though i n th e No h play s h e wa s t o tur n t o i t again) ; i t gav e hi m respite in th e ey e of the stor m but i n it s safety h e wa s deluded. When the stor m subsided he wa s close t o shipwreck, fo r the opposit e extrem e "Letters, pp . 233-234 , 240-241 . ^Autobiography, pp . 92-93 .

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of tha t persona l utteranc e whic h hi s fathe r s o notoriousl y hate d wa s abstraction, which Yeat s hated an d feare d eve n more . The solutio n was , a s ever , t o unite , an d h e "wa s soon, " h e tell s us i n th e Autobiography "t o write man y poems wher e a n alway s per sonal emotio n wa s woven int o a general patter n o f myth an d symbol, " thereby escapin g th e "steril e moder n complication " o f originalit y without surrenderin g hi s privat e voice , bu t securin g th e hal f o f anonymity tha t woul d no t lea d t o the horror s of abstraction. I t seeme d to b e hi s lot , then , t o b e confronte d wit h alternative s i n contrar y directions; t o endur e it , quit e willingly , Yeat s began no w t o "drift" — the wor d i s hi s own—towar d a theor y o f masks . Intense an d passionate , hi s imaginatio n ful l o f epi c emotions , h e was stil l th e sensitiv e young ma n wit h a delicat e sens e o f beaut y an d a passio n fo r th e rose . Moreover , th e aestheti c conflic t wa s fo r som e time parallele d b y persona l conflicts , fo r th e unhappy , unrequite d love fo r Mau d Gonn e require d th e mos t strenuou s effort s a t self control. Th e wounde d eg o struck , a s i t alon e can , an d demande d self-pity; i n turn , th e father' s masculin e value s shame d exces s o f emotion int o submission , thoug h a t grea t cost . Afte r th e firs t thre e volumes of poetry, in 1899 , Yeats felt defeate d a s a lyric poet. Nothin g short o f abandonin g th e lyric , fo r th e tim e being , coul d rescu e hi m as a poet , an d hi s failur e t o harde n hi s vers e significantl y after hi s public pronouncement s followin g The Wanderings of Oisin un doubtedly brough t hi m tha t muc h neare r t o drama . Again i t wa s a mov e o f self-preservation , onl y thi s tim e th e choic e was more conscious, not a n escape fro m th e alie n worl d bu t a measur e to regai n strength . Prematur e exhaustio n wa s th e leadin g sympto m of th e tragi c generation: They ha d taugh t m e tha t violen t energy , whic h i s like a fir e o f straw , consumes i n a fe w minute s th e nervou s vitality , an d i s useles s i n th e arts . Our fir e mus t bur n slowly , an d w e mus t constantl y tur n awa y t o think , constantly analys e wha t w e hav e done... . Only the n d o w e lear n t o conserve ou r vitality , t o keep our min d enough under control an d t o make our techniqu e sufficiently flexibl e fo r expressio n o f th e emotion s o f lif e as they arise . In vie w o f hi s undispute d poeti c achievement s i n ol d age , i t woul d seem tha t Yeat s ha d learne d th e ar t o f conserving . Thinkin g an d analysis ar e function s o f th e intellect ; an d a s defence s agains t poeti c dissipation Yeat s foun d the m usefu l an d necessary . Ho w t o harnes s "violent energy " an d t o mak e fire s "bur n slowly " becom e eventuall y

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aesthetic principles o f a high priority . Containmen t o f a too individua l emotion i s achieved b y a n intellectua l intervention , save d fro m bein g pure rationalit y by assumin g th e qualitie s o f philosophica l reflection , "reverie" an d "contemplation. " Nothin g i n thes e word s wa s intende d to sugges t inaction ; quite th e contrary , a proper philosophi c interlud e would lea d t o action . "Doe s no t al l ar t com e whe n a nature , tha t never cease s t o judg e itself , exhaust s persona l emotio n . . . [so ] tha t something impersona l . . . suddenly start s into it s plac e . . . X'43 Perhap s life wa s to o ful l o f "unbounde d emotion " an d "wil d melancholy " t o be a useful sourc e for art : "i t ma y be th e art s ar e founde d o n th e lif e beyond th e world , an d tha t the y mus t cr y i n th e ear s o f ou r penur y until th e worl d ha s bee n consume d an d becom e a vision." 44 I f thi s were tru e ho w coul d Yeat s achiev e wha t h e s o ardentl y calle d th e delight o f lif e whic h i s a s "personal " a s Villon' s poetry ? Visio n itsel f would nee d t o exclude, o r at least t o surmount, th e artist' s immediate , sensory perception o f the world ; yet every artist must begin b y placin g faith i n hi s ow n visio n o f hi s objec t befor e h e turn s i t int o subject . And suc h fait h issue s only from a belief i n th e objec t as well— a loyalty to life. Yet , paradoxically perhaps, th e mor e the artis t confined himself to hi s art , proceeding o n th e assumptio n tha t ar t i s not life , th e mor e likely woul d h e b e t o strik e th e deepe r reality . By 189 9 Yeat s ha d committe d himel f t o a n ar t o f "primar y emo tions," derive d fro m th e "experience s an d dutie s o f life," 45 bu t h e rejected decisivel y th e realis m tha t Ibse n an d Sha w wer e alread y heightening int o a formidabl e aestheti c an d a philosoph y o f life . Always differen t fro m life , ar t mus t neve r tr y t o compete; th e solutio n lay elsewhere . I f "poetr y i s founde d upo n convention , an d become s incredible th e momen t paintin g o r gestur e remin d u s tha t peopl e d o not spea k verse when the y meet upo n th e highway," 46 the n th e safet y of ar t depend s o n th e frontier s o f convention , no t i n attempt s t o penetrate beyond , an d therefor e outside , them . Onc e th e artist , especially th e dramatist , accepts conventio n withou t apology , h e ca n alter i t wit h hi s individua l genius t o create freshnes s and change . Bu t in orde r to keep possession of his art, the artis t must alway s work fro m within, no t fro m without : h e mus t adjus t lif e t o ar t no t ar t t o life . Of cours e Art a s an Hegelia n absolut e was as dangerous a s the realist' s Life. To limi t the imaginatio n to an enclosur e o f art, to protect i t fro m *3lUd., pp . 93 , 191 , 200 . **"The Celti c Element in Literature, " Essays, p . 227 . "Letters, p . 315 . «"The Theatre, " Essays , p . 209 .

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life, wa s onc e mor e th e sor t o f preventiv e measur e tha t woul d kil l by over-immunization. "A vision of reality": i t was a way Yeats denned art, bot h in poetr y and in prose . But Visio n neede d clarification , needed t o b e distinguishe d fro m th e connotation s o f vaguenes s an d religious mysticism . Echoin g Blake' s bia s fo r shar p an d definit e lines , Yeats soo n discarde d "vagu e forms , pictures , scenes , etc" ; fo r "Al l ancient visio n wa s definit e an d precise." 47 Th e earlies t attemp t t o mark ou t a cleare r identit y fo r a concep t o f visio n come s i n a lette r about The Wanderings of Oisin: I hav e correcte d th e tw o firs t part s o f "Oisin. " Th e secon d par t i s much mor e coherent than I ha d hoped... . It i s th e mos t inspire d but th e least artisti c of the three . The las t ha s mos t art . Because I wa s i n complete solitude ... when I wrot e it... . It reall y wa s a kin d o f vision... . With the othe r parts I a m disappointed—the y see m only shadow s of wha t I saw . But th e third must have got itself expressed... . Yet the secon d part is more deep an d poetic . I t i s not inspiratio n tha t exhaust s one, but art . The firs t parts I felt . I sa w the second. 48 The firs t distinctio n i s between th e ar t o f th e see r an d th e poe t a s maker: th e forme r create s inspire d poeti c depth , th e latte r visio n an d art. O f th e thre e part s o f Oisin th e secon d wa s th e "mos t inspire d but th e leas t artistic," while the third , whic h ha d "th e mos t art," cam e as " a kin d o f vision. " Understandabl y Yeat s wa s somewha t nagge d b y the insisten t intuitio n tha t th e secon d part , thoug h th e mos t artless , attains poeti c depth . Moreove r i t i s no t inspiratio n whic h exhaust s but ar t an d craftsmanship ; what h e "saw " cam e mor e easily than wha t he "felt. " And , contrar y to expectation , i t wa s visio n tha t h e felt . I f this seem s somewha t confuse d o r puzzling , Yeats' s choic e o f term s may b e partiall y responsible . I t i s clear , a t an y rate , tha t h e dis tinguishes betwee n tw o possibl e pairings : visio n an d art ; inspiratio n and poeti c depth. Th e proble m wa s how t o get dept h an d poetr y int o art an d vision . Puzzle d tha t visio n shoul d resul t i n a n ar t les s dee p than tha t born ou t o f inspiration, Yeats is obviously suspiciou s o f pur e inspiration: i t produce s a n ar t mor e see n tha n felt , somethin g ulti mately non-artistic , belongin g mor e t o th e mystic' s visio n tha n th e poet's. Fo r in thi s context , visio n suggest s th e poet' s toil , th e laborious shaping proces s b y whic h h e transmute s persona l experienc e int o art . So exhaustin g wa s th e tas k tha t whe n h e ha d a t las t complete d th e third par t o f Oisin h e wa s clos e t o physica l an d menta l collapse . ^Letters, p . 343 . **Ibid., p . 87 .

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Yeats ha d bee n t o ar t schoo l befor e h e turne d poet ; th e disciplin e was arduous , th e "rules " wer e fundamenta l an d precise , an d h e ha d had t o learn them . Th e exhaustio n o f Oisin came , on e suspects , fro m the continuou s effort s o f th e artistic-critica l disciplin e t o kee p hi m from th e brin k of impressionistic mysticism , that deadl y intrusio n int o art whic h eventuall y hoisted A . E. t o obscurity. No t withou t a certai n sympathy Yeat s ha d written : "Th e poetr y o f 'A . E.' . . . find s it s symbols an d it s stories in th e sou l itself , an d ha s a mor e disembodie d ecstasy tha n an y poetr y o f ou r time." 49 I t wa s no t t o b e th e place , ex clusively a t least , wher e Yeat s would fin d hi s storie s an d symbols ; by turning t o th e grea t tradition s o f folklor e an d myt h h e wa s turnin g to life , turnin g t o it, h e felt , wit h a mor e hones t an d a deepe r insigh t than th e proponent s o f realism or th e poeti c mystics . I n A Vision h e understood thes e problem s better , an d A . E . becam e type d a s a kin d of poet . Placed i n th e twenty-fift h phase , A . E. belong s to those artist s who "eliminat e al l tha t i s persona l fro m belief, " bu t replac e th e per sonal, no t wit h artisti c impersonality, but wit h motive s outsid e o f ar t altogether. "Ther e ma y b e grea t eloquence , a master y o f al l concret e imagery tha t i s not persona l expression, becaus e . . . there i s a n over flowing socia l conscience. " A s "Poet s o f thi s Phas e ar e alway s stirre d to a n imaginativ e intensit y b y som e for m o f propaganda, " al l tha t poetry o f A . E . "wher e h e i s move d t o writ e b y som e for m o f philo sophical propaganda , i s precise , delicat e an d original." 50 Fo r poet s of thi s phase the pric e of clarity is alliance with specia l causes , spiritua l or political. Artistic vision was preferable. If Yeat s felt^th e lif e o f th e sou l (unattache d t o th e body ) t o b e unsatisfactory materia l owin g t o it s tyrannical , propagandisti c imper sonality, h e wa s equall y displease d wit h essence , wit h pur e colour . No doub t th e azur e o f Mallarm e an d th e yello w o f th e ninetie s ha d overfed th e sensibilitie s even o f a painter' s son , bu t a s earl y a s 188 8 he criticize d Katharin e Tyna n fo r havin g "describe d thing s fro m without." Henc e sh e ha d achieve d th e picturesque , rathe r tha n th e poetical, sacrificin g to o much t o colou r "fo r it s ow n sake" : "You r love of colou r too was made t o serve a real vision . . . . Your best work—an d no woma n poe t o f th e tim e ha s don e better—i s alway s where yo u ex press you r ow n affectionat e natur e o r you r religiou s feeling,.. . your worst, tha t . . . wher e yo u allo w you r sens e o f colou r t o ru n awa y with yo u an d mak e yo u merel y a poe t o f th e picturesque. " Jus t a s the poetr y of A. E. wa s a kind o f philosophical propaganda thi s poetr y ^"Modern Iris h Poetry," Collected Works, VIII , 126 . BOA Vision, pp . 173-176 .

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was a picturesque propaganda ; but , whil e -the emphasi s appear s t o b e on art it is reall y on life : wher e the persona l is eliminate d for the sake o f som e effec t outsid e bot h th e poe t an d hi s visio n o f reality , art lose s it s sens e o f bein g ar t and , on e migh t say , it s sens e o f bein g human. "W e both, " h e cautione d i n th e sam e letter , " . . . nee d t o substitute more an d more the landscapes o f nature fo r .. . art." 51 In th e earlies t o f Yeats' s conception s o f th e artist , hi s individualit y and hi s loyalt y t o life—bod y an d soul—ar e inseparable . Lif e i s a multiple o f individuality , and anonymity , like tha t i n th e Byzantin e mosaics o r th e statue s an d tomb s o f Mausolus , neve r separate s tha t multiple fro m th e man y selve s it embodies : i t is , after all , a n ar t onl y "half-anonymous." A s a spiritua l objectification i n th e natura l world , the sou l wa s neve r rejected ; difficultie s aris e when , lik e A . E. , th e artist detache s th e sou l fo r a disembodie d existence . Befor e th e tur n of th e centur y Yeat s suggeste d tha t th e rare r subtletie s o f th e sou l could b e beautifie d onl y when , an d if , th e artis t was assure d tha t th e soul wil l liv e beyon d th e body ; bu t i t i s th e convictio n o f th e soul' s immortality, no t it s ultimat e lif e i n anothe r world , whic h make s ar t possible. I t ha d alway s been th e classi c dilemma, fo r critics and artist s alike: t o fin d th e vi a medi a betwee n bod y an d sou l wa s t o solve , i n some measure, the mos t pressing aestheti c problems . I n hi s ow n earl y criticism, Yeat s ha d consistentl y valued experienc e abov e observation, ranked emotio n highe r tha n fact . Clearly , then , imaginatio n wa s higher tha n fanc y and , concurrently , symbolism was riche r tha n alle gory. A symbo l coul d animat e a n "invisibl e essence, " bu t allegor y was limite d t o representin g on e o f severa l interpretation s o f som e "embodied thing" ; growin g ou t o f th e imaginatio n a symbo l reveale d while allegory , born o f fancy , coul d merel y amuse. 52 Fanc y becam e an equivalen t o f phantasy . A . E . wa s severel y criticize d fo r writin g of a "fier y footed " planet , fo r th e imaginatio n deal s wit h "spiritua l ^Letters, pp . 98-99. ^Collected Works, VI , 138 . Thi s passag e on symbolis m an d allegory , appearin g a t the beginnin g o f "Willia m Blak e an d hi s Illustration s t o The Divine Comedy," differs i n on e respec t fro m th e passag e a s reprinte d i n Essays : instea d o f callin g a symbol "th e onl y possibl e expressio n o f som e invisible essence, " Yeat s ha s change d this t o read: "visibl e essence ' (italic s mine) . I t i s possible tha t thi s i s a misprint , bu t just a s possible tha t Yeat s wished, i n th e late r version , t o emphasiz e th e concretenes s of th e artist' s visio n eve n mor e sharply : essence s wer e no t necessaril y invisible , an d therefore vagu e an d abstract . (Se e Essays , p . 142. ) Th e ide a o f "visibl e essence " undoubtedly cam e fro m Shelley . I n hi s essa y o n Shelle y (1900) , Yeat s attribute s t o Shelley th e ide a tha t " 'the bod y i s a garment ' no t onl y abou t th e soul , bu t abou t al l essences tha t becom e visible , fo r 'the heaven s ar e ... a veil . . . the vestment s of the celestial gods' " (Essays , p . 102) . Th e wor d "invisible " i s restore d i n Essay s cmd Introductions, p . 116 .

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things symbolize d b y natura l things" 53—by bird s an d towers , b y dancers an d swords , b y tables , ancestra l houses , an d swans . Despit e the unavoidabl e admixtur e o f symbolis m an d allegor y eac h ca n b e recognized wher e i t ha s com e t o it s specia l "perfection" : Michel angelo's "Moses " ha s stirre d th e min d o f moder n man ; Tintoretto's "Origin o f th e Milk y Way, " pure allegory , i s bot h ephemera l an d fanciful.54 The rejectio n o f allegor y reste d chiefl y o n it s lifelessness , it s lac k of resonance , it s capacit y t o b e a t onc e to o ful l o f meanin g an d ye t without an y meanin g a t all . Generations migh t ponde r th e multipl e suggestiveness o f a symbol , bu t th e precisio n o f allegor y lef t nothin g unsaid. Onl y occasionally , whe n allegor y rise s t o vision , i s i t great . Since allegor y wa s no t "natural " fo r him , Spenser fel l shor t o f suc h perfection; i n th e mids t o f his deadly sin s and hi s elaborately wrough t architectural allegories , h e seem s preoccupie d wit h "quivering " lovers.55 Lik e Shelley , Spense r ha d no t sufficientl y accounte d fo r th e insistence o f th e "gong-tormented " se a o f life , thoug h i n hi s ar t i t often engulfed , wit h amora l frenzy , hi s allegorica l topography . B y the tim e Yeat s ha d complete d The Secret Rose, hi s mos t obviou s allegory, h e wa s alread y "weary " o f it , chargin g tha t i t ha d severe d his imaginatio n fro m life , allegorize d th e passion s unti l the y wer e n o longer passion s a t all. However, symbol s were no t exemp t fro m cen sure, particularly when symbo l was confused wit h mere image . For his lack o f the sharpl y denned, for his "innumerable image s that hav e no t the definitenes s o f symbols," 56 Shelle y wa s foun d guilt y o f vagueness . Yeats was more keenly awar e of th e danger s o f abstractio n inheren t in a misus e o f symbols , an d awar e o f i t muc h earlier , tha n i s ofte n assumed. T o loo k onl y at th e poetr y i s misleading; theor y alway s preceded it , ofte n b y a s muc h a s a decade . Recognizin g th e nee d t o combat abstractio n and t o prevent i t fro m interferin g with tru e vision, Yeats, wit h increasin g awareness , searche d fo r discipline—throug h style, form , an d a choic e o f subject . I f allegor y wa s to o precise , sym bolism, unles s checked , coul d becom e too vague. Tha t suc h an inter play o f checks and balance s wa s inherentl y dramati c Yeat s recognize d at once a s an advantage . Shelle y remaine d to o long i n reverie , awaite d in som e "chape l o f th e Sta r o f infinit e desire " th e passio n o f life. 57 Though th e forest s o f Axel coul d yiel d th e righ t secrets , on e mus t ^Letters, p . 343. S4 "Symbolism i n Painting, " Essays , pp . 182-183 . 55 "Edmund Spenser, " ibid., pp. 457-459 . 66"The Philosoph y o f Shelley's Poetry, " ibid., pp . 95-96 . vid., p . 271 .

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as anythin g Pythagora s eve r planned . Neithe r "empt y eyeballs " no r Buddha i s meant a s an Asia n antithesi s (mystical ) t o the Wes t (practical), for , as Yeats saw it , th e line s o f histor y after Alexande r merge d rather tha n warre d a s sharply divided impluses . As for the 22n d phase , Yeats characterize s i t a s "Balanc e betwee n ambitio n an d contempla tion."30 An d tha t return s u s t o Morri s an d Titian' s "Ariosto" — the "resolute Europea n imag e that yet half-remembers Buddha's motionles s meditation . . . ," resolutio n an d meditatio n sharin g betwee n the m "ambition" an d "contemplation. " But wha t o f Phidias ? It i s now necessar y to take th e poe m fro m th e beginning, an d t o pa y clos e heed t o it s chronology , fo r th e poe m tell s the stor y o f civilizatio n fro m Pythagora s t o th e present : a t leas t i t projects metaphoricall y th e aestheti c revolution s an d thei r influenc e on cultur e an d histor y from th e Greek s t o th e present . Pythagoras wa s no t onl y a mathematician , bu t a philosophe r an d somewhat o f a mysti c a s well ; an d th e theor y o f numbers , perhap s his chie f accomplishment , wa s t o influence , a s Yeat s suggests , th e way ma n looke d a t reality . For despit e th e abstraction s of th e numbe r theory, i t enable d ma n t o thin k o f hi s univers e numerically , i n quantitative terms ; i t permitte d hi m t o coun t off , a s i t were , th e one fro m th e many . Pythagoras , therefore , brough t t o Europ e a n essential featur e o f it s subsequen t culture : th e sel f -consciousness o f the individual , countable object. This wa s th e "impulse " o f "commo n antiquity"— "An impuls e toward s wha t i s definit e an d sensuous , an d an indifferenc e towards the abstrac t and th e genera l . . . the lineament s . . . of common antiquity . . . ." 31 The ma n wh o ca n isolat e and coun t the object s outsid e himsel f i s als o acutel y consciou s o f hi s ow n singleness. Here he reaches something akin t o the India n ascetic's final insight, " a single timeless act . .. all existence brought int o the words: 'I am. ' I t resemble s tha t las t Greek number , a multipl e of al l numbers because ther e i s nothing outsid e it, nothing t o make a new beginning " —it i s self-enclosed. 32 Pythagoras ' numbers , embodie d i n th e statues , "moved o r seeme d t o move" : motio n an d stillness , danc e an d trance , energy an d meditation , so balanced tha t immobilit y suggested motion , art life. Yet, though they moved, or seemed to , they "lacke d character" : soibid., p . 157 . 31 If I were Four-and-Twenty, p . 36 . Throughou t "Th e Statues " Yeat s implicitl y parallels th e Gree k an d th e Iris h temper , fo r which h e woul d hav e foun d sanctio n i n Arnold's "O n th e Stud y o f Celti c Literature" : "Th e Gree k ha s th e sam e perceptive , emotional temperamen t a s th e Celt ; bu t h e add s t o thi s . . . th e sens e o f measure; hence hi s admirabl e succes s i n th e plasti c arts . . . ." (Se e Complete Prose Works, ed . R. H . Supe r [An n Arbor , Michigan , 1960] , III , 344. ) Yeat s wa s keenly awar e tha t the Iris h ha d t o ad d thi s "sens e o f measure" t o thei r "emotiona l temperament. " 32 "The Hol y Mountain, " Essay s and Introductions, p . 462 .

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movement (life ) alon e suggest s individuatio n i n th e extreme , whic h is wha t Yeat s mean t b y "character. " Wha t th e statue s lacke d i n character the y made up fo r in passion, th e elemen t of the tragi c actio n which break s th e "dyke s tha t separat e ma n fro m man" ; th e passio n is i n th e statues , no t onl y i n th e boy s an d girl s wh o kis s thei r lips . Of course , th e passio n i n th e statue s reflect s theirs , jus t a s they reflec t the passio n i n th e statues : tha t i s wha t make s th e statue s s o over whelmingly real, real enough t o permit Yeat s the imag e of them bein g made love to in a "public place" withou t appearing absurd o r investing sculpture wit h th e abilit y to arouse purel y exhibitionis t responses a s if it were pornography. For Yeats the conceptio n o f reality making love to its embodimen t i s an earnes t one , fo r i n tha t unio n realit y recapture s the idea l whic h embodimen t alway s expresses . Ar t become s a par t of life , becomes—i n th e Morri s sense—eve n "useful. " Th e lip s tha t press o n th e "plummet-measure d face " ar e "Liv e lips, " an d the y bestow a kiss tha t wa s intended t o animate , miraculously, lik e th e kis s by Eithn e Ingub a tha t bring s t o lif e th e dea d Cuchulain , th e kiss of passion tha t meet s passion , desir e tha t fulfil s desire . Imagine d lov e has mad e th e boy s an d girl s "pale " becaus e phantas y i s no substitut e for passion ; s o that the y hav e come t o th e statue s not onl y t o animat e them bu t themselve s a s well . The first stanza, then, attributes to Pythagoras' numbers two results: individuation balance d b y passion , th e "definit e an d sensuous " i n "marble o r i n bronze. " Th e statue s hav e th e powe r o f replenishin g the passion-hungr y boy s an d girl s no t merel y wit h sexua l desir e bu t with a sens e o f lif e tha t ensue s fro m th e unio n o f ma n an d woman life, literall y an d metaphorically . T o th e family , Yeat s agreed , ma y be attribute d th e whol e "origi n o f civilizatio n whic h bu t exist s t o preserve it" : give n this , i t seem s quit e "natural " tha t "it s ecstati c moment, th e sexua l choice o f man an d woman , should b e th e greate r part o f al l poetry. " Fo r suc h choic e i s crucial, a "singl e wron g choic e may destro y a family , dissipatin g it s tradition.. . and th e grea t sculp tors, painter s an d poet s ar e ther e tha t instinc t ma y fin d it s lamp." 33 That, finally , i s the functio n o f th e statues ; that i s why th e boy s an d girls come t o them . It is interesting to linger a little on th e relatio n of number t o beauty, to rhythm , balanc e an d unity , i n short , o n th e meanin g o f numbe r as a n aestheti c element , particularl y a s Yeat s expresse s i t i n "Th e Statues." W e kno w fo r certai n tha t Yeat s had rea d Plotinu s a s early as th e twentie s i n Stephe n Mackenna' s fin e translation . I n th e fift h volume, On the One and the Good (th e Sixt h Ennead) , Yeat s must S3

If I were Four-and-Twenty, p . 14 .

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have note d wit h interes t th e tractat e o n numbers . Her e Plotinu s considers th e meanin g an d natur e o f number i n relatio n t o a serie s of metaphysical problems . In attemptin g t o searc h fo r th e Rea l Bein g o f number , Plotinu s arrives, throug h a sequenc e o f subtl e arguments , a t a notio n tha t places numbe r almos t a s th e primu m mobil e o f existence : number , or "oneness," he see s a s "something prio r t o man an d t o all the rest.. . prior als o to even movement , prio r to Being , since withou t unit y thes e could no t b e eac h on e thing.... " An d i t i s throug h number , prio r t o all things , tha t w e attai n unit y o f al l multiplicity. Unit y is , o f course , the patter n o f multiplicity , th e On e tha t i s derive d fro m th e Many : "You se e somethin g whic h yo u pronounc e t o b e a unity ; tha t thin g possesses als o size, form, an d a hos t o f othe r characteristic s you migh t name...." How , then , i s such Unit y attainable ? Ho w d o w e discer n the One i n the Many? To begin with , say s Plotinus, we must recogniz e that al l multiplicit y mus t initiall y b e bounded , fo r "limitlessnes s an d number ar e i n contradiction, " jus t a s Yeat s argue d tha t th e "on e image" ha d t o defeat th e "many-headed, " th e "Asiati c vagu e immensities," whic h h e identifie d with th e Persia n invasio n of Greece. Hence, says Plotinus , numbe r i s "definite" : it i s we tha t ca n conceiv e the "Mor e tha n i s present" ; th e infinit y lie s i n our counting : i n th e Rea l i s no conceivin g more than ha s been conceived ; all stand s entire... . It [number ] migh t b e describe d a s infinit e i n th e sense tha t i t ha s no t bee n measured—wh o i s ther e t o measur e it?—bu t i t is solely its own, a concentrated unit , entire... ; what is limited, measured , is wha t need s measur e t o preven t i t runnin g awa y int o th e unbounded . There ever y bein g i s Measure ; and therefor e i t i s tha t al l i s beautiful . Because tha t i s a livin g thin g it i s beautiful... . It i s toward th e wor d beaut y tha t Plotinu s ha s aime d hi s argument : number i s necessary no t onl y to accoun t fo r rhythm (motion ) bu t fo r pattern, fo r th e unit y o f form , fo r th e equipois e betwee n motio n an d rest, fo r th e principa l elemen t i n beauty , oneness , whic h i n tur n is als o complementar y t o Th e Good . (Her e th e resemblanc e t o th e moral-aesthetic argumen t o f Schille r examine d previousl y i s clear. ) The onl y remainin g questio n is : Ho w d o w e attai n thi s unit y o f beauty? Or , sinc e Yeat s ver y nearl y adopt s Plotinus ' language , w e should ask : Ho w d o w e attai n Unit y o f Being ? Generative o f all , Th e Unit y i s non e o f all;.. . not i n motion , no t a t rest, no t i n place , no t i n time : i t i s th e self-defined , uniqu e i n for m or , better, formless , existin g befor e For m was , o r Movemen t o r Rest , al l o f which ar e attachments of Bein g and mak e Bein g the manifol d i t is. But how, if not i n movement, can it be otherwise than a t rest?

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In hi s essa y "Louis Lambert " (1934 ) Yeat s asks a simila r question : The Wor d i s tha t whic h turn s numbe r int o movement , bu t numbe r (division, magnitude , enumeration) 'is describe d b y Seraphit a a s unrea l and a s involvin g in unrealit y al l ou r science . Tw o an d tw o canno t b e four, fo r nature has no tw o things alike. Every part is a separate thing an d therefore itsel f a whol e an d s o on . I s movemen t realit y o r doe s i t shar e the unrealit y of number, its source? "The answe r is, " sai d Plotinus , "tha t movemen t an d res t ar e state s pertaining t o Being, whic h necessaril y has one o r th e othe r o r both." 34 Being, then , i s itself th e ultimat e manifol d o f whic h res t an d motio n are "attachments " an d thes e attachment s posses s Unit y b y virtu e o f number, th e "definite " manifeste d prio r eve n t o Being . Number , Being, Movement , Rest : thi s i s Plotinus ' declension , hi s causa l sequence; Unit y an d Beaut y are , finally , attaine d i n wha t h e call s "ideal-Form," an d suc h "Ideal-Form " i s fo r Plotinus , a s fo r Yeats , th e visible triump h o f a singl e unifie d objec t tha t ha s defeate d confusio n and discord : All shapelessnes s whos e kin d admit s o f patter n an d for m . .. is ugl y . . .; an ugl y thin g i s somethin g that ha s no t bee n entirel y mastered b y pat tern. ... But wher e th e Ideal-For m has entered , it ha s groupe d an d co-ordinate d what fro m a diversit y o f part s wa s t o becom e a unity : i t ha s rallie d confusion int o co-operation : i t ha s mad e th e su m on e harmoniou s co herence. ... And o n wha t has thus been compacted t o unity , Beaut y enthrone s itself , giving itsel f t o th e part s a s t o th e sum.. . .35 Certainly Yeat s sees th e Phidia n statues , fathere d b y Pythagorea n numbers, neithe r movin g nor a t rest , as Ideal-Form s o f Being , objectified i n art , an d a s a unit y o f multiplicity , richl y endowed , i n th e Plotinian sense , wit h Beauty . The beginnin g o f th e secon d stanz a o f "Th e Statues " offer s littl e difficulty: jus t as the oarsme n a t Salami s merely executed th e ideal s of Phidias, s o Pythagoras merely "planned" them—th e creators, the sculptors, are the tru e shaper s (though th e artis t clearly needs both theoreti 34 Plotinus, On the. One and the Good, Being the Treatises of the Sixth Ennead, tr. Stephe n Mackenn a an d B . S . Pag e (Londo n an d Boston , 1930) , pp . 142-143 , 154-155, 159 , 160-161 , 241-242 . Th e quotatio n fro m Yeat s i s fro m Essay s and Introductions, pp . 442-443 . 35 Plotinus, The Ethical Treatises, tr . Stephe n Mackenn a (London , 1917) , p . 80 . I a m indebte d t o Professo r John Artho s fo r alertin g m e t o certai n o f th e passage s i n Plotinus use d i n th e precedin g discussion .

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cian an d sailor or soldier). The "Calculation s tha t look but casua l flesh" are describe d i n s o off-han d an d minimize d a manne r i n orde r t o contrast wit h th e maxima l effect the y hav e wrought , th e savin g o f a civilization. It is here that Phidias first enters the poem, following Pythagoras, born , probably , th e yea r Pythagora s died . A t thi s poin t Yeat s is inten t o n describin g th e natur e o f th e art-idea l whic h defeate d th e Persians; wha t tha t idea l was and ho w i t came to be is suggested i n th e final line of the secon d stanza , but w e must loo k elsewhere to o for clues and directions . Phidias ' ar t Yeat s describe s i n A Vision: "...befor e Phidias, an d hi s westward-moving art, Persi a fell.. . ." 3e Th e sentenc e is perhap s ambiguous , sinc e i t coul d conceivabl y impl y tha t th e "westward-moving art " cam e fro m th e East ; i t di d not , o f course : it s ideal natur e was Western and i n tha t sens e it moved towar d the West. When i t move d agains t th e Persian s i t naturall y moved—in term s of the wa y i t face d a t least—East ; an d whe n i t finall y move d Eas t wit h Alexander i t had alread y ceased t o be Phidia n an d wa s headed towar d "Byzantine glory " afte r th e fal l o f Rome . "Dori c vigour " i s i n th e ascendant "afte r th e Persia n wars" : "On e suspect s a deliberate turnin g away fro m al l tha t i s Eastern..." (i t i s a natura l implus e t o avoi d al l resemblance t o a n enem y wh o ha s nearl y conquere d you) , a s th e athlete replace s th e "Parisian-lookin g youn g woma n o f th e sculp tors... ,"37 Phidias wa s onl y abou t twent y whe n th e battl e o f Salami s wa s fought an d ha d not , o f course , achieve d wha t Yeat s attributes t o hi m in th e poem . I n A Vision, however, th e chronolog y is clear, the heigh t of Phidia n ar t comin g after tha t battle , no t befor e it , thoug h i t i s a culmination no t a ne w beginning . Subsequen t t o th e victor y a t Salamis, wit h th e consciou s rejectio n o f everythin g Asian , come s a fruition i n th e confluenc e o f tw o Gree k impulses : "i n Phidia s Ioni c and Dori c influenc e unite—on e remember s Titian—an d al l i s trans formed b y th e ful l moon , an d al l abound s an d flows." 38 Indeed , "on e remembers Titian, " an d hi s "Ariosto " an d Watts' s portrai t of Morris . The fathe r of the m both , Phidia s ha d show n ho w t o combin e vigou r (ambition, energy ) wit h eleganc e (contemplation) . A s on e look s a t the portrait s i n question , thei r meanin g become s clearer : the y ar e European wit h a lingering Asia n influence, just as Phidian art , despite the effort s t o shak e of f Asian influences , had stil l som e trac e o f the m left fro m th e Persia n wars . 36

A Vision, pp. 270-271. STIZrid., p . 270 . Mlbid.

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In A Vision Phidia n ar t i s not yet the grea t idea l tha t Byzantin e art will become becaus e i t spells too much "systematisation" : "Phidia n art , like th e ar t o f Raphael, ha s fo r the momen t exhauste d ou r attention. " In fact , Phidia n ar t represent s t o som e exten t a n over-balance d Apollonian stabilizer , a s contrasted wit h th e mor e natura l pre-Phidia n art which resembled , Yeat s supposes, th e plays "enacted before Aeschylus an d Sophocle s . . . bot h Phidia n men." 39 Bu t th e los s o f som e primitive spontaneit y mus t hav e seeme d wel l wort h i t t o Yeat s when he cam e t o writ e th e poem : ^Phidia n "systematisation " create d a cul ture tha t wa s stron g enough t o preserv e itsel f agains t engulfmen t b y its antithesis . (Th e las t tw o line s o f th e secon d stanz a hav e alread y been commente d o n at length.) When Yeat s offers th e ag e tha t follow s Alexande r a s a clu e t o th e reading o f the thir d stanza , he indicate s tha t h e ha s move d a t leas t a century an d a half beyon d Salamis . But th e "on e image " nee d not , of course, "cross " th e "many-headed"—i n a litera l sense—a t Salamis : clearly Yeats is telescoping history to suit his image of it. "After Phidias [who die d ca. 432 ] th e lif e o f Greec e . . . ha d move d slowl y an d richly . . . [and ] come s rapidl y t o an end." 40 One imag e crosse d th e many-headed , sa t Under th e tropi c shade, gre w round and slow, When gon g and conc h declare th e hou r t o bless Grimalkin crawl s t o Buddha's emptiness. With Alexande r come s th e rea l fusio n o f Europ e an d Asia , Wes t impregnating East : eve n th e Emperor' s tw o wive s wer e Easter n princesses. Fro m th e deat h o f Phidia s t o Alexande r th e Doric-Ionia n balance ha d bee n brough t t o a ful l flowering—and then t o extinction. Phidian ar t (an d it s influences) ha s gone ful l circle : i t had first spread across th e Wes t an d the n acros s th e East , bringin g eventuall y th e achievement o f Byzantium , unti l th e "westward-movin g Renaissance " (Titian her e parallel s Phidias' "westward-movin g art") bring s th e en d to that Justinia n empire too : "al l thing s dyin g eac h other' s life , livin g each other' s death." 41 The "on e image " ca n b y no w b e viewe d a s a ver y ric h one : i t embodies al l tha t ha s bee n suggeste d i n th e motio n o f histor y fro m Pythagoras throug h Alexander , fro m Byzantiu m through th e Renais sance. That th e imag e crosse s does no t mea n merel y tha t i t traverses , but als o that it neutralizes, literally covers over, though doe s no t cance l ^Ibid., p . 269 .

*oilrid., p . 271.

^Ibid.

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out, th e "many-headed, " jus t a s the apexe s o f Yeats' s historica l gyre s cross whe n the y presumabl y mee t a s the y penetrat e eac h other . An d that th e imag e grow s i n th e tropi c shad e suggest s a t th e leas t Alexander's conques t o f Asi a Minor , th e Hellenizatio n o f tha t par t of th e world ; som e o f th e slo w an d ric h developmen t tha t Yeat s attributes t o post-Phidian Gree k cultur e surel y occurred i n Alexander' s age. There remains Hamlet . Th e Hamle t Yeats alludes t o in the poem is not the melancholy Dane , th e dreamer, but hi s antithesis: th e frenetic , agile, Renaissanc e ma n wit h a rapie r read y t o strike . I t i s no t th e contemplative o r eve n th e speculativ e sid e tha t seem s mos t i n Yeats's mind, bu t rathe r th e crue l Hamlet , th e impulsiv e Hamlet , th e activ e and passionat e man. H e i s "thin" becaus e h e feed s o n nothing—flies ; his energ y consume s hi m away ; it i s no t pessimis m o r scepticis m bu t the nervous anxiety of freedom which , i n the Renaissanc e spirit, makes Hamlet self-consciou s o f th e awfu l implication s o f bein g free . Thi s burden o f freedo m h e share s wit h Faustus . I n th e pros e passag e fro m the Autobiography Hamle t resembles on e o f thos e me n i n Italia n portraits who m Yeats , takin g th e notio n fro m a Germa n critic , ha s described a s awaitin g deat h fro m behind—th e defensiv e ma n whos e freedom permit s hi m n o res t fro m motion . Bu t th e fea r an d th e freedom bot h mar k hi m ou t apar t fro m th e design ; Willia m Morris , it i s worth noting , i s painted agains t a backdro p o f desig n (thoug h i t is tru e h e to o emerges ou t o f it) . "When Pears e summone d Cuchulai n t o hi s side" : livin g ma n summoned th e dead . Throughout th e poem , we have been give n what Nietzsche calle d a kind o f "monumental history" ; an d th e summoning of Cuchulai n b y Pearse i s like th e on e image , the "personality, " which —against grea t odds—forge s a pat h alon g which i t leave s its influenc e and a t th e en d o f which stand s a new imag e fo r a ne w civilization . As Nietzsche pu t it : "On e gian t call s to th e othe r acros s the wast e spac e of time . . . ," 42 Th e commemorativ e statu e no w i n th e Dubli n Pos t Office wa s intended (a t leas t i n th e poem ) t o serve th e sam e purpos e 42 Nietzsche, The Use and Abuse of History tr . Adria n Collin s (Librar y o f Libera l Arts, no . 11 ; Ne w Yor k and Indianapolis , 1949 , 1957) , p . 59 . Nietzsch e ha s severa l comments t o mak e in thi s essa y whic h ar e relevan t t o "Th e Statues. " O f th e moder n deification o f knowledg e h e says : "Knowledge , take n i n exces s withou t hunger , eve n contrary t o desire , ha s n o mor e effec t o f transformin g th e externa l life , an d remain s hidden in a chaoti c inne r worl d tha t the moder n man has a curiou s prid e in callin g his 'rea l personality' " (p . 23) ; "Th e cultur e o f a peopl e . . . ca n be , I think , described wit h justic e a s th e 'unit y o f artisti c styl e i n ever y outwar d expressio n o f the people' s life ' " (p. 25) ; "You can explain the past only by what is most powerful in the present" (p . 40) .

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as th e statue s in th e firs t stanza : t o becom e a n idea l tha t ca n exercis e a creativ e function b y makin g images of itsel f i n it s beholders. An d s o the Irish , wrecke d b y formlessness , are envisione d a s havin g t o clim b to th e "prope r dark"—th e dark o f the moo n tha t begin s a cycle, s o that they to o ma y gro w roun d an d slow , developin g meanwhile , lik e Phidian culture , a ric h heritage . I n tha t sens e to o they mus t "climb " up t o th e statue s t o kis s them , t o give lif e t o th e image s tha t i n tur n will give life t o them . "The Statues " celebrate s th e single , conscious , countabl e an d measurable imag e of ar t a s it-climb s out o f th e vas t design of history — the tid e o f th e engulfin g flood—which it conquers . I t als o celebrate s the artis t and hi s work as the vita l life-bloo d i n th e histor y of a culture. In 193 0 Yeats wrote: " . . . I dislike d th e isolatio n o f th e wor k o f art. I wishe d throug h th e drama , throug h a comminglin g o f vers e an d dance, throug h singin g tha t wa s als o speech , throug h wha t I calle d the applie d art s of literature , t o plung e i t [th e work o f art ] back int o social life." 43 Th e re-integratio n o f ar t an d socia l lif e i s th e majo r theme o f "Th e Statues, " an d i n thi s poe m Yeat s claim s fo r ar t th e highest missio n an d th e nobles t purpos e sinc e Shelley' s Defence. Against th e isolated , professiona l artis t o f moder n times , amputate d from hi s culture, Yeat s sets once agai n th e possibilit y of wha t he onc e called th e grea t "Artificer " meeting hi s destin y i n th e "moment " o f his age. Yeats knew—as other s stil l do not—tha t fo r societ y to tak e th e artist seriously , the artis t mus t tak e seriousl y the societ y on whic h h e makes hi s demands . Th e tes t o f a grea t cultur e lie s i n it s willingnes s to struggl e beyon d th e instinc t of self-surviva l towar d self-realization ; and t o realiz e itself, a cultur e mus t hav e a n Imag e wort h preserving . The poe m ma y have relevance today far beyond what eve n Yeat s could have guessed : th e though t o f anothe r Salami s n o longe r seem s s o remote. IV

I bega n thi s stud y b y claimin g fo r Yeat s a n epi c imaginatio n i n conflict with , bu t als o sustained by , a lyric-dramati c talent. I n a lette r to Doroth y Wellesley , i n 1936 , Yeats writes : "th e writer o f ballad s must resembl e Homer , no t Vergil . His metaphor s must b e such things as come to mind in th e mids t of speech. . . ," 44 Homer' s epi c capaciousness is here no t considere d incompatibl e wit h either son g or drama: o n this poin t Yeat s ha d bee n consisten t al l hi s life . Writin g o f Bridges ' 4S

Diary, p . 13 . -"Letters, pp . 854-855.

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The Return of Ulysses i n 1896 , h e ha d praise d i t becaus e "i t mould s into dramatic shape . . . those closing books of The Odyssey whic h ar e perhaps th e mos t perfec t poetr y o f th e world , an d compel s tha t grea t tide o f son g t o flo w throug h delicat e dramati c verse . . . ," 45 Th e commingling (t o us e one o f Yeats's favourite words) o f epic, lyric , an d drama produce d tha t "ancien t simplicit y an d amplitud e o f imagina tion" (earl y phrases ) whic h governe d Yeats' s aestheti c throughout : the unio n of the Kabbalisti c water an d fire learned i n hi s youth—"The water i s sensation, peace , night , silence , indolence ; th e fir e i s passion, tension, day , music , energy." 46 Alway s Yeat s would wor k fo r a unio n of intensiv e an d extensiv e wrough t t o fina l perfectio n i n th e "singl e image." Yeats insiste d tha t " a singl e image , tha t o f Christ , Krishna , o r Buddha [cannot ] represen t Go d t o th e exclusio n o f othe r images." 47 That is, neither in art nor in history is the singl e image ever final : ther e are man y suc h images , an d thei r importanc e lie s les s i n wha t the y ar e than i n thei r singleness . When, at the en d o f the fifth book of The Odyssey, Odysseu s make s a desperate , fina l attemp t t o emerg e fro m th e tumul t o f th e se a b y gripping, wit h bot h hands , th e roug h edg e o f a rock , a s th e angr y waves spill over his exhausted body , th e singl e image—perhap s fo r th e first tim e i n Europea n literature—thwart s th e design : th e desig n o f the god s an d o f men . Odysseus ' strengt h an d hi s cunning , th e Pro metheus i n him , ar e a s necessar y t o hi s succes s a s ar e hi s fea r o f th e gods an d hi s rationa l mistrus t of th e divin e order . The fearfu l scepti c and th e believin g bu t prou d man : thi s i s th e Odysseu s wh o set s i n motion hi s ow n shapin g power s agains t thos e tha t shap e him . An d i n the en d h e survive s and triumph s precisel y because h e chos e t o fight the desig n whil e never fo r a moment losin g sight o f it s real an d poten t existence, neve r underestimatin g it s strength , a s di d hi s crews . H e accepts th e game ; he stick s to the rules . The Odyssey i s als o a stor y o f leadershi p an d a n objec t lesso n o n the unreliabilit y of th e group ; i t value s th e individua l mor e tha n th e whole, becaus e th e whole , signifie d b y Odysseus ' crews , repeatedl y shows itsel f untrustworthy . In thi s sens e th e epi c stand s agains t th e sentimentalizing o f man's interdependen t helplessness, whic h s o often serves a s th e insidiou s rationalizatio n for th e abridgemen t o f persona l 45

"The Return o f Ulysses, " Essays, p. 246 . W. B . Yeats , The Celtic Twilight, p . 6 . Letters on Poetry from W. B. Yeats to Dorothy Wellesley, p . 95 . 47 "An India n Monk, " Essay s and Introductions, p . 433 . 46

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liberty i n th e nam e o f th e Whole . I n The Odyssey ma n survive s singly—he is , t o us e Yeats' s words , "self-sufficing"—whil e th e crew s go down e n masse . This i s not t o sa y that a ma n i s an island , fo r th e self need s th e worl d fo r it s ow n fulfilment : "Th e worl d i s necessar y to th e Self , must receiv e 'th e exces s of it s delights'. . . ," 48 Bu t a goo d leader i s only goo d i f h e ca n lea d whe n ther e i s no on e lef t t o leadwhen h e ca n lea d himself . Odysseu s i s suc h a man. He i s also th e firs t Europea n hero , an d h e i s the mos t bourgeoi s of them, settin g fo r hi s idea l no t a romanti c goa l o f th e unknowabl e (Dante alread y romanticize s him t o poin t u p th e Christia n objectio n to th e ques t o f limitles s adventure ) bu t th e retur n t o th e tw o value s which Yeats , too , thinking lik e a n epi c poet , recognize d a s primar y and essential : soi l and family . "I understan d by 'soil,' " Yeat s wrote , "all th e matte r i n whic h th e sou l works , th e wall s of ou r houses , th e serving u p o f ou r meal s . . . an d b y 'family ' al l institutions , classes , orders, nations , tha t aris e ou t o f the famil y an d ar e held together , no t by a logica l process , but by historica l association . . . ." 49 It is onl y through soi l an d famil y tha t tradition s ar e preserved , an d a ma n ca n surrender t o thes e tw o Absolute s for , belonging t o them , h e merge s with wha t h e owns . With Sophocle s an d Aeschylus , bot h "Phidia n men, " the desig n i s stronger tha n i n Home r ("measurement " an d "calculation " rule) , an d in thi s sens e Yeats' s concep t o f Unit y o f Bein g i s post-Phidian . Firs t it assume s a disunit y of bein g an d secon d i t strive s fo r a n orde r tha t would, i f not solve , at least explain th e complexit y o f th e universe . By Unity o f Bein g Yeats suggests a confluenc e tha t woul d agai n becom e a singl e imag e i n th e vas t design : unit y woul d reduc e th e desig n t o order an d pattern , bu t i t would conque r th e desig n itself , dominat e it , so that i n a way ther e woul d b e n o desig n a t all. Perhaps Yeat s seem s caught i n a n ambiguou s position : whil e h e pushe d fo r Unit y th e process o f attainin g i t seeme d t o b e a blendin g o f al l disparat e elements, whic h whe n accomplishe d mad e fo r anothe r singleness , no t the su m o f al l part s bu t a n entit y itsel f dominant : th e singl e imag e disappeared int o th e vas t desig n t o re-emerg e th e singl e image . Th e anonymous artificer s o f Byzantiu m succeede d i n creatin g a singl e culture imag e s o stron g i t mad e mor e distinctiv e an d stronge r th e original singl e individuation s tha t wen t t o th e creatio n o f th e design : The painter , th e mosai c worker , th e worke r i n gol d an d silver , th e 48 "The Manduky a Upanishad, " ibid., p. 483. &lf 1 were Four-and-Twenty, p . 13 .

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illuminator o f sacre d books , wer e almos t impersonal , almos t perhap s without th e consciousnes s o f individua l design , absorbed i n thei r subject matter an d -that th e visio n o f a whol e people. They coul d cop y ou t o f ol d Gospel book s thos e picture s tha t seeme d a s sacre d a s th e text , an d ye t weave al l int o a vas t design , th e wor k o f man y tha t seeme d th e wor k o f one, tha t mad e building , picture , pattern , metal-wor k o f rai l an d lamp , seem bu t a single image. . . .50 The wor d "design " ha s bee n use d her e wit h deliberat e looseness , partly t o suggest , b y analogy , th e centra l relationshi p betwee n th e aesthetic desig n an d th e metaphysica l design—ma n an d th e universe — that appear s throughou t Yeats' s work . Fo r Yeat s worrie d abou t th e metaphysical desig n an d h e neve r foun d an y singl e relationshi p tha t exactly suite d hi s needs . Th e Christia n desig n place d ma n betwee n God an d th e beasts ; th e Greeks , b y an d large , exclude d ma n fro m th e design excep t i n s o fa r a s h e wa s a victi m o f it s operation : thoug h excluded b y the gods , the Greek could no t affor d t o live without them . Only th e Eas t ha s provide d fo r a unio n wit h th e divin e o f which th e divine i s no t jealous , probabl y becaus e th e Easter n asceti c i s willin g to dissolv e hi s persona , i s no t jealou s o f it , a dissolutio n neithe r Odysseus no r Faustu s coul d eve n contemplate . Yeat s borrowed freel y from al l views , includin g the Gree k Necessit y and th e Christia n longing fo r a unit y tha t woul d clos e th e gapin g chao s tha t followe d th e Fall. But he always sought to balance between th e self-consciousnes s of freedom an d th e consciousnes s o f surrender: " I a m always , in al l I do , driven t o a momen t whic h i s th e realisatio n o f mysel f a s uniqu e an d free, o r to a moment which i s the surrende r t o God o f all that I am. . . . Could thos e tw o impulses , on e a s muc h a par t o f trut h a s th e other , be reconciled , o r i f on e o r th e othe r coul d prevail , al l lif e woul d cease."51 Ma n ca n neithe r liv e outsid e th e desig n no r los e himsel f i n it; but t o survive he must retai n both impulses . Although h e ca n neve r relinquish th e imag e o f Self , th e onl y wa y o f ensurin g agains t tha t Self ultimatel y alienating itself fro m th e worl d i s to mak e i t serv e th e design tha t i s it s neares t kin . Tha t wa s th e accomplishmen t o f th e Byzantine craftsme n an d artist s when , collectively , the y expresse d a single imag e of their cultur e withou t violatin g their individua l talents. The desig n i s the shap e give n i t b y it s artificers . To creat e a vas t desig n tha t woul d resolv e itsel f int o th e singl e image, Yeat s ha d constantl y t o resis t th e temptation s towar d diversit y —toward wha t h e himsel f calle d "hodo s chameliontos. " Alway s th e soA Vision, pp. 279-280 . "Diary, p . 19 .

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grasp o f th e concret e cam e t o hi s rescue ; th e consciousnes s o f th e Comedie Humaine, his Antaean imagination , would neve r permit hi m to sin k int o dreade d abstraction . "Th e mystica l lif e i s th e centr e o f all that I do and all that I thin k and all that I write," he wrote to John O'Leary i n 1892 . Forty-si x year s later , als o i n a letter , h e wrot e differently: "A m I a mystic?—no , I a m a practica l man . I .. . hav e made th e usua l measurements , plumme t line , spirit-leve l an d hav e taken th e temperatur e b y pur e mathematic." 52 Th e secon d lette r i s ironic as the first is naive, but bot h reflec t accuratel y the stat e of min d at th e tim e the y wer e written . Yeats learned ho w t o make th e "usua l measurements, plumme t line"—an d surel y w e ar e a t onc e reminde d of th e "plummet-measure d face " i n "Th e Statues, " whos e lineament s Yeats wished t o trac e i n hi s ow n versio n of re-creatin g th e conscienc e of hi s race. The mysticis m of 189 2 had , by 1938 , become "measured" : and th e calculation s yielded somethin g o f a synthesis. The trinit y upo n whic h Yeat s said h e woul d foun d a literatur e is pre-eminently European , an d reflect s a characteristicall y Yeatsian reconciliation o f Christia n secularis m (hi s father' s influenc e wa s permanent) an d orthodo x theology : I woul d foun d literatur e o n th e thre e thing s whic h Kan t though t w e must postulat e t o mak e lif e livable—Freedom , God , Immortality . Th e fading o f thes e thre e befor e 'Bacon , Newton , Locke ' ha s mad e literatur e decadent. Becaus e Freedo m i s gon e w e hav e Stendhal' s 'mirro r dawdlin g down a lane' ; becaus e Go d ha s gon e w e hav e realism , th e accidental , because Immortalit y i s gon e w e ca n n o longe r writ e thos e tragedie s . . . those tha t ar e a jo y t o th e ma n wh o dies. 53

Freedom—that gif t o f the Renaissanc e which Yeat s equally prized an d feared—is th e freedo m to be an d no t t o be, th e man-mad e metaphysi c which give s the sou l sanction to be "self-delighting " and "self-affright ing"; bu t Go d i s the chec k o n tha t freedom , a n equivalen t o f th e ol d Necessity. Go d i s faith : w e must , a s Kan t said , behav e a s i f th e Absolute existed , thoug h it s existenc e b e foreve r beyon d an y huma n epistemology. A s way s o f lif e an d a s technique s o f art , Realis m an d Materialism were fo r Yeats empty of suc h fait h precisel y because the y expressly refused t o acknowledge the Go d beyond th e freedo m of man. For a divin e Necessit y the y substitute d a social or economi c one , an d Yeats recognized tha t such determinism, despit e the sometime s "happy ending," deprived ma n o f all freedom . Th e realist' s conceptio n o f th e ^Letters, pp . 211 , 921 . B3 Dtary, pp . 49-50.

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vast desig n neve r pai d homag e t o the singl e image: hi s canva s may b e large bu t hi s humanit y i s defeate d b y detai l an d become s th e ver y abstraction whic h th e illusio n o f verisimilitud e wa s meant t o prevent . As I state d a t th e outse t o f thi s study , th e East-Wes t dualis m remained operativ e i n Yeats' s thinking throughou t hi s life . Bu t ther e can b e n o doub t that , i n th e fina l accounting , h e cas t hi s lo t wit h the West , wit h Europe . Europeans , h e felt , coul d no t live Easter n lives merel y b y changin g thei r clothes , fo r a heritag e reside s i n th e blood, i n th e bone , i n th e spiri t o f a culture. An d th e Iris h were , afte r all, Europeans : By implicatio n th e philosoph y o f Iris h faer y lor e declare s that al l power is fro m th e body , al l intelligenc e fro m th e spirit . Wester n civilisation , religion an d magi c insis t o n powe r an d therefor e o n body , an d henc e these three doctrines—efficient rule—th e Incarnation—thaumaturgy . Easter n thoughts answe r t o thes e wit h indifferenc e t o rule , scor n o f th e flesh , contemplation o f the formless . Wester n minds who follo w th e Easter n wa y become wea k an d vapoury . . . .^ 4 Such weaknes s was a danger implici t i n "Iris h faer y lore" ; and al l hi s life Yeat s wa s attracte d b y vapour s an d shadows : b y th e Celti c twilight, b y Frenc h symbolisme, b y th e poetr y o f Keat s an d Shelley , by th e frailt y o f aestheticism , and , indeed , b y th e Eas t itself , whos e wisdom an d quietud e wer e t o teac h hi m much . Ye t eventuall y h e would resis t al l th e vapours , asser t hi s powe r an d hi s intelligenc e through hi s bod y an d hi s spirit , an d emerg e a s th e "on e image " i n triumph ove r th e "formless. " W e ma y regar d hi s life , i n Plotinia n terms, a s a wor k o f beauty , fo r i t stand s a s a n exampl e agains t th e ugly, tha t whic h ha s n o shap e an d henc e n o purpos e either . The aestheti c alway s has it s philosophic analogues . Yeats's attempts to combine , i n hi s conceptio n o f art , th e virtue s o f anonymit y an d personal utteranc e reflec t his belief i n man' s struggl e t o participate i n the large r schem e an d ye t t o remain a uniqu e an d feelin g individual, to who m sufferin g an d illuminatio n wil l com e a s the y hav e com e t o no on e else : Tragedy wrought t o its uttermost. Though Hamle t ramble s an d Lea r rages, And al l the drop-scene s drop at once Upon a hundred thousand stages, It canno t grow by an inc h or an ounce. Wordsworth's ascent o f Snowdon i n Boo k Fourteen o f The Prelude *Autobiography, pp . 292-293 .

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has it s parallels to Yeats's climb of his towe r stair , or t o the fligh t ont o the golde n bough s o f th e Byzantin e poems , o r t o th e Chinamen' s ascent o f thei r mountai n i n "Lapi s Lazuli. " Fo r th e highes t imagina tion, sai d Wordsworth , "th e endurin g an d th e transien t bot h / Serv e to exalt" ; Yeat s pu t i t anothe r way : ma n i s "self-sufficin g an d eternal. . . ." 5B Go d an d ma n (an d hi s freedom ) ar e bot h Absolute s of th e sam e antinomy , eac h create d an d reflecte d b y th e imagination . And tha t comprehensiv e imagination , expandin g towar d Go d an d contracting towar d Self, shifting alway s from th e impuls e t o surrende r to th e impuls e t o assert , hovers—lik e Yeats' s golde n bird—ove r th e world, "Sprea d ove r time , past , present , an d t o come. " In becomin g th e singl e image , th e vas t desig n surrender s non e of its capaciousness: it merely asserts, through the shap e of its image, the identity which accrue s to it when th e part s have bee n sacrifice d t o th e whole, whe n th e man y merg e int o th e one . Tha t singl e imag e i n Yeats's aestheti c i s a n heroi c image , on e o f th e "heraldic " image s which i t wa s hi s ai m t o restor e t o literature . I t embodie s th e annun ciating freedo m s o characteristic o f hi s temperament— a freedo m fro m the desig n itself , Odysseu s ou t o f th e sea . I n darin g t o flaun t suc h a n image befor e u s i n time s tha t ha d nearl y forgotte n th e powe r o f images, Yeat s prove d himsel f maste r ove r tha t hal f o f anonymit y which, i f it were t o command, would trul y obliterate us . The aestheti c of contractio n an d expansio n i s ultimatel y a n emble m o f life , th e breathing i n an d th e breathin g ou t o f existence . T o maintai n tha t rhythm Yeat s committe d himsel f t o th e perpetuit y o f contradictio n which beset s th e huma n condition . An d i n undertakin g tha t struggl e he engage d i n th e conflic t tha t ha s define d th e histor y o f Europe : individual agains t Kronos . Lik e th e Gree k tragedians , lik e Shake speare, lik e Goethe , Yeat s to o coul d cr y "Spud e dich , Kronos! " wit h a lov e an d a reverenc e tha t neutralize d fina l bitterness . H e wa s th e last t o have bee n able t o do s o in ou r time ; i n tha t sense , h e remain s the las t o f th e grea t Europea n poets . ^Letters, p . 805 .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. WORK S O F YEAT S ALLT, PETE R an d ALSPACH , RUSSEL L K. , eds . The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W. B. Yeats. Ne w York : Th e Macmilla n Company , 1957. BRIDGE, URSULA , ed . W. B. Yeats and T. Sturge Moore: Their Correspondence. London : Routledg e & Kega n Pau l Ltd. , 1953 . EGLINTON, JOHN , W . B . YEATS , A . E. , an d W . LARMINIE . Literary Ideals in Ireland. London : T . Fishe r Unwin , 1899 . ELLIS, JOH N EDWI N an d WILLIA M BUTLE R YEATS . The Works of William Blake, Poetic, Symbolic, and Critical. London : Bernar d Quaritch , 1893. HORTON, W . T . A Book of Images. Introductio n by W. B . Yeats. London : Unicorn Press , 1898 . YEATS, J . B . Letters to his Son W. B. Yeats and Others, 1869-1922, ed . Joseph Hone . London : Fabe r an d F a her, 1944 . YEATS, WILLIA M BUTLER . The Autobiography of William Butler Yeats. New York : Th e Macmilla n Company , 1953 . The Celtic Twilight. London : Lawrenc e and Bullen , 1893 . Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats. London : Macmilla n and Company, Ltd., 1933 , 1952 . Collected Works. Stratford-on-Avon : Th e Shakespear e Hea d Press , 1908. Essays. London : Macmilla n Company , 1924 . Essays and Introductions. London : Macmilla n an d Company , Ltd. , 1961. Four Plays for Dancers. London : Macmilla n an d Company , Ltd. , 1921. If I Were Four-and-Twenty. Dublin : Th e Cual a Press , 1940 . The Letters of W. B. Yeats, ed . Alla n Wade. London : Ruper t Hart-Davis, 1954 . Letters on Poetry from W. B. Yeats to Dorothy Wellesley. London : Oxford Universit y Press , 1940 . Letters to the Ne w Ishmd, ed . Horac e Reynolds . Cambridge , Mass. : Harvard Universit y Press , 1934 .

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On the Boiler. Dublin : Th e Cual a Press , 1939 . , ed . The Oxford Book of Modern Verse, 1892-1935. Oxford : A t the Clarendo n Press , 1936 . Pages from a Diary Written in Nineteen Hundred and Thirty. Dublin: Th e Cual a Press , 1944 . Plays and Controversies. London : Macmilla n Company , 1923 . Plays for an Irish Theatre. London : Stratford-on-Avon : A . H . Bullen, 1911 . Plays in Prose and Verse. London : Macmilla n Company , 1924 . The Secret Rose, with illustration s by J. B. Yeats. London: Lawrenc e and Bullen , Ltd. , 1897 . "The Theate r o f Beauty. " Harper' s Weekly, L V (Novembe r 11 , 1911), 11 . A Vision. London : T . Werne r Laurie , Ltd. , 192 5 (privat e publica tion). A Vision. Revise d edition ; Ne w York : Macmilla n an d Company , 1956. Wheels and Butterflies. London : Macmilla n Company , 1934 .

B. WORK S O N YEAT S The followin g item s represen t a selectiv e lis t o f book s an d essay s abou t Yeats whic h hav e treate d m y subject . Th e essay s b y Adam s an d Faulkne r are th e onl y work s whic h hav e concerne d themselve s exclusivel y wit h Yeats's theor y o f art ; Faulkner' s essa y appeare d afte r thi s boo k wa s com pleted an d accepte d fo r publication . (Th e studie s b y Melchior i an d Rei d also appeare d afte r m y wor k wa s completed ; wher e possibl e I hav e trie d to tak e accoun t o f them. ) Othe r specifi c debt s ar e cite d i n th e Notes . ADAMS, HAZARD . Blake and Yeats: The Contrary Vision (Cornel l Uni versity Press , 1955) . "Yeatsian Ar t an d Mathemati c Form, " Centennial Review, I V (Winter, 1960) , 70-88 . ELLIS-FERMOR, UNA . The Irish Dramatic Movement (London , 1939 , 1954). ELLMANN, RICHARD . W. B. Yeats: The Man and the Masks (Ne w York , 1948). The Identity of Yeats (Ne w York , 1954) . FAULKNER, PETER . "Yeat s a s a Critic, " Criticism, I V (1962) , 328-339 . GORDON, D . J. , et al. W. B . Yeats, Images of a Poet (Manchester , 1961) . FRYE, NORTHROP . "Yeat s and th e Languag e o f Symbolism, " UTO_ , XVI I (1947), 1-17 . HALL, J . an d STEINMANN , M. , eds . The Permanence of Yeats (Ne w York, 1950) . Essay s b y variou s hands .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

213

HAUSERMANN, H . W . "W . B. Yeats's Criticism of Ezra Pound," originally published i n English Studies (August , 1948) , 97-109 . "W. B . Yeats' s Ide a o f Shelley, " The Mint, ed . Geoffre y Grigso n (London, 1946) , pp . 179-194 . HENN, T . R . The Harvest of Tragedy (London , 1956) . The Lonely Tower: Studies in the Poetry of W. B. Yeats (London , 1950). HOUGH, GRAHAM . The Last Romantics (London , 1949) . KERMODE, FRANK . Romantic Image (London , 1957) . MELCHIORI, GIORGIO . The Whole Mystery of Art: Pattern into Poetry in the Work of W. B. Yeats (London , 1960) . LOMBARDO, AGOSTTNO . La poesia inglese, dall'estetismo al simbolismo (Rome, 1950) , pp . 249-288 . PARKINSON, THOMAS . "Intimat e an d Impersonal : A n Aspec t o f Moder n Poetics," journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, XV I (1958) , 373-383. W. B. Yeats, Self-Critic (Universit y o f Californi a Press , 1951) . "Yeats an d Pound : Th e Illusio n of Influence, " Comparative Literature, V I (1954) , 256-264 . REID, B . L . William Butler Yeats: The Lyric of Tragedy (Universit y of Oklahom a Press, 1961) . SPITZER, LEO . "O n Yeats ' Poe m 'Led a an d th e Swan,' " Modern Philology, L I (1954) , 271-276 . STAUFFER, DONAL D A . The Golden Nightingale (Ne w York , 1949) . UNTERECKER, JOHN . A Reader's Guide to William Butler Yeats (Ne w York, 1959) . WILSON, F . A . C . W. B. Yeats and Tradition (London , 1958) . Yeats's Iconography (London , 1960) .

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Grateful acknowledgmen t i s du e t o th e followin g fo r permissio n t o quot e from copyrighte d material : To Mrs . W . B . Yeats, A . P . Wat t & Son, Messrs . Macmilla n & Company, London, Th e Macmilla n Compan y o f Canada , an d th e Macmilla n Company o f Ne w Yor k fo r permissio n t o quot e fro m th e work s of W. B . Yeat s (thes e ar e liste d i n th e Bibliography) . To Routledg e & Kegan Pau l Ltd . fo r permissio n t o quot e fro m Schiller' s On the Aesthetic Education of Man, tr . Reginal d Snel l (London , 1954). To Holt , Rinehar t an d Winsto n Inc . fo r permissio n t o quot e fro m The Divine Comedy, Rinehar t Editions , tr . H . R . Hus e (Ne w York , 1959). To Harvar d Universit y Pres s fo r permissio n t o quot e fro m Letters to the New Island, ed . Horac e Reynold s (Cambridge , Mass. , 1934) . To Oxfor d Universit y Press fo r permission t o quote fro m th e Introduction to The Oxford Book of Modern Verse, chose n b y W . B . Yeat s (Ox ford: a t th e Clarendo n Press , 1936) . To Ruper t Hart-Davi s Limite d fo r permissio n t o quot e fro m The Letters of W. B. Yeats, ed . Alla n Wad e (London , 1954) . To Fabe r & Faber an d Christ y & Moore, Ltd . fo r permission t o quote fro m J. B . Yeats: Letters to his Son and Others, ed . Josep h Hon e (London , 1944). I shoul d als o lik e t o than k th e followin g fo r permissio n t o reproduc e photographs o f painting s i n thei r possession : The Nationa l Galler y o f Ireland , Th e Free r Galle y o f Art , Smithso Dublin nia n Institution , Washington , The Nationa l Gallery , Londo n D.C . The Nationa l Portrai t Gallery , Archive s Photographiques , Pari s London (Louvre ) The Trustee s of the Tat e Gallery , London I a m in particular debt to the Directo r of the Nationa l Galler y of Ireland, Mr. Thoma s McGreevy , fo r his informativ e correspondence regardin g th e

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 21

5

Strozzi portrait ; and t o Mr . Ceci l Gould , Deput y Keepe r o f th e Nationa l Gallery, London , an d Mr . Wilbu r D . Peat , Directo r o f The Joh n Herro n Art Institute , Indianapolis , Indiana , fo r helpin g t o identif y th e tw o "Ariosto" portraits . Parts o f thi s boo k wer e originall y published, i n somewha t differen t form , in Criticism an d th e University of Toronto Quarterly. Acknowledgmen t is due t o th e editor s of both journals , and t o th e Wayn e Stat e University Press an d th e Universit y of Toront o Press , fo r permissio n to reprint.

INDEX

A. E . (Georg e W . Russell) , 39 , 40, 42 43n, 83 , 107n , 167 ; Yeat s on , 62 63 Abbey Theatre , xxiv , 37 , 44 , 45 , 53 , 65, 74 , 76 , 83 , 91 , 92 , 125 , 139 , 154-155, 17 3 Abstraction, 20-22 , 24-26 , 74 ; an d A . E., 83 ; an d Carlyle , 88 ; an d Cub ism, 88 ; an d Reynolds , 159 ; i n sculpture, 72 ; i n stag e set , 79 ; Yeats's fears of , 59 , 64 , 86 , 88 , 103 , 124, 208 . See also Symbolism ; Symbolisme Adams, Hazard , xx , 190 n Aeschylus, 202 , 20 6 Aestheticism, 41 , 159 , 181-184 ; See also Arnold, Matthew ; Hallam , Arthu r H.; Pater , Walter ; Wilde , Oscar ; Symons, Arthu r Alexander, 196 , 201 , 20 2 Allegory, 15 , 51, 63-65, 118 , 23 4 Allingham, William , 4 2 Annihilation, 177 , 178-18 0 Anonymity, 210 ; Byzantine , xxv — xxvi, 83, 156 , 206 ; i n "Th e Statues, " 180; Yeats' s attitud e toward , 8 , 22 , 58-59, 63 , 65 , 156 , 21 0 Apollonian, 92 , 202 ; Nietzsch e on , 95 , 119 Ariosto, 1 4 "Ariosto," portrait s of , see Titia n an d Palma Arnold, Matthew , xiv , xxiii , xxvii , 11 , 13, 31 , 37 , 104 , 182 , 197n ; o n joy , 169-170n; Mero-pe, prefac e to, 170n; Poems, Prefac e t o firs t editio n o f (1853), 169-170n ; On the Study of Celtic Literature, 169-170n , 197n. Arthos, John , 200 n BACON, SI H FBANCIS , xiv , 16 , 20 8 Balzac, Honor e de , xxi , 17 , 18 , 26 , 32 ,

40, 42-43n , 142 , 152 , 156 ; Comedie Humaine, 4 , 17 , 26 , 31— 32, 106 , 169 , 20 8 Baudelaire, Charle s Pierre , xvi , 81 , 84 , 110, 112 ; "L e Cygne, " 11 2 Beardsley, Aubre y Vincent , 96 , 99 , 151 , 168 Becker, William , 162 n Becoming (flux , gesture , multitude) , xxiv, xxvi , 22 , 68-69 , 77 , 82-83 , 89-92, 94-95 , 140 , 184 ; Bergso n on, 131-132 ; in "Byzantium, " 146 149; Pate r o n Plat o an d Heraclitus , 184-187; Beethoven, Ludwi g van, 16 7 Being (intensity , silence , stasis , stillness) , xix, xxi-xxii , xxjv , xxvi , 41 , 68-69 , 74, 77 , 82-83 , 89-92 , 94-95 , 115 , 117, 130 , 136 ; i n "Byzantium, " 146-149; an d Maeterlinck , 75-76 ; and No h drama , 140 ; an d painting , 86; Pate r an d Plat o on , 184-186 ; Plotinus on , 199-20 0 Bergson, Henri , xxvii , xxviii , 130 , 131 — 132, 185 ; Creative Evolution, 131 132; Matter and Memory, 132-133 n Berkeley, George , xxvii , 95 , 131 , 18 7 Bernhardt, Sarah , 116-11 7 Binyon, Laurence , 10 3 Blake, William , xxi , xxvii , 4 , 32-33 , 52 , 61, 102 , 106 , 118 , 124 , 128-129 , 146-147, 159 , 179 ; compare d wit h Whistler, 96-10 6 passim; contraries in, 5 ; a s illustrator , 96-100 ; us e o f symbols, 7-8 , 23 , 116n , 118 , 121 , 129, 136 ; Yeats' s ambivalenc e to ward, 96—10 6 passim ; Young' s Night Thoughts illustrated , 9 7 Boccaccio, 1 5 Boehme, Jacob , xxvi i Botticelli, 16 , 23 , 74 , 100 , 136 , 15 7 Bowra, Si r C . M. , 116 n Brancusi, Constantin , xiv-xv , 2 1

INDEX Bridges, Robert , 204-20 5 Browning, Robert , 14 , 104 , 152 ; The Ring and the Book, 10 3 Buddha, 140 , 190 , 192-19 4 passim, 196 197, 20 5 Bunyan, John , 1 4 Burne-Jones, Si r Edward , 101-102 , 192 , 193; "Kin g Cophetu a an d th e Beg gar Maid, " 101-10 2 Burns, Robert , 49 , 9 1 Byron, Georg e Gordo n (Lord) , 29 ; Manfred, 17 , 2 5 Byzantium, xxvi , 46 , 63 , 70-71 , 157 , 196, 202 , 206 . See also Painting ; Sculpture CALLIMACHUS, 18 7 Calvert, Edward , 9 9 Campbell, Mrs . Patrick , 11 7 Campbell, Thomas , 5 0 Carlyle, Thomas , 88 , 186-18 7 Cervantes, xxi , 4 , 15 , 32 , 151 , 175 ; Don Quixote, 32 , 153 , 19 1 Character-personality, 153-157 , 159 160, 162-163 , 194 . See also Drama ; Tragedy Chaucer, Geoffrey , xxi , 19 , 24-25 , 190 , 191; Troilus and Criseyde, 17 0 Chavannes, Puvi s de , 19 5 Christ, 38 , 156 , 20 5 Coleridge, Samue l Taylor , xvi , 11 , 13 , 78, 86, 104 , 105 , 154 ; Christabel, 23 ; Kubla Khan, 23 ; 142 . See also In finite-Finite Comedy, 151-152 , 155 , 157-159 , 161 , 168-170, 173-175 ; an d Yeats' s Player Queen, 162-16 3 Congreve, William , 15 8 Conrad, Joseph , 3 0 Contemplation, 41 , 52 , 60 , 67 , 153 . Se e also Reveri e Contraries: i n Blake' s aesthetic , 5 ; i n Yeats's aesthetic , xxii-xxiii , xxvi , 5 2 Corneille, Pierre , 15 4 Craig, Gordon , 7 9 Croce, Benedetto , xxvi i Cubism, 87-89 , 100 , 124 , 130 , 133n . See also Lewis , Wyndha m Cuchulain, 24 , 29 , 31 , 50 , 122 , 137 138, 161-162 , 167 , 195 , 198 , 203 DAILY CHRONICLE : Yeats' s lette r to , o n staging, 7 8 Dance, see Mas k an d Danc e

217 Dante, 14 , 16 , 19 , 46, 84 , 102 , 118 , 177 , 206; a s symbolist , 23 , 112 , 116n ; Yeats's admiratio n for , xxi , 32 , 40 ; Convito, 126 ; The Divine Comedy, 4, 17 , 66 , 125, 138 , 147-148 , 17 2 Darwin, Charles , 32 , 18 5 Degas, H . G . E. , 9 9 Demus, Otto , 71 n Descartes, Rene , 18 6 Dickens, Charles , 5 3 Dionysian, Dionysus , 51 , 92 , 153 , 156 , 167; Nietzsch e on , 95 , 11 9 Donne, John , 9 1 Dostoevski, Feodo r M. , 2 6 Dowson, Ernest , 5 2 Drama: change s i n style , 19 , 91 , 116 ; dramatic techniques , xxiv-xxv , 78 81 passim; national , 40 ; Noh theory , xxiv, 138-141 . See also Character personality; No h dram a Dryden, John , 5 0 Du Fresnoy , 16 0 Dunne, J . W. , xxvi i Duse, Eleonora , 136 , 14 9 EAST-WEST DUALISM , 16 , 23-24 , 175 , 181, 202 , 209 . See also Byzantium; Europe (European) ; Greece ; Paint ing; Phidia n art ; Sculptur e Eastman, Arthu r M. , 166 n Eglinton, Joh n (pseud , fo r W . K . Ma gee), 4 0 Egoism, 5— 9 passim, 25 , 32 . See also Renaissance Personality , 17 8 Eichendorff, Josep h von , 5 3 Eliot, T . S. , xiv , xixn , xxi , 15 , 17 , 27 , 104, 110 , 131 ; an d abstraction , 21 , 22, 26 ; a s European , 24 ; an d tradi tion, 46—47 ; "Traditio n an d th e In dividual Talent, " 37 ; "Th e Wast e Land," 148 n Ellis, Edwi n J. , 7 , 9 5 Ellis, Havelock , 166 n Ellis- Fermor, Una , 166 n Ellmann, Richard , 47n , 190 n Epic (vastness) , 12 , 52 , 103-104 ; Scho penhauer on , 12 ; i n "Sailin g t o Byzantium," 137 ; Yeats' s epi c im agination, xxiii , 3 , 4 , 9 , 93 , 97 , 204-205 Euripides, 15 3 Europe (European) , xviii , xxiii , xxxi , 31-33 passim, 40 , 46 , 139 , 175 , 177, 186-187 , 191 , 201 , 205-206 , 209, 210 . See also Aestheticism ;

218

INDEX Byzantium; East-Wes Greece

t dualism

;

FARR, FLORENCE , 14 6 Faust (Faustia n man) , 4 , 15 , 50 , 84 . See also Goethe ; Marlowe , Christo pher Fay, Frank , 91 , 16 1 Fenollosa, Ernest , 100-10 1 Fichte, Johan n Gottlieb , 1 2 Fielding, Henry , 12 5 Finite, see Infinite-Finit e Flaubert, Gustave , xxi , 20 , 2 6 Fletcher, Ian , 190 n Folklore, xxiii , 33 , 34 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 49, 52-53 , 67 . See als o Popula r Poetry Fortuny, Mariano , 8 0 Frank, Joseph , 7 0 Froissart, 19 3 Frye, Northrop , 7 , 116 n Fuller, Loie , 140-14 1 Futurism, 10 0 GESTURE, see Becomin g Giorgione, 15 7 Giotto, 10 0 Goethe, xiv , xxi , xxvi , 14 , 22 ; aesthetic , xvii, xxix , 31 , 49 , 74 , 142 ; a s European poet , 43n , 46 , 210 ; Dichtung und Wahrheit, xxi x Gonne, Maud , 59 , 90 , 133-13 4 Greece, xxiii , 15 , 68 , 71 , 73 , 139 , 156 ; reinterpretation of , xxiii , 9-12 , 180 ; tragic spiri t in , 170n . See also Cole ridge, Samuel Taylor ; Pater , Walter ; Phidias; Phidia n art ; Schiller , J . C . Friedrich; Sculptur e Gregory, Lad y Augusta , 27 , 78 , 128 , 138, 155 , 16 2 HAEUSERMANN, H . W. , xxix , 7 Hallam, Arthu r H. , 41, 101 Hardy, Thomas , 4 9 Heald, Edit h Shakleton , 19 6 Hegel, Geor g Wilhel m Friedrich , xxvii , 12, 17-18 , 19 , 23 , 60 , 154 , 18 5 Henn, T . R. , 166 n Heraclitus, xxvi , 141 , 178 , 184 , 186 , 187 Herder, Johan n Gottfrie d von , 40 , 8 1 History: cyclical , xxiii , 27-30 ; re-incar nation theory , 177-178 ; Yeat s on , xxx-xxxi, 16 . See also Nietzsche , Friedrich Wilhel m

Homer, xxi , 3 , 4 , 13 , 14 , 40 , 50 , 102 , 120, 190 , 204 , 206 ; Iliad, 5 ; Odyssey, 50 , 153 , 191 , 205-206 , 207 , 210 Hone, Joseph , 15 2 Horton, W . T. , 74 Houghton, Walte r E. , 166 n Hugo, Victor , 6 Hulme, T . E. , xi x n , 104 , 18 7 Hume, David , xxvi i Hunt, Willia m Holman , 10 0 Huxley, Aldous , 2 8 Huysmans, Jori s Karl , 5 7 IBSEN, Henrik , 48 , 60 , 78 , 118 , 122 ; Ghosts, 167 ; Peer Gynt, 4 0 Image, single , xxii , xxv , xxvi , 4 , 5 , 32 ; and culture-image , 46 , 104 , 129 , 135, 142-143 , 174 , 180 , 202-207 , 209, 210 ; in "Th e Sorro w of Love, " 144-146 Imagism, 106-107 ; Poun d on , 142-143 . See also Image , singl e Imitation, 86-8 8 Impressionism, 23 , 62 , 87-88 , 98 , 15 8 Infinite-Finite, 8 , 13 , 73 , 177 , 187 ; Coleridge on , 11 ; Yeat s on , 8 , 73 , 177, 18 7 Intensity, see Bein g JAMES, D . G. , l l n Jaspers, Karl , 26 n Job, 17 7 John, Augustus , 155 , 156-157 , 174 , 19 5 Johnson, Lionel , 25 , 52 , 153 n Johnson, Dr . Samuel , 78 , 12 9 Joy (ecstasy , gaiety) , 82 , 151 , 157 , 163 164, 166-17 1 passim, 173 , 174 , 192; Arnol d an d Schille r on , 169 170n. See also Traged y Joyce, James , 17 , 21, 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 44 ; Anna Livia Pluralielle, 17; A Portrait of the Artist as a Youn g Man, 89; Ulysses, 23 , 24 , 16 9 KAFKA, FRANZ , 5 2 Kant, Immanuel, xvii , 12 , 169n , 182 , 20 8 Keats, John , 52 , 88 , 91 , 99 , 101 , 118 , 121, 173 , 176 , 209 ; "Endymion, " 104; "Od e o n a Grecia n Urn, " 8 2 Kenner, Hugh , 5 n Kermode, Frank , xix-xx , 83n , 106-107 , 116n, 14 0 King, Richar d Ashe , 10 4 Kipling, Rudyard , 49 , 8 3

INDEX Koch, Vivienne , 190 n Krishna, 156 , 20 5 LANDOR, WALTE R SAVAGE , 172 ; Gebir, 103 Larminie, William , 40-4 1 Lawrence, D . H. , 24 , 152 , 166 n Leavis, F . R. , xiv-xvi Leonardo d a Vinci , 16 ; "Mon a Lisa, " 101 Lessing, Gotthol d Ephiaim , 70 , 91, 129 130 Lewis, Wyndham , xixn , 21 , 22 , 87 , 89 , 130, 180 ; Tarr, 132-133n , 135 ; Time and Western Man, 132-133 n Locke, John , 20 8 Lombardo, Agostino , 165 n Longfellow, Henr y Wadsworth , 5 0 Lovejoy, Arthu r O. , ll n MACAULAY, T . B. , 8 3 Mackenna, Stephen , 19 8 MacNeice, Louis , 143 n McTaggart, John , xxvi i Maeterlinck, Maurice , 66 , 73 , 74-76 , 82, 99 , 118 , 122 , 140 , 16 4 Magee, W. K. , see Eglinton, John Mallarme, Stephane , 62 , 66 , 85 , 11 4 Malory, Si r Thomas , 14 , 19 3 Manet, Edouard : "Ev a Gonzales, " 158 ; "Olympia," 15 8 Manfred, see Byron , Georg e Gordo n (Lord) Mannin, Ethel , 17 5 Mantegna, 15 7 Margaretha, Princes s o f Sweden , 14 9 Marlowe, Christopher : Doctor Faust-us, 177, 178-180 , 203 , 20 7 Marvell, Andrew , 12 8 Mask an d Dance : danc e i n "Byzan tium," 148 ; mas k o f tragedy , 156— 157; in No h drama, 140-142; Yeats's theory of , 59 . See also No h drama ; Tragedy Mausolus, 58 , 6 3 Measurement, see Numbe r (measure ment) Melchiori, Giorgio , 89n , 165 n Michelangelo, xxi , 4 , 10 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 23 , 71, 85 ; Moses , 6 4 Mill, Joh n Stuart , 6 7 Millais, Joh n Everett , 104 ; "Ophelia, " 101 Millet, Jea n Francois , 8 5 Milton, John , 16 , 27 , 31 , 37 , 50 , 51 ,

219

84; Paradise Lost, 5 , 8 2 Modern art , 19—2 7 passim; an d Renais sance, 30 . See also Renaissance ; Painting; Sculptur e Moore, G . E. , xxvii i Moore, George , 12 1 Moore, T . Sturge , xxvii — xxviii, 11 1 Moore, Virginia , xxvi i Morris, William , xxii , 91 , 172 , 187 , 190 , 191-194, 197 , 198 , 201 , 20 3 Morris, Mrs . William , 19 1 Murphy, Diana , 19 5 Mythology, xxiii , 33-3 6 passim, 40-4 4 •passim, 52-53 , 67 ; Pate r o n Greek , 93 NATIONALISM, 34-35 , 39-4 8 Naturalism, 17 , 18 7 Neo-Classical aesthetic , 159-160 . See also Reynolds , Si r Joshu a Neo-Platonism, 158-160 . See also Platon ism Nerval, Gerar d de , 112 , 11 4 Newton, Si r Isaac , 20 8 Nietzsche, Friedric h Wilhelm , xxviii , 20-21, 28 , 55 , 81 , 92 , 95 , 119 , 153, 166n ; The Use and Abuse of History, xv , 20 , 203 n Nobel Prize , xiii , 14 9 Noh drama , xxi , xxiv , 46 , 73 , 94-95 , 122, 125 , 135 , 138-142 , 146 , 187 ; Yeats's No h plays , 34 , 58 , 129 , 138-142. Number (measurement) : Plotinu s on , 198-200; Pythagora s on , 191ff ; Pater on , 184-190 ; Yeat s on , 195 196, 197 , 20 0 O'LEARY, JOHN , 20 8 Organicist theory , 10 5 Owen, Wilfred , xx , 11 , 16 7 PAINTING, 95 , 97-10 7 passim, 116 , 121 , 155-158; Eastern , xxi , 70 , 103 , 139 ; Impressionist, 158 ; Pre-Raphaelite , 90-102; Renaissance , 18 ; Yeats and , 80, 85-8 9 passim, 124 , 155-158 , 160, 190-19 3 Palma, 1 9 In Parkinson, Thomas , xix , 76n , 94 , 95 , 120n, 132-133n , 143 n Parmenides, 184-18 7 passim Parsifal, 4 , 3 8 Passion, xxiv-xxv , 119 , 135 , 138-139 , 150, 164 , 173 ; i n tragedy , 152-15 4

220 Pater, Walter , xiv , 13 , 69-7 2 passim, 106; o n Coleridge , 105 ; on Greece , xxiii, xxv-xxvi , 7 , 9-11 , 93 , 184 190; an d organicis t theory , 105 ; on Renaissance, 9-11 , 31 , 101 ; an d Yeats, xxv , 25 , 181-182 ; Appreciations, 105 ; Greek Studies, xxiii , xxv, 7, 13 , 69-70 , 93-94 , 105 , 181 , 187-189; Plato and Platonism, xxv, xxvi, 181 , 184-187 ; The Renaissance, 9-10, 71 , 72 . See also Becoming; Being ; Greece ; Mythology ; Philosophy; Renaissance ; Sculptur e Pearse, Patrick , 195 , 203 Phedre, 116 , 11 7 Phidian ar t (sculpture) , xxi , xxv-xxvi , 156, 184 , 200-204 , 20 6 Phidias, 4 , 10 , 180 , 187, 188, 190 , 194197 passim, 200-204 passim, 206 Philosophy, xvi-xviii ; concept s o f reality in "Amon g Schoo l Children, " 130 134 passim; concept s o f realit y i n Yeats, 134-136 ; an d A Vision, xxviii-xxix; Yeats' s aestheti c and , xxvii— xxix Pirandello, Luigi , 21—2 2 Plato, xxvi, 184-187 , 189 . See also Pater , Walter; Platonis m Platonism, 45 , 51 , 17 7 Plotinus, xxviii , 190n , 209; The Ethical Treatises, 200 ; On the One and the Good, 198-20 0 Poe, Edga r Allan , 93 , 15 2 Popular Poetry , 48-51 . See also Folklor e Pound, Ezra , xix-xxn , xxi , 17 , 21-2 4 passim, 70, 89, 95, 142-143 ; Cantos, 17, 23-24 ; Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, 101 , 175 ; "In a Statio n o f th e Metro," 14 3 Praxiteles, 5 8 Pre-Raphaelitism, 81 , 91 , 95 , 99-10 2 passim, 106 , 114 , 116 . See also Burne-Jones, Si r Edward ; Millais , John Everett ; Morris , William ; Rossetti, Dant e Gabrie l Prometheus, 17 , 20 5 Pythagoras, 179 , 184 , 186 , 187 , 189 , 191, 196-19 8 passim, 200-20 2 passim RABELAIS, 15 1 Racine, Jea n Baptiste , xxi , 73 , 154 , 175 Raphael, 16 , 37 , 20 2 Realism, 35 , 45 , 60 , 65 , 68 , 73-74 , 76 , 78, 96 , 100 , 124 , 13 5

INDEX Reid, B . L. , 166 n Reinhardt, Max , 80 Renaissance, xxvi , 18—22 , 25—2 7 passim , 37, 51 , 52 , 179 , 202-203 , 208 ; Pater on , xxiii , 9—10 ; reinterpreta tion of , xxiii ; Renaissanc e Person ality, 178 ; Spense r and , 14 ; Yeat s on, 13-19 , 17 9 Reverie, 60 , 66 , 75 , 76 , 90 , 119 , 128, 153, 163-166 , 173 , 193-194 . See also Contemplatio n Reynolds, Si r Joshua , 128-129 , 159-16 0 Rhymers Club , 25 , 101 , 103, 10 4 Rickets, Charles , 9 9 Rilke, Raine r Maria, 14 4 Rimbaud, Arthur , 111-112 , 114 ; "Honte," 11 1 (quoted ) Rodin, Auguste , 7 9 Romanticism, xiv , xx, 12 , 16 , 25 , 57 , 8 1 Rossetti, Dant e Gabriel , 74 , 99-10 1 passim, 104 , 195; "Cassandra," 100 ; "Lilith," 99; "Mar y Magdalene, " 101; "Pandora, " 99 ; "Pomegranate, " 191 Rousseau, Jea n Jacques , 8 1 Rubens, 12 9 Ruskin, John , xxviii , 9 7 Russell, Bertrand , xxvii , 132n Russell, Georg e W. , see A. E. SARGENT, Joh n Singer , 85-86 , 192 ; Por trait o f "Presiden t Wilson, " 90 , 19 3 Sappho, 148 n Schiller, J . C . Friedrich , xxvii , lln , 55 56, 122 , 182-184 , 190n , 199 ; and joy, 169 — 170n; o n sentimenta l an d naive poetry , 9 , 55—56 ; an d Spieltrieb, 170n , 182 ; an d Staff trieb, 170n; On The Aesthetic Education of Man, 182-18 4 Schlegel, Augus t Wilhelm , ll n Schlegel, Friedrich , ll n Schopenhauer, Arthur , xxvii , xxviii , 12, 28, 163 , 17 2 Scopas, 5 8 Sculpture, 68-69 , 178 , 210 ; Byzantine, 70-71; an d dramatic technique , 71 72; Greek , 12 , 69-70, 71-72 , 182 184, 188-190 . See also Michel angelo; Numbe r (measurement) ; Phidias; Phidia n ar t Seiden, Morto n Irving , xxvi i Shakespear, Olivia , 57-58 , 66 , 7 7 Shakespeare, William , xvi , xxx, 14 , 16 , 18, 19 , 43 , 68 , 76 , 84 , 86 , 103 ,

INDEX

122, 140 , 172 , 210 ; a s European , 46, 210 ; an d reverie , 75 , 164-166 ; and Shakespearea n heroes , 168 , 179 , 191—192; an d speculatio n an d me ditation, 191—192 ; an d tragi-comedy , 154, 161 , 166 , 168 ; us e o f symbols , 4, 112-113 ; Yeats' s relatio n to , xxi , 25, 27 , 32 , 40 , 73 , 95 , 118 , 119 , 152, 210 ; A s You Like It, 7 4 (quoted); Hamlet, 15 , 50 , 84 , 119 , 122, 134 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 161 , 165 , 166n, 167 , 187 , 191 , 192-19 4 passim, 203 ; King Lear, 66 , 122 , 153, 166 , 191 ; Macbeth, 84 ; Othello, 84 , 179 ; Richard II, 118 , 165, 194 ; Richard III, xxvi ; Romeo and Juliet, 154 ; Timon of Athens, 82, 8 4 Shannon, Charle s Hazelwood , 9 9 Shaw, Georg e Bernard , xxi , 44 , 48 , 60 , 78, 12 1 Shelley, Perc y Bysshe , xiv , 16 , 109 , 118 ; and Visio n o f Evil , 84 ; subject matter, 101 ; us e o f symbols , 109 , 116n, 136 ; "visibl e essence " doc trine, 63n ; Yeats' s relatio n to , xxi , xxvii, 27 , 49 , 50 , 53 , 64 , 66 , 73 , 88, 209 ; Defence of Poetry, 6 , 8 , 204; Revolt of Islam, 10 3 Shorter, Mrs . Clement , 16 7 Silence, see Being Smart, Christopher , 5 2 Socratic rationalism , 15 3 Sophocles, 118 , 202 , 206 ; Oedipus Rex, 172

Spatial ar t (space) , 70—7 2 passim, 96 , 98, 126 , 130-131 , 146-147 , 180 ; i n "The Secon d Coming, " 12 8 Spender, Stephen , xx i Spengler, Oswald , xxvii , 28 , 18 0 Spenser, Edmund , xvi , 14 , 23 , 49 , 51 53, 64 , 91 , 104 ; Faerie Queene, 14, 3 4 Spieltrieh, 170n , 18 2 Spilka, Mark , 166 n Spinoza, Baruch , 19 , 18 6 Stamm, Rudolf , 143 n Stasis, see Bein g Stauffer, Donal d A. , xix , 4 n Stendhal (Mari e Henr i Beyle) , xxi , 20 8 Stephens, James , 2 7 Stillness, see Bein g Stofttrieb, 170 n Strozzi, Bernardo , 85-86 , 90 , 19 2 Strzygowski, Josef , 19 5

221

Sun an d moo n (i n Yeats' s theor y o f poetry), 119-12 1 Suss, Irving , 166 n Swedenborg, Emanuel , xxvii , 5 Swift, Jonathan , xiv , xxi , 152 , 15 3 Swinburne, Algerno n Charles , 66 , 88 , 104

Symbolism, xxi , xxiv , 63-65 , 74 , 78 , 86-87, 90-91 , 93-95 , 96-97 , 99 , 120-122, 136 , 139 ; arbitrar y sym bols, 108-109 ; "Grea t Memory " ("procession"), 108—11 5 passim, 125; Yeat s o n emotiona l an d intel lectual symbols , 107—11 4 passim Symholisme, xxi , 34 , 40 , 65 , 69 , 75 , 76 , 93, 95 , 99 , 101 , 106 , 107n , 109 , 112, 118 , 209 ; Yeat s and , 109-11 6 passim Symons, Arthur , 69 , 76-77 , 97 , 109 , 136, 149 ; "Cathedrals, " 13 ; "Elea nora Duse, " 136 , 149 ; "Th e Idea s of Richar d Wagner, " 76-77 , 130 ; "A Ne w Ar t o f th e Stage, " 79 ; "Rodin," 79 ; "Whistler, " 98 ; "Th e World a s Ballet, " 82-83 n Synge, Joh n M. , 27 , 51 , 73-76 , 82 , 118-120 passim, 141 , 146 , 151 , 163-165; Aran Islands, 140; Deirdre of the Sorrows, 163 , 168 ; Playboy of the Western World, 81; The Well of the Saints, 71 , 14 6 TASSO, 1 4 Tennyson, Alfre d Lord , 3 , 104 ; Idylls of the King, 103 ; "Palac e o f Art, " 177 (quoted ) Thomas, Dylan , 15 5 Thompson, Francis , 5 2 Time philosophy , 18 0 Tindall, W . Y. , 2 8 Tintoretto, 6 4 Titian, 4 , 16 , 18 , 187 , 188 , 202 ; "Ariosto," 190 , 197 , 201 . See also Palma Todhunter, John , 5 4 Tolstoy, Leo , 20 , 26 , 42-43n ; Anna Karenina, 25 ; War and Peace, 137 138 Toynbee, Arnold , 2 8 Tradition, 37-38 , 105-106 ; an d nation alism, 47-48; written an d unwritten , 38, 39 , 43-4 8 Tragedy, 125-126 , 136 , 150 , 151-175 . See also Character-personality ; Joy ; Mask an d Dance ; Passio n

222 Tristan, 3 8 Turner, Josep h M . W. , 2 2 Tynan, Katharine , 39 , 42, 6 2 UNTERECKEH, John , 4n , 127-128n , 190 n Ure, Peter , 190 n VAN EYCK , 15 7 Vast desig n (contracting , expanding) , xxii, xxv, xxvi, 5- 9 passim, 32, 125 126, 130-131 , 180 , 203-208 , 210 ; in "Byzantium, " 146-149 ; i n "Th e Sorrow o f Love, " 144-14 5 Verhaeren, Emile , 6 6 Verlaine, Paul , 58 , 75 , 9 9 Villiers d e 1'Isle-Adam , Count , xxi , xxx , 25, 57-58 , 73 , 99 ; Axel, 34 , 38 , 64, 75-76 , 9 7 Villon, Francois , xxi , 32 , 49 , 50 , 60 , 73 , 82, 120 , 15 1 Vinci, Leonard o da ; see Leonard o d a Vinci Virgil, 14 , 50-51, 20 4 Vogelweide, Walthe r vo n der , 3 8 Vorticism, 89n , 100 , 142-14 3 WADE, ALLAN , xxxin , 30 n Wagner, Richard , 66 , 76-77 , 99 , 121 , 130, 167 ; Ring cycle , 4 0 Watson, William , 5 4 Watts, Georg e Frederick , 190 , 20 1 Webster, John , 179 n Wellek, Rene , lln , 190 n Wellesley, Dorothy J ' "-••j j , 26 ? ^, 55 >, '117 ,? 165 • * • - ", j 167, 175 , 20 4 Whistler, James A . McNeill , 96-10 0 passim, 103 , 10 6 Whitaker, Thoma s R. , 190 n Whitehead, Alfre d North , xxvii , 130 131, 132-133 n Whitman, Walt , 43 , 5 4 Wilde, Oscar , xiv , 9 , 52 , 57 , 84 , 85 , 121 , 151, 152n , 182 , 184 ; Decay of Lying, 160n ; Salome, 12 4 Wilson, Edmund , 109 , 116 n Wilson, F . A . C. , xx , xxvii , 146 , 149n , 190n Wilson, Woodrow , 85-86 , 90 , 192 , 19 3 Winckelmann, Johan n . Joachim, 10 , 89 , 129-130 Witt, Marion , 8 In Woolf, Virginia , 17 , 23 , 2 4 Wordsworth, William , 14 , 37 , 40-41 ,

INDEX 101; The Excursion, 103 ; Prelude, 209-21 0 (quoted )

The

YEATS, J . B. , xxi , 59 , 83 , 86-87 , 96 , 100, 110 , 116 , 141 , 162 , 208 ; Letters to his Son W. B. Yeats and Others, 85 , 86 , 15 3 Yeats, W. B. : aestheti c summarized , xxii— xxvi, 27 , 52 ; a s European poet , xviii, xxiii , xxxi — xxxiii passim, 209 — 210; taste s i n literature , xx — xxii, 3—5; taste s i n philosophy , xxvi i Yeats, W . B . (A) SEPARAT E VOLUME S

Autobiography, xiii , xxn , xxix , 18 19, 22-25 passim, 37, 46, 47, 57-6 0 passim, 65—6 7 passim, 73 , 77 , 83 , 85, 89 , 92 , 98 , 100 , 102-10 5 passim, 124 , 142 , 143 , 149 , 151 , 154-157 passim, 164 , 168 , 172 , 190-193 passim, 203 , 209 ; The Celtic Twilight, 205 ; Collected Poems (1933) , 144 ; The Cutting of an Agate, xixn , xxxin , 1 1 6n; Essays (1924) , xxn , xxxin ; Essay s and Introductions, xxn , xxxin ; Explorations, xxn ; Four Plays for Dancers, 34-35 , 137-138 ; Ideas of Good and Evil, xixn , 107n ; If I Were Four-and-Twenty, xvii , 32n ,

197, 198 , 206 ; Letters, 22 , 24 , 26 27, 38-39 , 42-4 4 passim, 46 , 57 58, 60 , 61 , 62-6 4 passim, 66 , 72-73, 75-78 passim, 83-84, 86-88, 107n, 115-11 7 passim, 124 , 130 , 131, 138 , 152-15 4 passim, 161-16 3 passim, 165, 167 , 168 , 175 , 196,204, 208, 210 ; Letters on Poetry from W. B. Yeats to Dorothy Wellesley, 140, 205 ; Letters to the Ne w Island,

36, 42-43 , 54-56 , 57 , 67 , 74 ;

Literary Ideals in Ireland, 40—41 , 103, 152 ; Mythologies, xxn ; On the Boiler, 16 , 19 , 153 , 173 , 191 , 193 , 195; Oxford Book of Modern Verse, xxxi, 11 , 22, 158n , 167 , 169n ; Pages from a Diary Written in Nineteen Hundred and Thirty, 185-186 , 190 , 204, 207 , 208 ; Per Arnica Silentia Lunae, xvii , xxviii , 172-173 ; Play s and Controversies, xixn, 15—16 , 37— 38, 44-4 6 passim, 69 , 74 , 82 , 105 , 113, 1 1 6- 120 passim, 125-126 , 141 , 150, 155 ; PZ«ys for an Irish Theatre,

223

INDEX 71, 79 , 94 ; Plays in Prose and Verse, 32-33 , 146 ; Poems (1895) , 48; Poems 1899-1906, 77; Rosa Alchemica, xxvii ; The Rose, 49 ; The Secret Rose, 39 , 44 , 64 ; The Tower, 111 , 149 ; Vwiortt m Edition, 30, 48 , 49 , 68 , 69 , 73 , 77 , 111 , 121, 131 , 161 , 174 ; A Vision (1925), 21 , 26 ; A Visio n (rev . 1956), xvii , xviii , xxn , xxv , xxvii , xxviii-xxix, 4 , 16 , 18 , 20-21 , 41 , 62, 70 , 114 , 180 , 188 , 195-196 , 201-202, 206-207 ; W . B. Yeats and T. Sturge Moore: Their Correspondence, 111 , 124 ; Wheels and Butterflies, 24 , 28-30 , 102 , 169 , 175, 176 , 178 ; The Wind among the Reeds, 111 ; The Works of William Blake, 7 (B) ESSAY S "Art an d Ideas, " 66 , 84-85 , 101 104 passim, 106 , 114 , 115 ; "Th e Autumn o f th e Body, " 13-14 , 25 , 41, 75-76 , 82 , 107 , 136 ; "Th e Autumn o f th e Flesh, " 41 ; "Bisho p Berkeley," 17 , 19 ; "Th e Celti c Ele ment i n Literature, " 31 , 60 , 130 , 152, 170 ; "Certai n Nobl e Play s o f Japan," 139-14 1 passim, 187 ; "Dis coveries," xxx , xxxin , 29 , 47 , 49 , 53, 66 , 81-82 , 99 , 115 , 118 , 124 125, 134-135 , 138-139 , 169 ; "Ed mund Spenser, " 14 , 31 , 52-53 , 64 ; "Emotion o f Multitude, " 95 , 96 , 118, 122 ; " A Genera l Introductio n for M y Work, " 3 , 8-9 , 31 , 169 ; "The Hol y Mountain, " 17-18 , 32 , 170-171, 197 ; "A n India n Monk, " 23, 172 , 187 , 205 ; "An Introductio n for M y Plays, " 11 , 71 , 80 , 146 ; "J . M. Syng e an d th e Irelan d o f Hi s Time," xxx, 89 , 120 , 138 , 140-141 , 163-165, 172 ; "Lad y Gregory' s Cuchulain of Muirthemne," 15 ; "Lady Gregory' s Gods and fighting Men," 119-120 ; Lionel Johnson, 73; "Loui s Lambert, " 26 , 32 , 106 , 141, 142 , 200 ; "Magic, " 4 , 108 109, 113 , 121 , 132;"TheMandukya Upanishad," 206 ; "Moder n Iris h Poetry," 62 ; "Moder n Poetry, " 3 , 27; "Moods, " 107 ; "Th e Philosoph y of Shelley' s Poetry, " 63 , 64 , 121 , 136; "Poetr y an d Tradition, " 168—

169; "Prefac e t o th e Firs t Editio n of Joh n M . Synge' s Poems and Translations," 163—165 ; "Prefac e to th e Firs t Editio n o f The Well of the Saints," 163-165 ; "Prome theus Unbound, " 109 ; "The Return of Ulysses," 205 ; "Speakin g t o th e Psaltry," 136 ; "A t Stratford-on Avon," 118 , 165 ; "Symbolis m i n Painting," 64 , 74 , 96 , 99 , 101 , 121 ; "The Symbolis m o f Poetry, " xviii , 107, 108 , 109 , 112-113 , 135-13 8 passim; "Th e Theate r o f Beauty, " 80-81, 153 , 155 , 158 ; "Th e Theatre," 44 , 56-57 , 60 , 81 ; "Th e Tragic Theatre, " 6 , 81 , 89 , 154 , 158-161 passim, 163 ; "Wha t i s 'Popular Poetry'? " 48-5 0 passim; "William Blak e an d hi s Illustrations to The Divine Comedy," 63 , 96— 100 passim, 106 , 118 , 14 7 (c) POEM S

"Adam's Curse, " xvii i (quoted) ; "Among Schoo l Children," 96, 1 32134 (quoted), 140 (quoted); "Unde r Ben Bulben, " xxi; "A Bronze Head," 90 (quoted) ; "Byzantium, " 89 , 96 , 125, 141 , 146-14 9 (quoted) , 21 0 (quoted); "Th e Circu s Animals ' Desertion," 73n ; " A Dialogu e o f Self an d Soul, " 11 0 (quoted) , 17 7 (quoted); "Easte r 1916, "4 5 (quoted), 126-12 7 (quoted) ; "Eg o Dominus Tuus, " xvii (quoted) , 10 6 (quoted), 173 ; "Th e Gyres, " 166n ; "Lapis Lazuli, " 5 6 (quoted) , 90 . 166n, 170-17 7 (quoted) , 210 ; "Leda an d th e Swan, " 115 ; "Long legged Fly, " 9 2 (quoted) ; Meditations in Time of Civil War, xv — xvi (quoted), 3 0 (quoted) ; "Nineteen hundred an d Nineteen, " 5 6 (quoted), 141 ; "Th e Nineteent h Century an d After, " 6 6 (quoted) ; "A Praye r fo r m y Daughter, " 12 8 (quoted); "Sailin g t o Byzantium, " 137 (quoted) , 210 ; "Th e Secon d Coming," 115 , 127-12 8 (quoted) ; "The Sorro w of Love," tw o versions, 144-145 (quoted) ; "Th e Statues, " xxv, xxvi, 51, 89 , 156 , 166 , 180-20 4 (quoted), 208 , 20 9 (quoted) ; "Three Movements, " 4 (quoted) ; "Three Things, " 73 ; "To m

224 O'Roughley," 169 n (quoted) ; "Th e Tower," 17 7 (quoted) ; The Wanderings of Oisin, 30 , 31 , 59 , 61-62, 72 , 104-105 , 176 ; "Th e Wild Swan s a t Coole, " 112 , 12 6 (quoted) (D) PLAY S On Baile's Strand, 122-12 3 (quoted), 161 , 162 , 167 ; Calvary, 164; Cathleen ni Houlihan, 44 ; The Countess Kathleen, 30 , 31 ; Deirdre, 146; Fighting the Waves, xx x

INDEX (quoted), 24 ; The Green Helmet, 72; At the Hawk's Well, 34 , 141 ; The King's Threshold, 17 4 (quoted); The Only Jealousy of Emer, 34-35 ; The Player Queen, 162-163; The Resurrection, 12 2 (quoted), 17 8 (quoted) ; The Shadowy Waters, 76, 77, 161 , 167 ; Where There Is Nothing, 138 , 166n; The Words u'pon the Window-Pane, 2 4