W. B. Yeats
Irish poet, dramatist, and Nobel laureate.
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic, central to 20th-century literature. He was a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival and, with John Millington Synge and Lady Gregory, co-founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief in its early years. He received the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature and later served two terms as a Senator of the Irish Free State. Born in Sandymount, Dublin, to a Protestant Anglo-Irish family, his father was a lawyer and portrait painter. His mother came from a wealthy Sligo merchant family. Yeats spent childhood holidays in County Sligo, which became his spiritual home. He was educated in Dublin and London, studying at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. Fascinated early by Irish legends and the occult, his first poems were published in 1885. His earliest verse volume appeared in 1889, showing debts to Edmund Spenser, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, influenced also by John Keats, William Wordsworth, and William Blake. This first phase lasted until the end of the 19th century. After 1900, his poetry became more rooted in the physical world, realistic, and politicised, moving away from transcendental beliefs while retaining cyclical theories of life. He became chief playwright for the Irish Literary Theatre in 1897 and promoted younger poets like Ezra Pound. Major works include *The Land of Heart's Desire* (1894), *Cathleen ni Houlihan* (1902), *The Wild Swans at Coole* (1919), and *The Tower* (1928). His brother Jack became a noted painter, and his sisters were involved in the Arts and Crafts movement. Raised during the decline of the Protestant Ascendancy, the rise of Charles Stewart Parnell and Irish nationalism profoundly shaped his poetry and exploration of Irish identity.
- field
- Poet, dramatist, writer, literary critic
- nationality
- Irish
Lore & Background
William Butler Yeats was a poet, dramatist, and literary critic, central to 20th-century literature and the Irish Literary Revival. He co-founded the Abbey Theatre with John Millington Synge and Lady Gregory, serving as its chief in its early years, and was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature. He later served two terms as a Senator of the Irish Free State. Of Protestant Anglo-Irish descent, he was born in Sandymount, Ireland. His father was a lawyer and portrait painter, and his mother came from a wealthy Sligo merchant family. Yeats was educated in Dublin and London, spending childhood holidays in County Sligo, which became his spiritual home. He studied poetry early, fascinated by Irish legends and the occult. His first poems and an essay appeared in the *Dublin University Review* in 1885. His earliest verse, published in 1889, was slow-paced, lyrical, and influenced by Edmund Spenser, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, as well as John Keats, William Wordsworth, and William Blake. From 1900, his work grew more rooted in the physical world, realistic, and politicised, moving away from transcendental beliefs while retaining cyclical theories of life. He became the chief playwright for the Irish Literary Theatre in 1897 and promoted younger poets like Ezra Pound. Major works include *The Land of Heart's Desire*, *Cathleen ni Houlihan*, *The Wild Swans at Coole*, and *The Tower*.
Reader's Guide
Yeats’s work is deeply rooted in his lifelong engagement with mysticism, occultism, and cyclical theories of life, which permeate his later poetry. His early verse, slow-paced and lyrical, shows debts to Edmund Spenser, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the Pre-Raphaelite poets, while his first volume appeared in 1889. Around 1900, his poetry became more realistic, politicised, and grounded in the physical world, though he retained a preoccupation with cyclical ideas. As a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, he co-founded the Abbey Theatre with John Millington Synge and Lady Gregory, serving as its chief in its early years. His major works include *The Land of Heart’s Desire*, *Cathleen ni Houlihan*, *The Wild Swans at Coole*, and *The Tower*. His exploration of Irish identity, shaped by his Protestant Anglo-Irish heritage and the nationalist movements of his youth, had a profound effect on his poetry and significantly influenced the cultural biography of Ireland. Awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature, he later served as a Senator of the Irish Free State, cementing his role as a foremost figure in 20th-century literature.
Did You Know?
- He served two terms as a Senator of the Irish Free State.
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