Yeats Reading Group

[Mrs. Dalloway]

Inded, Mrs. Dalloway is right when she is saying this, but I'd point out that poetry revolves around the interior even more than around the exterior, so I believe Quark also said a good thing.

Yes, I agree of course! I just tried to comprehend why the poet use "thorn-trees" and I totally agree with what you said. Nice idea

I also want to "talk" about another poem

POLITICS

HOW can I, that girl standing there,
My attention fix
On Roman or on Russian
Or on Spanish politics?
Yet here's a travelled man that knows
What he talks about,
And there's a politician
That has read and thought,
And maybe what they say is true
Of war and war's alarms,
But O that I were young again
And held her in my arms!

what do you think?

[Quark]

I also want to "talk" about another poem

POLITICS

HOW can I, that girl standing there,
My attention fix
On Roman or on Russian
Or on Spanish politics?
Yet here's a travelled man that knows
What he talks about,
And there's a politician
That has read and thought,
And maybe what they say is true
Of war and war's alarms,
But O that I were young again
And held her in my arms!

what do you think?

Hmm, I've never seen that one; it must not be anthologized very often. Yeah, I like it. I wish I could say some important thing about content or form here, but it's very complete. There isn't much to add. I like how it begins and ends on the same lustful thought, and the high-minded ideas of the people going past are only a disturbance. The poem is somewhat anti-intellectual. He wasn't the only modernist with this bent, though. The people in the D.H. Lawrence threads should know all about this. When I read this poem, it seemed to fit a lot more with my idea of Yeats as a poet very fixed in the immediate passions of life. There's very little self-criticism, just feeling. I like the poem; thanks for bringing it up.

[downing]

Hmm, I've never seen that one; it must not be anthologized very often. Yeah, I like it. I wish I could say some important thing about content or form here, but it's very complete. There isn't much to add. I like how it begins and ends on the same lustful thought, and the high-minded ideas of the people going past are only a disturbance. The poem is somewhat anti-intellectual. He wasn't the only modernist with this bent, though. The people in the D.H. Lawrence threads should know all about this. When I read this poem, it seemed to fit a lot more with my idea of Yeats as a poet very fixed in the immediate passions of life. There's very little self-criticism, just feeling. I like the poem; thanks for bringing it up.

Quark, what is it about DHL's anti-intellectual writing? Is this what were you talking about? I have never heard of it, even though I am in the DHL short stories thread. Please help, this looks interesting.

As about the poem- just like Quark, I have never read it before. It is nice, but I do not like it too much. It seems uninteresting for me(sorry Yeats about this), it certainly doesn't reach the level of the other Yeats poems.

[PrinceMyshkin]

As about the poem- I have never read it before. It is nice, but I do not like it too much. It seems uninteresting for me(sorry Yeats about this), it certainly doesn't reach the level of the other Yeats poems.

No, it may not reach the level of other poems by Yeats but none of us is always at the top of our form. Personally, I see merit in the simplicity of this. Would I like it as much if I didn't know it was by Yeats? I can't answer but but I do think I would still cherish

But O that I were young again
And held her in my arms!

such a heartfelt, plainspoken declaration of yearning.

[Quark]

Quark, what is it about DHL's anti-intellectual writing? Is this what were you talking about? I have never heard of it, even though I am in the DHL short stories thread. Please help, this looks interesting.

I don't want to get too far off topic. I'll keep as close to Yeats poetry as I can--lest some overzealous admin grabs my response, shakes the life out of it, and moves it to some other thread where it can be ignored. With that act of obeisance out of the way, I can say that I think Yeats belongs to a widespread anti-intellectual movement in the early twentieth century. Artists became disenchanted with the scientific and spiritualist leanings of the previous generations, and began writing novels that had less to do with ideal, universal sentiments and more to do with the personal, emotional events in people's lives. The Modernist artists referred to the new focus of their work as "life". I brought up D.H. Lawrence because he's currently enjoying a lot of attention from Litneters (someone help me on the spelling so I can get rid of this red line). Lawrence, writing in tirade fashion, says, "Nothing is important but life... All things that are alive are amazing... It seems impossible to get a saint, or a philosopher, or a scientist, to stick to this simple truth. They are all, in a sense, renegades." (Lawrence, Why The Novel Matters). Yeats wrote similar sentiments in poems like this one and the dialogue between the soul and self. If you have more questions I can be more specific, but I thought I would keep it short to make it more readable. I am surprised the D.H. Lawrence threads haven't talked about this. I'm going to have to set those people straight.

[Virgil]

Great point Quark. There are similaities between Lawrence and Yeats in as you point out. Perhaps that's why I'm a fan of both. The Years Crazy Jane sequence of poems coud easily be something that Lawrence would enjoy and agree. Both seem to find a spirituality in the natural world and both seem to find sexuality as a means to spirituality. But on the other hand there are significant diferences too. Yeats believed that aesthetics were a source of hapiness, while I doubt Lawrence would agree with that.

[downing]

Thank you, Quark and Virgil for telling all these interesting things. I knew nothing of this anti-intellectual movement.
Quark, I saw that people usually spell ''Lit-netters''.

[dramasnot6]

O Do Not Love Too Long


Sweetheart, do not love too long:
I loved long and long,
And grew to be out of fashion
Like an old song.
All through the years of our youth
Neither could have known
Their own thought from the other's,
We were so much at one.
But O, in a minute she changed —
O do not love too long,
Or you will grow out of fashion
Like an old song.

I love this poem!

Me too! It reveals how false and shallow immature love can be.

[Virgil]

I think we discussed this once in the poem of the week thread.

The Lake Isle Of Innisfree

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

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

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

[Mrs. Dalloway]

I think we discussed this once in the poem of the week thread.

I love it!! hehe I like the sounds! amazing did this lake isle become really important in Ireland since this poem was written, didn't it?

[Virgil]

I love it!! hehe I like the sounds! amazing did this lake isle become really important in Ireland since this poem was written, didn't it?

Mrs D, we discussed this poem at lenth in the poem of the week thread here: http://www.online-literature.com/for...Isle+Innisfree, starting at post#46 and going for a few pages. We went into quite a bit of detail.

[Mrs. Dalloway]

I know ...

[Mrs. Dalloway]

I reccomend all of you a song of Goran Bregovic which is a version of the poem of Yeats "The Stolen Child". It's beautiful. I love the voice and the way she sings... If you can, listen to it!

[Mrs. Dalloway]

does anyone know if Yeats was in the Gaelic League?? I'm trying to find the poets that were in that group. Does anyone know it?

I'm not sure if Yeats wrote in Gaelic...

Thanks!

[Niamh]

does anyone know if Yeats was in the Gaelic League?? I'm trying to find the poets that were in that group. Does anyone know it?

I'm not sure if Yeats wrote in Gaelic...

Thanks!

I checked up an old school book, Had to check acuracy first.
Yeats was involved in the Anglo Irish Literary revival, which brought about the birth of the National Irish Theatre whom founded the Abbey Theatre on Lower Abbey St in Dublin. Yeats and Lady Gregory, two Dramatist that wrote many patriotic plays at the time, helped found The Irish Literary Theatre in 1899 along side Edward Martyn, Cousin of writer George Moore, which set up shop in the Abbey in 1904. J.M.Synge didnt become a director of the Abbey till a later date, i think after Martyn left in protest against on of synges plays. Many of the Earlier plays of the Anglo Irish Literary revival were based on Irish mythologies.
An Baile Strand is one of Yeats Plays based on Cuchulainn.

I'll look up some members for you.