Lesson V: Selections of Yeats' poetry related to his involvement in the Irish Nationalist movement

Overview:
Yeats, throughout much of his life, was involved in Irish politics. In his younger years, he was actively involved as a propagandist for the Nationalist cause, promoting interest in Irish cultural expression, especially literature, both that of the past and of the new canon. For a brief time, drawn in particularly by his all-consuming, but unrequited love for Maude Gonne, a leader in rebellion against English rule, he was a member of the revolutionary group, the Irish Republican Brotherhood. In 1896, he met Lady Augusta Gregory, and as an outgrowth of her patronage and his collaboration with her, he helped found the Irish National Theatre, home of the Abbey Players. In 1922, he was appointed to the Senate of the new Irish Free State.

The following poems reflect, from different perspectives and different levels of subjectivity, the idealism of Yeats' involvement in the Irish Nationalist Movement. Three also mirror his passionate love for Maude Gonne, and give glimpses of ways the woman and the cause were intertwined in his consciousness.

September 1913		Easter 1916
	On A Political Prisoner
No Second Troy The Folly of Being Comforted
	A Bronze Head

Develop a comparative study of Yeats' responses to the Irish Nationalist Movement by examining the diction, images, allusions, rhythm, and tone quality of each poem, hypothesizing about the level of subjectivity evidenced through these poetic elements.

Suggestion one:
Define the word "subjective" as opposed to "objective."

Closely examine the poems related to events ("September 1913," "Easter 1916," and "On A Political Prisoner") and construct, for each poem, a one-sentence (precis) that defines the basic statement of the poem.

Culminate the exercise by assigning a brief essay in which students take a position on which of the three poems is the most subjective, arguing their position with a range (as suggested above, diction, images, rhythm, etc.) of specific evidence from the texts.

Suggestion two:
Ask students to write a brief clarification of their perception of Yeats's attitude toward Maud Gonne as it comes through "No Second Troy" and one or both of the poems, "The Folly of Being Comforted" and/or "A Bronze Head." What are the currents of emotions? In what specific ways are these currents of emotion projected?

Suggestion three:
Assign a paper in which students compare the image of women projected in "No Second Troy" with the image of women projected in Wordsworth's "She Was a Phantom of Delight," and/or Byron's "She Walks in Beauty." Suggest that they also might want to read Yeats's poem, "In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz," in which he makes another comment on women who have dedicated their lives to political causes.

Suggestion four:
Assign selections from James Joyce's, Dubliners. Consider, particularly, "Eveline" and "The Dead." Have students develop a paper in which they compare Yeats's outlook on Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th century with that of Joyce as the observations come through the descriptions of the exposition and personae of the poems and stories.