‘The Poems of W.B Yeats’ by Michael O’Neill was my allocated book. I chose the section of ‘Early Critical Reception’. In this blog post I shall sum up all that I have learnt from reading this section of the sourcebook. Throughout this chapter of the book there are a series of critical reviews on Yeats and his work. All these critical reviews are by either poets or literary critics. There are five in total and all of which show respect for Yeats and his work.
Lionel Johnson’s review.
Research: Lionel Johnson (15 March 1867 – 4 October 1902) was a very good friend of W.B Yeats he was involved in the Rhymers’ Club with Yeats. He was an English poet, essayist and critic.
Content: He feels in Yeats’ poems that he portrays a quality of thoughts and images incommunicable beauty, that is felt when read in the words and versus.
Authur Symons’s review.
Research: Authur Symons (28 February 1865 – 22 January 1945) was another very close friend of W.B Yeats as he shared rooms with him in 1896. He was also involved in the Rhymers’ Club with Yeats and Johnson. He was a British poet, critic and magazine editor.
Content: He states that Yeats in his poem ‘The Wind among the reeds’ shows an articulated desire to be ‘profoundly personal’ in his poetry. He also states that Mr Yeats has chosen his symbolism out of Irish mythology which gives him the advantage of an elaborate poetic background new to modern poetry.
Austin Clarke’s review.
Research: Austin Clarke (May 9, 1896–March 19, 1974) was a leading Irish poet after the generation of W. B. Yeats. He wrote poetry, plays, novels and memoirs. Clarke’s early poetry shows the influence of Yeats therefore he thought of Yeats as a role model.
Content: In Yeats’ work and poem ‘The Tower’ Clarke states that the imagination retains its freedom and capacity for symbolic transformation of experience. He also includes that it gives a succinct account of the conflict between personal and public that gives life to the volume.
Louise Bogan’s review.
Research: Louise Bogan (August 11, 1897 – February 4, 1970) was an American poet and critic. She was the poetry editor of The New Yorker magazine for nearly 40 years.
Content: Bogan’s explanation for Yeats’ poetry is that it captivates in his later work to convey a sense that a whole personality is involved. She says that he has a powerful intellect that shows through every part of his poetry in his later work. However, the early Yeats was in many ways a romantic exile seeking a way from reality.
F.R Leavis’s review.
Research: F.R Leavis (14 July 1895 – 14 April 1978) was an influential British literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century.
Content: Although Leavis respects Yeats he finds his writing rather saddening. He expresses a complex tension as it balances the claims of different positives towards Yeats. He states that the sadness makes the volume painful to read due to what is in it reminds one of a point about ‘Byzantium’ compared unfavourably by Leavis with ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ as he states it develops into an intensity of bitterness of an agonized sense of frustrate impotence.
Lastly, of the five people I have researched shown above all have different opinions on Yeats’ work. Although some show hostility some admire his work. However despite this they all still have respect for Yeats as he was a ‘poet for the people’.
The Room of Requirement. 