English 169y. William Butler Yeats and the Modern World

Instructor: Stephanie Burt
Tuesday & Thursday, 10:30-11:45am | Location: TBD

One of the great creators in his, or any, era. W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) left us a matchless body of lyric and dramatic verse, including love poems, political meditations, ballads, prophetic warnings, palinodes, and rewritten myths. He also wrote and co-wrote transcribed folktales, novels, literary criticism, memoir, political speeches, records of mystical visions, and tens of thousands of letters; promoted Irish culture; ran a theatre company; won a Nobel prize; stood against empire and theocracy (but in favor of aristocracy); and changed his mind when he knew he was wrong. We will read all his major poems and other works, with attention to their composition, along with some rivals, friends and contemporaries in Ireland and beyond; we will also look at critical traditions around him.

This course satisfies the “1900-2000 Guided Elective" requirement for English concentrators and Secondary Field students.