Author Description
W. B. Yeats Is Usually Seen As A Great Innovator Who Put His Stamp So Decisively On Modern Irish Literature That Most Of His Successors Worked In His Shadow. R. F. Foster's Eloquent And Authoritative Book Weaves Together Literature And History To Present An Alternative Perspective. By Returning To The Rich Seed-bed Of Nineteenth-century Irish Writing, Words Alone Charts Some Of The Influences, Including Romantic 'national Tales' In Post-union Ireland, The Poetry And Polemic Of The Young Ireland Movement, The Occult And Supernatural Novels Of Sheridan Lefanu, William Carleton's 'peasant Fictions', And Fairy-lore And Folktale Collectors That Created The Unique And Powerful Yeatsian Voice Of The Decade From 1885 To 1895. As Well As Placing These Literary Movements In A Vivid Contemporary Context Of Politics, Polemic And Social Tension, Foster Discusses Recent Critical And Interpretive Approaches To These Phenomena. He Shows That The Use Yeats Made Of His Predecessors During His Apprenticeship, And The Part That A Self-conscious Use Of Irish Literary Tradition Played In The Construction Of His Path-breaking Early Work As He Attempted To 'hammer His Thoughts Into A Unity' Made Him An Inheritor As Much As An Inventor.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates the extent to which W. B. Yeats functioned as an inheritor of nineteenth-century Irish literary traditions rather than solely as an isolated innovator. R. F. Foster, a noted historian of Ireland, utilizes a synthesis of historical context and literary analysis to challenge the conventional view of Yeats as a solitary genius. By examining the specific cultural and political environment of the late nineteenth century, Foster argues that Yeats's early work was deeply rooted in the established patterns of his predecessors.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of nineteenth-century Irish literary movements including the Young Ireland movement and national tales.
- Examination of the influence of occult novels, peasant fictions, and folklore collections on Yeats's development.
- Discussion of the political and social tensions in post-union Ireland that shaped the literary landscape.
Scope Limits
- The analysis is primarily focused on the formative decade of 1885 to 1895 rather than the entirety of Yeats's career.
- The text does not provide a comprehensive biography of Yeats, focusing instead on his literary apprenticeship.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars and critics frequently cite this work as a vital corrective to the myth of the isolated modernist poet. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which assumes a high level of familiarity with Irish history and the Yeatsian canon.
Page Count:
257
Publication Date:
2011-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0191619671
ISBN-13:
9780191619670
Biography
History
Poetry Analysis
Literary Criticism
Irish literature
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