In “The Sense of Place,” Seamus Heaney writes that there are two ways in which place operates: “One is lived, illiterate and unconscious, the other learned, literate and conscious.” Consider the way place, as such, operates in the poetry of either Seamus Heaney or Derek Mahon. You may wish to investigate topics such as home, naming, boundaries or divisions, one’s place in society, childhood, work, or community.
Monday, January 28, 2008
The Progression of Naming in Yeats' "Easter, 1916"
Julian Stern
In W.B. Yeats’ "Easter, 1916", the author expresses his mixed feelings about Easter Rising, the unsuccessful revolt of the Irish against the British. Yeats manipulates the feelings of the reader by explicitly naming figures prominent in the uprising at one point in the poem and mentioning them generically at other points.
Yeats begins by referring to unnamed persons, saying, “I met them at close of day/ Coming with vivid faces.” He makes sure to not introduce anyone by name at the beginning so as to not bring out biases in the reader for or against certain characters in his poem, who we later find out are key players in the Easter Rising. Despite the namelessness, he makes sure that the reader knows that the people he meets are not random members of the masses by describing their faces as vivid.
Yeats goes on in the second stanza to reveal a little bit more about the characters, describing their mannerisms and actions, but continuing to leave them nameless. This stanza holds many clues to the identity of the characters, the most explicit being, “This man had kept a school,” which is a reference to Patrick Pearce, a leader of the revolt. At this point in the poem, a reader familiar with the subject matter may be aware of the people Yeats is referencing, but the biases are not as much of a threat because the first stanza breaks them down with its obscurity.
It is not until the end of the last stanza that Yeats names the figures he has been speaking of: “MacDonagh and MacBride/ And Connolly and Pearse.” It is also not until the last stanza that he shows any thought about their death with the words “And what if excess of love/ Bewildered them til they died?” Although he references the futility of the revolt from the start when he mentions making fun of the leaders to his friends, it is not until he has to face the actual existence of the figures as people that he recognizes the loss.
WORKS CITED
Yeats, W.B., The Poems: A New Edition, edited by Richard J. Finneran. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1983.
In W.B. Yeats’ "Easter, 1916", the author expresses his mixed feelings about Easter Rising, the unsuccessful revolt of the Irish against the British. Yeats manipulates the feelings of the reader by explicitly naming figures prominent in the uprising at one point in the poem and mentioning them generically at other points.
Yeats begins by referring to unnamed persons, saying, “I met them at close of day/ Coming with vivid faces.” He makes sure to not introduce anyone by name at the beginning so as to not bring out biases in the reader for or against certain characters in his poem, who we later find out are key players in the Easter Rising. Despite the namelessness, he makes sure that the reader knows that the people he meets are not random members of the masses by describing their faces as vivid.
Yeats goes on in the second stanza to reveal a little bit more about the characters, describing their mannerisms and actions, but continuing to leave them nameless. This stanza holds many clues to the identity of the characters, the most explicit being, “This man had kept a school,” which is a reference to Patrick Pearce, a leader of the revolt. At this point in the poem, a reader familiar with the subject matter may be aware of the people Yeats is referencing, but the biases are not as much of a threat because the first stanza breaks them down with its obscurity.
It is not until the end of the last stanza that Yeats names the figures he has been speaking of: “MacDonagh and MacBride/ And Connolly and Pearse.” It is also not until the last stanza that he shows any thought about their death with the words “And what if excess of love/ Bewildered them til they died?” Although he references the futility of the revolt from the start when he mentions making fun of the leaders to his friends, it is not until he has to face the actual existence of the figures as people that he recognizes the loss.
WORKS CITED
Yeats, W.B., The Poems: A New Edition, edited by Richard J. Finneran. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1983.
What's in a Name?
Caitlin Etherton
English 342
W. B. Yeats preserves the strong significance of names in Irish culture and history while using them artistically in his poetry. Names are important in Irish culture, as they indicate a person’s religion. They also carry on historical importance. The name, Connolly, used in Yeats’ poem “Easter Rising, 1916,” is more than just an Irish name. Connolly refers to James Connolly, an Irish nationalist whose name alone is a reference to the Easter Rising of 1916 and the social conflict surrounding it. Connolly was not just a leader of the Easter Rising, his execution made him a victim of London’s supposed over-reaction to the event, his life going down in a “huge swell of sympathy for the republicans.” (McKittrick and McVea 4) (Encyclopedia Britannica 1) In his poem “Easter 1916,” (lines 70-80) Yeats writes,
We know their dream; enough
To know they dreamed and are dead;
And what if excess of love
Bewildered them till they died?
I write it out in a verse -
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born. (Yeats 182.)
Yeats verifies that Ireland has not forgotten past heroes. Connolly is tied into history in an emotional way. He is changed from just a name into a “terrible beauty” of a heroic symbol.
Artistically, Yeats goes beyond the typical, romantic portrayal of Connolly by showing a little more of his personality in his poem, “The Rose Tree.” He writes (lines 13-18),
"But where can we draw water,'
Said Pearse to Connolly,
"When all the wells are parched away?
O plain as plain can be
There's nothing but our own red blood
Can make a right Rose Tree.' (Yeats 183).
Yeats questions the purity of Connolly and Pearce’s motives in their nationalist efforts. Edna Longley explains, “Rather like stage-directors, Pearce and Connolly are represented as planning to pool, and thereby maximize, the historical symbolism available to them… Pearce can be seen as a narcissist performing before the mirror of history (Longley 72-73).” Through their dialogue, Yeats gets the reader to question whether or not these men knew their potential ahead of time. Maybe their community efforts were really out of selfish ambition. And still, his reference to them at all continues to immortalize their names, albeit now with a more conscious perspective.
Works Cited
Connolly, James." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia
Britannica Online. 28 Jan. 2008
.
Longley, Edna. The Living Stream: Literature and Revisionism in
Ireland. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: BloodaxeBooks, 1994.
McKittrick, David and McVea, David. Making Sense of the Troubles:
The Story of the Conflict in Northern Ireland. Chicago: New
Amsterdam Books. 2002.
Yeats, W. B. The Poems: A New Edition, Ed. R. J. Finneran. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Company, 1983.
English 342
W. B. Yeats preserves the strong significance of names in Irish culture and history while using them artistically in his poetry. Names are important in Irish culture, as they indicate a person’s religion. They also carry on historical importance. The name, Connolly, used in Yeats’ poem “Easter Rising, 1916,” is more than just an Irish name. Connolly refers to James Connolly, an Irish nationalist whose name alone is a reference to the Easter Rising of 1916 and the social conflict surrounding it. Connolly was not just a leader of the Easter Rising, his execution made him a victim of London’s supposed over-reaction to the event, his life going down in a “huge swell of sympathy for the republicans.” (McKittrick and McVea 4) (Encyclopedia Britannica 1) In his poem “Easter 1916,” (lines 70-80) Yeats writes,
We know their dream; enough
To know they dreamed and are dead;
And what if excess of love
Bewildered them till they died?
I write it out in a verse -
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born. (Yeats 182.)
Yeats verifies that Ireland has not forgotten past heroes. Connolly is tied into history in an emotional way. He is changed from just a name into a “terrible beauty” of a heroic symbol.
Artistically, Yeats goes beyond the typical, romantic portrayal of Connolly by showing a little more of his personality in his poem, “The Rose Tree.” He writes (lines 13-18),
"But where can we draw water,'
Said Pearse to Connolly,
"When all the wells are parched away?
O plain as plain can be
There's nothing but our own red blood
Can make a right Rose Tree.' (Yeats 183).
Yeats questions the purity of Connolly and Pearce’s motives in their nationalist efforts. Edna Longley explains, “Rather like stage-directors, Pearce and Connolly are represented as planning to pool, and thereby maximize, the historical symbolism available to them… Pearce can be seen as a narcissist performing before the mirror of history (Longley 72-73).” Through their dialogue, Yeats gets the reader to question whether or not these men knew their potential ahead of time. Maybe their community efforts were really out of selfish ambition. And still, his reference to them at all continues to immortalize their names, albeit now with a more conscious perspective.
Works Cited
Connolly, James." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia
Britannica Online. 28 Jan. 2008
Longley, Edna. The Living Stream: Literature and Revisionism in
Ireland. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: BloodaxeBooks, 1994.
McKittrick, David and McVea, David. Making Sense of the Troubles:
The Story of the Conflict in Northern Ireland. Chicago: New
Amsterdam Books. 2002.
Yeats, W. B. The Poems: A New Edition, Ed. R. J. Finneran. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Company, 1983.
Memory in Yeats’s 1916 Poetry Vs History in Making Sense of the Troubles
Emily Weyant
Simon Kress
Eng 342WR
28 January 2008
Simon Kress
Eng 342WR
28 January 2008
Memory in Yeats’s 1916 Poetry Vs History in Making Sense of the Troubles
William Butler Yeats, David McVea and David McKittrick all comment on the Easter Rising through text. However, although both Yeats’s 1916 poetry and McVea and McKittrick’s Making Sense of the Troubles recall the past, Yeats focuses on the theme of memory while McVea and McKittrick view the Rising from a historical standpoint.
Because memory is connected to he who remembers, it is more complex than history, which remains unbiased in the facts that it contains. For example, when Yeats writes “And is there logic to outweigh / MacDonagh’s bony thumb?” (lines 11-12) in his poem, “Sixteen Dead Men,” he requires the reader’s opinion, and therefore his or her memory, in order to receive a response. In this way, Yeats does not simply treat the Rising as a historical event that can be explained succinctly, but rather as one that is remembered by different people in different ways. As Edna Longley states, “Yeats’s 1916 poems… frustrate the notion that remembering the Rising will be a simple matter” (83). Indeed, Yeats’s poetry calls for his readers to remember the Rising as it affected them, not simply as it happened.
In contrast, Making Sense of the Troubles covers the history of the Easter Rising in two sentences. Although its account is brief, it is also unbiased and factual, stating that Irish “republicans stag[ed] a rebellion against British rule” (McKittrick and McVea 4). Within this account there is no room for personal opinion or memory. Therefore, McVea and McKittrick look to the past, but do so differently from Yeats by calling on statistics rather than reader participation.
William Butler Yeats, David McVea and David McKittrick all comment on the Easter Rising through text. However, although both Yeats’s 1916 poetry and McVea and McKittrick’s Making Sense of the Troubles recall the past, Yeats focuses on the theme of memory while McVea and McKittrick view the Rising from a historical standpoint.
Because memory is connected to he who remembers, it is more complex than history, which remains unbiased in the facts that it contains. For example, when Yeats writes “And is there logic to outweigh / MacDonagh’s bony thumb?” (lines 11-12) in his poem, “Sixteen Dead Men,” he requires the reader’s opinion, and therefore his or her memory, in order to receive a response. In this way, Yeats does not simply treat the Rising as a historical event that can be explained succinctly, but rather as one that is remembered by different people in different ways. As Edna Longley states, “Yeats’s 1916 poems… frustrate the notion that remembering the Rising will be a simple matter” (83). Indeed, Yeats’s poetry calls for his readers to remember the Rising as it affected them, not simply as it happened.
In contrast, Making Sense of the Troubles covers the history of the Easter Rising in two sentences. Although its account is brief, it is also unbiased and factual, stating that Irish “republicans stag[ed] a rebellion against British rule” (McKittrick and McVea 4). Within this account there is no room for personal opinion or memory. Therefore, McVea and McKittrick look to the past, but do so differently from Yeats by calling on statistics rather than reader participation.
"Easter, 1916" history as a theme
The Irish culture has such an aggressive history; it is no wonder that history, as a theme, constantly occurs in literature. Yeats’ “Easter, 1916,” for example, unavoidably stumbles across history as its subject matter. The poem submerges itself in the event of Easter Rising, while Yeats deals with the aftermath. Yeats also artfully incorporates the theme of history through the use of the refrain and symbolism.
History manifests itself in this poem as the subject matter; here, Yeats takes a retrospective account of Easter Rising and questions the actions taken during the event. As Edna Longley believes, “Yeats’ 1916 poems are…reflections on commemoration” (Longley 83). Yeats does not just look at history; he dissects it. He questions the time consumed and also the lives, when he says, “What is it but nightfall?/No, no, not night but death;/Was it needless death after all” (Yeats ln65-67)? He poses the question if the impulsive acts were worthwhile. Yeats even inserts himself into history by using first person. In the first stanza, he is forced to see tragedy in what he never took serious (Longley 84). This transformation from comedy to tragedy is suggested by Yeats’ word choice of “motley” and the refrain referring to change (Yeats ln14, 15). More importantly, Yeats addresses how history has affect the present with the line, “Now and in time to be,/Wherever green is worn,/Are changed, changed utterly” (Yeats ln 77-79). Clearly, he acknowledges that the history is not just in the past.
Yeats also manages to integrate history artistically in his poetry. His use of the refrain not only reminds readers that history does have the tendency to repeat itself but more importantly that the Easter Rising brought about severe consequences that continually impact the present. Just as the refrain consistently reoccurs in a poem, so does the idea that the Irish have been deeply affect and perspectives have been altered by this one violent instance. Yeats incorporates history through symbolic references, too. He uses the stone as a motif. Stones usually represent solidarity or something stagnant. In the third stanza, Yeats uses the stone to symbolize tradition and foils this with the stream. Streams are portrayed as fluid. When Yeats says, “Enchanted to a stone/To trouble the living stream” it seems to signify the traditional belief going against the natural flow of order. As evident, Yeats skillfully utilizes the Ireland’s central theme of history into every aspect of “Easter, 1916.”
Work CitedLongley, Edna. Living Stream: Literature and Revisionism in Ireland. Newcastle upon
Tyne, England: Bloodaxe Books, 1994.
Yeats, W.B., The Poems: A New Edition, edited by Richard J. Finneran. New York:
Macmillan Publishing Company 1983.
History manifests itself in this poem as the subject matter; here, Yeats takes a retrospective account of Easter Rising and questions the actions taken during the event. As Edna Longley believes, “Yeats’ 1916 poems are…reflections on commemoration” (Longley 83). Yeats does not just look at history; he dissects it. He questions the time consumed and also the lives, when he says, “What is it but nightfall?/No, no, not night but death;/Was it needless death after all” (Yeats ln65-67)? He poses the question if the impulsive acts were worthwhile. Yeats even inserts himself into history by using first person. In the first stanza, he is forced to see tragedy in what he never took serious (Longley 84). This transformation from comedy to tragedy is suggested by Yeats’ word choice of “motley” and the refrain referring to change (Yeats ln14, 15). More importantly, Yeats addresses how history has affect the present with the line, “Now and in time to be,/Wherever green is worn,/Are changed, changed utterly” (Yeats ln 77-79). Clearly, he acknowledges that the history is not just in the past.
Yeats also manages to integrate history artistically in his poetry. His use of the refrain not only reminds readers that history does have the tendency to repeat itself but more importantly that the Easter Rising brought about severe consequences that continually impact the present. Just as the refrain consistently reoccurs in a poem, so does the idea that the Irish have been deeply affect and perspectives have been altered by this one violent instance. Yeats incorporates history through symbolic references, too. He uses the stone as a motif. Stones usually represent solidarity or something stagnant. In the third stanza, Yeats uses the stone to symbolize tradition and foils this with the stream. Streams are portrayed as fluid. When Yeats says, “Enchanted to a stone/To trouble the living stream” it seems to signify the traditional belief going against the natural flow of order. As evident, Yeats skillfully utilizes the Ireland’s central theme of history into every aspect of “Easter, 1916.”
Work Cited
Tyne, England: Bloodaxe Books, 1994.
Yeats, W.B., The Poems: A New Edition, edited by Richard J. Finneran. New York:
Macmillan Publishing Company 1983.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Revising Memory in "Easter, 1916"
In the poem "Easter, 1916" W.B. Yeats engages in a critical relationship with Irish memory. His poem enters the glorified memory of the Easter Rising and imbues it with the severities of its tragic consequences. In her essay "The Rising, the Somme and Irish Memory" Edna Longley considers this poem to be "the first work of revisionist poetry (Longley 84)." The poem questions the rebellion of one thousand men who fought in vain under leaders subsequently executed; it evaluates the damage of this violence. However, Yeats significantly keeps the memory of the dead alive "I have met them at close of day /coming with vivid faced (lines 1-2)." The selection of "vivid" highlights the individual identity, which is a part of the collective Irish memory of a group who died for the convictions that held them together.
The second stanza actively enters the Irish memory of the heroes of the Easter Rising, establishing their inspirational martyrdom, but more importantly the way in which everyone around them were inherently "changed, changed utterly/ A terrible beauty is born (lines 15-16)." Repetition of this line at the end of the second and last stanzas enforces this critique. The essence and memory of the Nationalist leader Constance Markievicz is referenced as sweet, young, and beautiful. Patrick Pearse is described as gallantly riding Pegasus, a symbol of classical and poetic inspiration. Even Yeats' enemy, John Macbride, is numbered in song for he too was a part of this revolt and the terrible beauty it entailed. Yeats reflects on the Irish memory of these heroes and asks a vital question of revision: "Was it needless death after all (line 67)?"
Yeats transcends into the beautiful memory of a valiant attempt to free Ireland from British rule and critiques it with the idea that all the hearts of the Nationalists were turned to enchanted stones. In the third stanza there is a wake-up call: the stone-hearted might be fooled to think that the darkness merely implies an ephemeral night, when in actuality "no, no, not night but death (line 66)." Yeats employs this warning that memory should be viewed from the outside in, rather than painted over with a glaze of Nationalist enchantment. Instead of passively allowing the memory to survive, Yeats reflects and intrudes into the memory of the Easter Rising with a critical lens.
Yeats, W.B., The Poems: A New Edition, edited by Richard J. Finneran. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company 1983.
Longley, Edna. Living Stream: Literature and Revisionism in Ireland. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Bloodaxe Books, 1994.
The second stanza actively enters the Irish memory of the heroes of the Easter Rising, establishing their inspirational martyrdom, but more importantly the way in which everyone around them were inherently "changed, changed utterly/ A terrible beauty is born (lines 15-16)." Repetition of this line at the end of the second and last stanzas enforces this critique. The essence and memory of the Nationalist leader Constance Markievicz is referenced as sweet, young, and beautiful. Patrick Pearse is described as gallantly riding Pegasus, a symbol of classical and poetic inspiration. Even Yeats' enemy, John Macbride, is numbered in song for he too was a part of this revolt and the terrible beauty it entailed. Yeats reflects on the Irish memory of these heroes and asks a vital question of revision: "Was it needless death after all (line 67)?"
Yeats transcends into the beautiful memory of a valiant attempt to free Ireland from British rule and critiques it with the idea that all the hearts of the Nationalists were turned to enchanted stones. In the third stanza there is a wake-up call: the stone-hearted might be fooled to think that the darkness merely implies an ephemeral night, when in actuality "no, no, not night but death (line 66)." Yeats employs this warning that memory should be viewed from the outside in, rather than painted over with a glaze of Nationalist enchantment. Instead of passively allowing the memory to survive, Yeats reflects and intrudes into the memory of the Easter Rising with a critical lens.
Yeats, W.B., The Poems: A New Edition, edited by Richard J. Finneran. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company 1983.
Longley, Edna. Living Stream: Literature and Revisionism in Ireland. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Bloodaxe Books, 1994.
The Use of History in the Formation of a Republic
The theme of history in Irish literature is prominent in the Proclamation of the Republic of Ireland, a declaration of the end of British rule by representatives of the fledgling government of Ireland. In the Easter Proclamation, as the Proclamation is also known as, the history of Ireland is used to glorify and empower the people of Ireland. Specifically, the history of Ireland is used to emphasize a tradition of fighting for freedom in order to strengthen the demand for independence. The Easter Proclamation depicts the tradition of resistance as an ancient and long-standing institution by dedicating this Proclamation to “the dead generations” and by stating that the Irish people have asserted their right to freedom via armed conflict six times during the past three hundred years at the time (Proclamation of the Republic, lines 2, 13-14). The Easter Proclamation" also adds legitimacy to its struggle by concisely describing the deliberate planning of the independence movement, the support of foreign powers, and the utilization of opportune timing in its body (lines 5-8). The Easter Proclamation also uses the history of Ireland to discredit the British occupation of Ireland, calling it the “usurpation of [Irish freedom] by a foreign power” and accusing London of creating division between different groups in Ireland (lines 10, 20-21).
The theme of history is utilized artistically in the Easter Proclamation as a glorified struggle between an oppressive foreign empire and a resistive and strong people striving to remove their yoke of oppression. The Easter Proclamation describes the need for Ireland’s children to “sacrifice themselves for the common good” in order to attain freedom, portrayed as an “august destiny” (lines 29-30). The Irish are described as proud and possessing a “full confidence of victory” (line 8). In the Easter Proclamation, the British government is an alien and insidious power trying to create divisiveness among the Irish (lines 10, 20-21). The Easter Proclamation does describe events with historical basis, such as the differences between groups of Irish. While the Easter Proclamation may have exaggerated the extent to which the British may have tried to instill divisiveness among the Irish, the claims are not completely unfounded. Many Protestants emigrated to Ireland as part of a British plan to install a loyal British front on Ireland in order to maintain a foothold on the island (Making the Sense of the Troubles 2). The artistic depiction of the struggle for Irish independence further magnifies the necessity and the high morality of the resistance.
Work Cited
McKittrick, David and McVea, David. Making Sense of the Troubles: The Story of the Conflict in Northern Ireland. Chicago: New Amsterdam Books. 2002.
Clarke, Thomas, MacDiamada Sean, et al. Proclamation of the Republic. 24 April 1916.
The theme of history is utilized artistically in the Easter Proclamation as a glorified struggle between an oppressive foreign empire and a resistive and strong people striving to remove their yoke of oppression. The Easter Proclamation describes the need for Ireland’s children to “sacrifice themselves for the common good” in order to attain freedom, portrayed as an “august destiny” (lines 29-30). The Irish are described as proud and possessing a “full confidence of victory” (line 8). In the Easter Proclamation, the British government is an alien and insidious power trying to create divisiveness among the Irish (lines 10, 20-21). The Easter Proclamation does describe events with historical basis, such as the differences between groups of Irish. While the Easter Proclamation may have exaggerated the extent to which the British may have tried to instill divisiveness among the Irish, the claims are not completely unfounded. Many Protestants emigrated to Ireland as part of a British plan to install a loyal British front on Ireland in order to maintain a foothold on the island (Making the Sense of the Troubles 2). The artistic depiction of the struggle for Irish independence further magnifies the necessity and the high morality of the resistance.
Work Cited
McKittrick, David and McVea, David. Making Sense of the Troubles: The Story of the Conflict in Northern Ireland. Chicago: New Amsterdam Books. 2002.
Clarke, Thomas, MacDiamada Sean, et al. Proclamation of the Republic. 24 April 1916.
Irish Catholic Memory in “Easter, 1916”
Jocelyn Pettway
ENG 342
Spring 08
Irish Catholic Memory in “Easter, 1916”
In her essay, “The Rising, the Somme and Irish Memory” Edna Longley examines the central forces of apathy, myth, revisionism, and martyrdom and their impact on Irish memory. Yeats’ exposes each of these forces in his commemorative poem “Easter, 1916” in order to trouble the inconsistencies of Irish memory. While considering the memory of the Irish Catholics as a whole, Yeats conveys suspicions over the selective memory of the public and the way our memories change.
According to Longley, the Catholics portray apathy in their refusal to participate in the “insistent rhetorical display” (Longley 76) of the Protestants. The apathy that the Catholics are accused of is demonstrative silence, which was born out of frustration, and only serves to reinforce their exclusivity. Yeats examines apathy within the Catholic community. The repetition of “polite meaningless words” highlights the hollowness of socially acceptable apathy and indifference in this time of action. The “Polite meaningless words” also highlight a disdain for the rhetoric employed by the Protestants.
In her essay Longley reveals that Irish culture is largely based in myth. In Yeats’ poem, following the description of several mythical characters, “A drunken, vainglorious lout” (Yeats 32), is added those remembered. The mythical figures of the Uprising are based on optimistic exaggerations of the individual’s characteristics. Yeats sharply contrasts the last man with the overwhelming goodness of the characters before him to expose the myths as selective. Yeats’ careful choice of the word “dreamed,” in his introduction of the man, reveals uncertainty in this character’s negative characteristics because they are not included in the myths about the characters.
Longley uses this poem as an example for revisionism and grasps on to the symbol in the third stanza to illustrate her point: “Stone, for Yeats, signifies monistic fixity, opinion” (Longley 83). Yeats subverts the Davisite ballad that Longley describes in order to revise the way we commemorate and further illustrate the impact of emotion in remembrance.
Longley explains that the idea of martyrdom is key in a culture of “Sado-masochism…[which] ends with the victim becoming authoritarian in his turn” (Longley 82). Through the repetition of the word “name,” Yeats shows how remembrance empowers and awards the dead with a second birth. He forces his reader to accept that, even as a martyr, to be remembered means to be changed.
Works Cited
Longley, Edna. Living Stream: Literature and Revisionism in Ireland. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Bloodaxe Books, 1994.
Yeats, W.B., The Poems: A New Edition, edited by Richard J. Finneran. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1983.
ENG 342
Spring 08
Irish Catholic Memory in “Easter, 1916”
In her essay, “The Rising, the Somme and Irish Memory” Edna Longley examines the central forces of apathy, myth, revisionism, and martyrdom and their impact on Irish memory. Yeats’ exposes each of these forces in his commemorative poem “Easter, 1916” in order to trouble the inconsistencies of Irish memory. While considering the memory of the Irish Catholics as a whole, Yeats conveys suspicions over the selective memory of the public and the way our memories change.
According to Longley, the Catholics portray apathy in their refusal to participate in the “insistent rhetorical display” (Longley 76) of the Protestants. The apathy that the Catholics are accused of is demonstrative silence, which was born out of frustration, and only serves to reinforce their exclusivity. Yeats examines apathy within the Catholic community. The repetition of “polite meaningless words” highlights the hollowness of socially acceptable apathy and indifference in this time of action. The “Polite meaningless words” also highlight a disdain for the rhetoric employed by the Protestants.
In her essay Longley reveals that Irish culture is largely based in myth. In Yeats’ poem, following the description of several mythical characters, “A drunken, vainglorious lout” (Yeats 32), is added those remembered. The mythical figures of the Uprising are based on optimistic exaggerations of the individual’s characteristics. Yeats sharply contrasts the last man with the overwhelming goodness of the characters before him to expose the myths as selective. Yeats’ careful choice of the word “dreamed,” in his introduction of the man, reveals uncertainty in this character’s negative characteristics because they are not included in the myths about the characters.
Longley uses this poem as an example for revisionism and grasps on to the symbol in the third stanza to illustrate her point: “Stone, for Yeats, signifies monistic fixity, opinion” (Longley 83). Yeats subverts the Davisite ballad that Longley describes in order to revise the way we commemorate and further illustrate the impact of emotion in remembrance.
Longley explains that the idea of martyrdom is key in a culture of “Sado-masochism…[which] ends with the victim becoming authoritarian in his turn” (Longley 82). Through the repetition of the word “name,” Yeats shows how remembrance empowers and awards the dead with a second birth. He forces his reader to accept that, even as a martyr, to be remembered means to be changed.
Works Cited
Longley, Edna. Living Stream: Literature and Revisionism in Ireland. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Bloodaxe Books, 1994.
Yeats, W.B., The Poems: A New Edition, edited by Richard J. Finneran. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1983.
Not So Romantic Remembrance
Yeats’s poem Easter 1916 addresses the theme of memory by reflecting on the leaders of the Irish rebellion against British rule. He delves into each one of the characters and focuses on certain attributes for which they are remembered. The somber language captures shock and sadness that spread through the country as a result of this troubled revolution. The poem’s title, Easter 1916, immediately draws attention to this particular event. Readers that do not have knowledge of this event would be compelled to research more in order to understand what Yeats means in the poem which in effect draws attention to the memory of the Easter rising.
The poem begins, “at close of day” already conjuring up images of darkness. The memories of this day are not of happy shining events but of dark tragic deeds that would fit with dusk. The light leaving the land parallels the peace that would leave the land at the start of this uprising. The “vivid faces” Yeats describes contrast with the deathly atmosphere he creates. These faces, full of life, illustrate the conviction these men and women had for their beliefs of an independent Ireland. Yeats sees them clearly, which provokes the idea that he remembers them well. When Yeats speaks with these “faces” he only nods or speak “polite meaningless words” giving a dull feel to the encounter. Yeats does not choose to remember these rebellious leaders as having great rhetoric that inspired souls to follow them but merely speaking words of little or no meaning.
In the second stanza, Yeats expounds deeper into the memories he has of each one of the leader. Yeats does not fully praise the woman who spends her life “In ignorant good-will,” though reflects that she was “young and beautiful.” He further only incorporates some figures for their roles in the rebellion though personally he has troubled thoughts of them. At the end he writes some important names out in the verse contributing to their memory. Yeats recalls this event as birthing a “terrible beauty” and stresses the importance of remembering these people in actuality, not as romantic heroes. Yeats discourages the practice of clouding the accuracy of a memory by displaying these individual as mortal and flawed.
Yeats, W.B., The Poems: A New Edition, edited by Richard J. Finneran. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company 1983.Monday, January 21, 2008
Prompt #1
Explore in either the “Easter Proclamation” or in Yeats’s poems one of the following themes from our discussion on Friday: naming, memory, difference, the relation between politics and religion, fear, or history. How do these themes, so central to Irish culture and history, manifest themselves in literature? How do they operate artistically? Incorporate into your response what you have read in Edna Longley’s article and in Making Sense of the Troubles. (If you wish to consider another theme, please consult me first.) Remember your posts must comply with academic protocol and are due by 2:00pm Monday.
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