"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 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.