Topic 17: Yeats
February 17th, 2023
Introduction
Deceptively simple poem—repays your attention and scrutiny more and more.
● Articulates an almost escapist desire – time and space being evoked (he will arise and get
up and leave now)
● The building of the cabin and living a simple life is not original.
Articulates an intense need for refuge (the island provides something nurturing)
● A lot of emphasis on sound in this poem.
○ This is far from the city which will be far away from manmade noise and
industrialization
○ City outside of nature, away from it and separated from it.
Interesting that, in a first-person poem, it’s the “deep heart’s core”
● The cabin might be a metaphor for a peaceful state of mind – has he actually been there?
○ Is this a place he’s been to? Is it real? Is it in his imagination?
● An attempt to seek solace? He registers by opposition how broken he feels.
○ There’s something messed up in the deep heart’s core.
Evocative imprecision.
Discussion
An inheriter of the Rousseau philosophy.
● He’s going to build the cabin and tells people how he’s going to build the cabin (with
very simple and natural materials)
● Very basic dwelling – the materiality of the dwelling and the labour that goes into it is
part of the self-rescuing and escapist fantasy.
○ Building your house is artificial.
Sense of time gets lost – man giving order to nature?
The Second Coming
Deeply obscure poem, most famous and well-known articulation in his interest in the occult.
● Profound engagement with one of the central mythic structures of Western society (the
second coming of Jesus)
● Profoundly skeptical about the promise of redemption.
● Spooky!
Nature imagery in first stanza is more understated – falcon not responding to the falconer?
● Almost going into a terrified reactionary mode – sense of imminent fear and terror.
February 17th, 2023
Introduction
Deceptively simple poem—repays your attention and scrutiny more and more.
● Articulates an almost escapist desire – time and space being evoked (he will arise and get
up and leave now)
● The building of the cabin and living a simple life is not original.
Articulates an intense need for refuge (the island provides something nurturing)
● A lot of emphasis on sound in this poem.
○ This is far from the city which will be far away from manmade noise and
industrialization
○ City outside of nature, away from it and separated from it.
Interesting that, in a first-person poem, it’s the “deep heart’s core”
● The cabin might be a metaphor for a peaceful state of mind – has he actually been there?
○ Is this a place he’s been to? Is it real? Is it in his imagination?
● An attempt to seek solace? He registers by opposition how broken he feels.
○ There’s something messed up in the deep heart’s core.
Evocative imprecision.
Discussion
An inheriter of the Rousseau philosophy.
● He’s going to build the cabin and tells people how he’s going to build the cabin (with
very simple and natural materials)
● Very basic dwelling – the materiality of the dwelling and the labour that goes into it is
part of the self-rescuing and escapist fantasy.
○ Building your house is artificial.
Sense of time gets lost – man giving order to nature?
The Second Coming
Deeply obscure poem, most famous and well-known articulation in his interest in the occult.
● Profound engagement with one of the central mythic structures of Western society (the
second coming of Jesus)
● Profoundly skeptical about the promise of redemption.
● Spooky!
Nature imagery in first stanza is more understated – falcon not responding to the falconer?
● Almost going into a terrified reactionary mode – sense of imminent fear and terror.
