William Butler Yeats was the poetic engine of Ireland’s self-discovery in the 20th Century. He breathed new life into the heroic old Celtic myths, then cheered on Irish independence.
On Yeats’ death in 1939, T. S. Eliot declared him “the greatest poet of our times.. in this language, and so far as I am able to judge, in any language.” But fashion is fickle about poems and poets.
On this hour, a short course on the great Yeats.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Harvard Professor of English Literature, Helen Vendler.