Poems - W.B. Yeats

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Full review

Throughout all of Yeats’ work there are certain themes and ideas that are nearly always present. These include, a love of art that Yeats wants to share, ideas of rural and united Ireland, age and possibly most prolifically a deep expression of love by Yeats for Maude Gonne. However, the love he expressed toward Maude Gonne was never requited. This had a profound affect on Yeats’ work, life and opinions.
Three poems that I feel illustrate this idea very successfully include, “The Pity of Love”, “The Sorrow of Love” and “When You Are Old”. These three poems where also included in a special manuscript along with “White Birds” which Yeats gave to Maude Gonne as another expression of how he felt.
Another aspect of Yeats’ poetry shows how, over time his actual attitude towards Maude Gonne changed. The first of these poems “The Pity of Love” in which Yeats conveys a defeatist, mournful attitude toward the countless rejections he has endured at the hands of his love. The poem is delicately balanced and beautiful, as a result the reader truly feels for Yeats. Although the style may not be in keeping with his previous work the subject of love certainly is. Some critics feel this poem was a desperate plea by Yeats to appeal to Maude’s heart and finally receive her love in return for his. Regardless of that theory Yeats tells the reader through both language and imagery that unless we experience it personally we can never truly understand his pain:
“A PITY beyond all telling”

In this poem as in other poems by Yeats, the idea of the weather is used centrally along with ethereal imagery to convey deep power, thus reflecting Yeats’ pain. The poem has also been described as a mystical encapsulation of Yeats’ insecurities over his beloved. This is also reflected in the idea Yeats conveys that Maude actually has a vulnerable frigidity toward his love, a fragile love.
The actual language Yeats uses to convey these ideas is balanced, powerful and mystical. Use of monosyllabics allow Yeats to express an almost numb emotional state following so many rejections. This idea is continued as Yeats employs images of fierce hostile weather to reflect his situation:

“The cold wet winds ever blowing”

There is also use of dark imagery to show the idea that the dreams and hopes Yeats held so close have been dampened and dashed. The final and possibly most poignant idea Yeats illustrates, is the idea that he feels so many things threaten Maude and he deeply and truly loves her yet she does not acknowledge his love:

“Threaten the head that I love”

Finally the form of the poem is one single eight-line stanza. By keeping the poem short and powerful Yeats better achieves poignancy that stays with the reader. This is further complimented by a simple yet effective ABAB rhyme scheme.
The second poem Yeats included in this small collection was “The Sorrow of Love” in which he continues his previous themes but expands upon them dramatically. Here, he presents the reader with a perfect harmonic image of nature and a girl both beautifully described, but instead of celebrating them, he simply creates them for destruction later in the poem.

“The brilliant moon and all the milky sky,”

The central theme although seemingly the same as the previous poem, it later becomes clearly different. Instead of centering on a preoccupation of his situation Yeats looks at love on a grander scale, as having an affect on all mankind. Yeats tells his reader that man’s passion and love cannot exist within the natural world because nature’s beauty masks man’s suffering. This idea is really presented in Stanza three where Yeats destroys the elegant image he so lovingly created, by slightly altering the world in which we live Yeats illustrates the real meaning of love in our lives:

“Doomed like Odysseus and the labouring ships”

The language Yeats uses in this poem is also initially similar to that used in “The Pity of Love” but it soon changes. In stanza one the harmonic image Yeats creates consists of “The brawling of a sparrow” and “…all that famous harmony of leaves”. Whereas in stanza two and three the beauty of these images is stripped bare and lost forever, “A climbing moon upon an empty sky”. This entire lyrical process and expressive verse shows the progression in Yeats feelings regarding Maude Gonne.
The poetic form used here is quite similar to that used in “The Pity of Love” but it is set over three stanzas and increased lyrical distance shows the depth and insight of Yeats’ idea. The same ABAB Rhyme scheme is used to allow the reader to identify the similarities found in this collection of poems, whilst also allowing for clarity of the differences between them.
The third part of Yeats’ manuscript for Maude Gonne is “When You Are Old” in which the reader is shown a definitive change in Yeats attitude toward his love for Maude Gonne. Here, instead of dwelling on the fact he was rejected, Yeats looks at the situation as a loss for Maude rather than for himself. He looks at her as too old and here he illustrates to the reader how it was her, not him, who missed their chance. The poem is softly nostalgic and emotionally evocative whilst still maintaining decisive direction. Yeats seems to have accepted his rejection and moved on. This poem can also be viewed as the first of many works in which Yeats examines age as both a positive and negative force.
The imagery used here includes ideas of sleep as a characteristic of those entering the twilight of their existence. The use of colour in this poem is also very important. Yeats uses darker dull colours to illustrate Maude’s age but he also uses brighter colours to show what she used to be and how he used to feel about her. This new juxtaposed position allows for the audience to really appreciate how Yeats has changed through these poems.

“But one man loved the pilgrim in your soul”

The language in this poem differs greatly from the previous works. Throughout the poem use of iambicpentameter and soft vocabulary communicates a beautiful nostalgic feel. This embodies the feelings Yeats had whilst showing the emotional progression he has made. However despite the controlled tenderness within the poem some critics believe it was just another immature attempt by Yeats to win Maude’s heart.
Through all of these poems Yeats expresses a wealth of emotion and commitment both to Maude Gone but also to his work. These three poems are an excellent illustration of how Yeats progressed artistically, emotionally and personally throughout his life.