Yeats September 1913 Essay

Throughout many of his poems, especially during the uprising of World War I and the peak of Ireland’s tension with Great Britain, William Butler Yeats often voiced his opinions on the state of Ireland and its people. In W.B. Yeats’ poem, “September, 1913”, he emphasizes and expresses these opinions. Yeats stresses how nationalism can fuel Ireland, yet criticizes Ireland’s people for their greed and overwhelming self-interest. In “Easter, 1916”, though, Yeats shifts away from the people of Ireland, and instead summarizes the tension between Great Britain and Ireland. Yeats often brings up how the conflict has created “a terrible beauty”. While the people of Ireland are fighting for independence, a part of Ireland is lost. In both poems, Yeats …show more content…
In this poem, Yeats uses Irish heroes who fought to gain Ireland’s independence, but instead of showing their sacrifices as heroic or courageous, he uses their stories to describe “a terrible beauty”. At the beginning of the second stanza, Yeats refers to Countess Constance Markievicz’s involvement in the fight for independence. As previously mentioned, instead of illuminating the highlights of her cause, Yeats focuses on how “her voice grew shrill.” (20) Yeats illustrates that Markievicz’s voice was damaged and now harsh because of her fight for social justice. Previously, before the conception of conflict and “when young and beautiful” (22), no voice was more delicate than hers. Although Yeats applauds her valiant efforts and national pride for Ireland, he speaks of how her voice became ugly. This stark contrast hints at the terrible beauty of the conflict between the two countries. Later in this stanza, Yeats mentions Major John MacBride’s efforts on behalf of Ireland. Major John MacBride was married to Maude Gonne, Yeats’ everlasting crush. Although he bashes MacBride, calling him “A drunken, vain-glorious lout” and does not respect him because “He had done most bitter wrong/To some who are near my heart,” (31) he still concedes that MacBride helps Ireland’s cause. Adding MacBride to the list of Ireland’s martyrs doesn’t just expose the death toll of the fight for independence, but it champions MacBrides’ actions. By complimenting MacBride, something Yeats was extremely hesitant to do, Yeats further expands this idea of the terrible beauty. MacBride, who in Yeats’ eyes is a malicious man, who seemed to kill for the passion of death, is being complimented because he advances the efforts to Yeats’ ideal Ireland. In this poem, Yeats takes the time to