Paul Christensen's Blog - Posts Tagged "irish"

The Wanderings Of Oisin And Other Poems by W.B. Yeats

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Oisin journeys to three islands representing feeling, combat and repose, ‘the three incompatible things man is always seeking.’

(This is also mirrored in Yeats’ three ‘Rose’ poems, ‘The Rose of the World’, ‘The Rose of Battle’ and ‘The Rose of Peace’, and on a more mundane level in the labour movement - eight hours work, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest.)

I don’t like the way the rhythm changes dramatically in the third section, like the time change in an ‘80s glam rock song; it makes the poem feel unbalanced. Other than that, an incredible work for a 22 year old scribe.



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W.B. Yeats: A New Biography by A. Norman Jeffares

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I would have liked to have learned more about his interactions with O’Duffys’s fascist Blueshirts, which must have been significant as he was writing marching songs for them.

Leaving aside such omissions, the book isn’t bad for an overall impression, including his complex relation to Irish nationalism.

‘As always, Yeats yearned for a society where all classes would share in a half-mythological half-philosophical folk belief.’ p.212.

That’s supposed to be bad???



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