Ideas of Good and Evil. - W. B. Yeats: Classic Edition

by W.B. Yeats

W.B. Yeats (1865 – 1939) was an Irish poet considered to be one of the most influential figures in literature during the 20th century. Yeats was the first Irishman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature and he even served as a Senator for two terms. This edition of Yeats’ Ideas of Good and Evil includes a table of contents.

Genres: Poetry, Irish Literature, Essays, Classics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Ebooks

134 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1903

About the author

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years Yeats served as an Irish Senator for two terms. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and along with Lady Gregory and Edward Martyn founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Nobel Committee described as "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." He was the first Irishman so honored. Yeats is generally considered one of the few writers who completed their greatest works after being awarded the Nobel Prize; such works include The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1929).

Yeats was born and educated in Dublin but spent his childhood in County Sligo. He studied poetry in his youth, and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. Those topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889, and those slow paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser and Percy Bysshe Shelley, as well as to the Pre-Raphaelite poets. From 1900, Yeats' poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, as well as with cyclical theories of life.
--from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Judy Croome · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected from the title, but neither was it less than I expected. Rather than a discussion on good and evil as conditions of the human soul, this was a collection of essays about art written during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (See titles below)

Some discussions were perhaps more relevant during the time the essays were written, but most of Yeats’ thoughts could, with a little effort, be applied to today’s world. His thoughts on symbolism versus allegory, art as “the theatre of commerce” versus art as a “great Passion” and the essays on William Blake are marvellous.

Underpinning his thoughts is Yeats’ fascination with spiritual mysticism and, for me, this adds a layer of meaning to his words that speaks to my soul of things Divine and Eternal; he touches on the great mystery of what makes great art rather than popular art by comparing the artistic life with the spiritual life of the religious mystic. This was both inspiring and comforting, and reminded me of why I continue to write the stories and poems that I do.

IDEAS OF GOOD AND EVIL was not always an easy book to read; it requires concentration, as the style does reflect that of Yeats’ own era, but the insights and wisdom that imbue Yeats’ work with both magic and passion make the effort worth it.

Essays included in “Ideas of Good and Evil” by W B Yeats:

What is 'popular poetry'?
Speaking to the psaltery
Magic
The happiest of the poets
The philosophy of Shelley's poetry
At Stratford-on-Avon
William Blake and the imagination
William Blake and his illustrations to the Divine comedy
Symbolism in painting
The symbolism of poetry
The theatre
The Celtic element in literature
The autumn of the body
The moods
The body of Father Christian Rosencrux
The return of Ulysses
Ireland and the arts
The Galway plains
Emotion of multitudes

[Janice (JG) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am embarrassed to admit I haven't paid any attention to Yeats throughout my reading life, in fact, I think I probably avoided him, and now I can't remember why.

This is a wonderful little book. Yeats is very chatty as he discusses his thoughts about poetry, painting and art, William Blake, Shakespeare, magic, Shelley, Ireland, more magic, theater, symbolism, Ulysses, and moods. And more.

Here is a quote as Yeats begins his discussion of the chapter on "William Blake and the Imagination."

There have been men who loved the future like a mistress, and the future mixed her breath into their breath and shook her hair about them, and hid them from the understanding of their times. William Blake was one of these men, and if he spoke confusedly and obscurely it was because he spoke things for whose speaking he could find no models in the world about him.

It is a small book and contains only 139 pages, but they are pages full of delightful and often profound observations. It was worth the wait.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indescribably exquisite

I was moved to tears a number of times and paused many times to savor and contemplate a sentence or paragraph. I am ready to reread it having just finished it. To enter into Yeats' heart and mind is to experience the majesty and profundity of the Inner Realm.

This will be a companion for life.

[Tiziano Brignoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bel libro di scritti di Yeats, dove sembra di essere proprio lì, nei circoli letterari di Dublino, fra gli artisti, poeti, scrittori e drammaturghi d’Irlanda. Leggere le impressioni letterarie di Yeats è meraviglioso: l’uso della lingua, delle metafore, il modo di analizzare la vita dell’uomo e dell’artista.
Un libro che, in qualche modo, insegna a vivere, a pensare e a scrivere.

[Sung-Gi Kim]

Quotes from the book

I thought one day—I can remember the very day when I thought it—‘If somebody could make a style which would not be an English style and yet would be musical and full of colour, many others would catch fire from him, and we would have a really great school of ballad poetry in Ireland.

Then, with a deliberateness that still surprises me, for in my heart of hearts I have never been quite certain that one should be more than an artist, that even patriotism is more than an impure desire in an artist, I set to work to find a style and things to write about that the ballad writers might be the better.

[Dr Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't what I expected but it did turn out to a great insight into Yeats' poetic philosophy and something of his character. Interesting to me since he is one of my favorite poets

[Edward Boyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really poor title. It sounds like a book of philosophy but that isn't close. Yeats is talking about what is good and bad in art, music, poetry, etc.