ENG 116 - W.B. Yeats: Poet in a Revolutionary Time

Institution:

Long Island University-C W Post Campus

Subject:

Description:

Many critics assert that William Butler Yeats (1865- 1939), Irish poet, statesman, dramatist, mythologist, cultural activist and nationalist, produced the finest poems written in English in the 20th century. While heavily influenced by Celtic (pre-Christian) mythology and folk tales, Yeats' work was also affected by the revolutionary tenor of his times, and in particular, by Ireland's struggle to achieve political independence from England. Many of Yeats' finest poems are political in nature, but there are many other themes which recur in his poetry - his love for the beautiful, ardent revolutionary, Maude Gonne, for example; his admiration for Byzantium (the ancient name for modern-day Istanbul in Turkey) where, according to Yeats, the religious, aesthetic and practical parts of life were harmoniously unified; and the conflict between the spirit and the body (or between other dualities) which preoccupied him all his life and which are resolved differently in different poems. We will examine all of these themes. Students will have ample practice in this course in reading and interpreting short poems. Prerequisites of ENG 1 and ENG 2 are required.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.liu.edu

Phone Number:

(516) 299-2900

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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