What is the main theme of the poem Easter, 1916?
It commemorates the martyrs of the Easter Rising, an insurrection against the British government in Ireland in 1916, which resulted in the execution of several Irish nationalists whom Yeats knew personally. The poem examines the nature of heroism and its incongruity with everyday life.
What does the stone Symbolise in Easter, 1916?
The third stanza of Easter, 1916 refers to how the hearts of the rebels have been enchanted to a stone. This is perhaps an allusion to the Stone of Destiny on the Hill of Tara in County Meath. It was thought to have been used as a coronation stone for Irish kings and became a symbol for Irish freedom and nationalism.
How does Yeats feel about Easter, 1916?
Yeats’s poem is a response to the Easter Uprising in Ireland, a rebellion that eventually led to the Irish War for Independence and the Irish Civil War. Think about how the poem commemorates, fails to celebrate, and/or eulogizes the event.
Who is Yeats talking about in Easter, 1916?
The people Yeats mentions in the text are actual historical figures. He remembers that Constance Markievicz, one of the leaders of the Easter Uprising. She is known to have designed the Citizen Army uniform. He states that she was sweeter before arguing for Irish independence.
What are the symbols used in Easter, 1916?
Easter, 1916 | Symbols
- Stone. The stone represents the unmoving determination the rebels had for independence. Much of Stanza 3 is spent creating a complex image of a stone in the river.
- Green. The color green symbolizes Irish culture.
- Terrible Beauty. “Terrible beauty” refers to the effects of the uprising in Ireland.
What is the theme of In Memory of W. B. Yeats?
‘In Memory of W.B.Yeats’ is about death. Here, death becomes an occasion for Auden to reflect upon the complicated legacy Yeats left behind and the ways in which his work colored the 20th century poetic landscape. Another major theme is the social validity of art or poetry.
What are the symbols used in Easter 1916?
Why does Yeats compare the freedom fighters to a stone in a stream?
Lines 55-56: After throwing down a bunch of descriptions of birds and horses running around the stream, Yeats reminds us that these things live “Minute by minute,” but the stone stays the same “in the midst of all.” Here, Yeats is comparing the dedication of the revolutionaries to the world around them that just keep …
What kind of attitude does Yeats show towards the Irish revolutionaries in Easter 1916?
ambivalent attitude
In his two poems, “September 1913” and “Easter 1916” his ambivalent attitude towards Irish nationalism and rebels is reflected. While he criticizes the middle-class nationalists harshly in the first poem, he softens his tone and glorifies the same people in the following one.
How does Yeats express a glowing tribute to the freedom fighters?
In Stanza III, Yeats commemorates the rebels for their strength in sacrificing themselves: a strength, which he compares to stone throughout the poem. Yet he wonders whether such sacrifice was necessary since England had, after all, promised Ireland their independence.
How is Easter 1916 a modernist poem?
Within months of the 1916 Rising in Dublin, W.B. Yeats shaped the history of this political event into an aesthetic object. In characteristically modernist style, his title of his commemorative poem merged the punctual temporality of human history – ‘1916’ – with the cyclical recurrence of mythology – ‘Easter’.
What does The Lake Isle of Innisfree symbolize?
Innisfree symbolises tranquility and a simple life which is rather better than the chaos of civilization. Innisfree is actually a name of a place. Here the poet wants to arise and go to Innisfree in order to live his life in the beauty of the nature, apart from the drone of civilization.