Concetti Chiave
- Yeats, despite living mostly in England, identified strongly as Irish, heavily incorporating Irish folklore and history into his works.
- His career is divided into three periods: an early romantic period, a middle phase with modern influences, and a later period focused on his philosophical work.
- In his later period, Yeats wrote "A Vision," presenting a tragic vision of history through a symbolic Great Wheel with 28 spokes.
- The concept of the gyre, a geometric figure starting at a point and expanding, is central to Yeats's philosophy, symbolizing continuous historical cycles.
- The use of symbols is crucial in Yeats's works, evolving from Irish folklore to universal myths, becoming a theme itself.
Yeats e l'identità irlandese
Even if Yeats passed mostly of his life in England, he has always considered himself as an Irishman. For this reason many of his works are centered on Irish folklore and history.(we remember “Easter 1916” a poem written to celebrate the Irish rebellion). In particular we can distinguish his career into three periods: in the early period he has a romantic approach with the surrounding world, he mixed symbols and elements of Irish folklore. In the middle period he begins to grow up and to be more modern and flexible, symbols leave the place to universal myths. In the later period he creates his major work “ A vision” where describes his whole philosophy.
La visione filosofica di Yeats
It consists in a tragic vision of history: it lasts about 2000 years where civilization passes through a first stage of bestial floor to the next of intellectual, aesthetic an spiritual stage. At the end of the cycle it fell down to an apocalyptic anarchy and finishes to rise again. Every phase of civilization corresponds to one of the 28 spokes of a Great Wheel, a symbolic figure used by the poet to explain his philosophical system. But this wheel moves like a spiral becoming the bigger and most representative figure of his vision :the gyre. it is a geometric figure which begins at a fixed point and grows wider and wider, until it reaches its maximum. Usually Yeats deals with a double gyre: there are two vortices in which the first apex is at the centre of the second one, in the way that the movement is continuous. This cycle corresponds to the new order followed by our mind and the flow of the history: events are strictly intersected as a chain. The use of the symbol is very important because it becomes a theme in itself.
Domande da interrogazione
- Qual è l'importanza dell'Irlanda nelle opere di W.B. Yeats?
- Come si evolve la carriera di Yeats nei suoi tre periodi distinti?
- Cosa rappresenta il simbolo della "gyre" nella filosofia di Yeats?
Yeats si considerava un irlandese e molte delle sue opere sono incentrate sul folklore e la storia irlandese, come dimostra il poema "Easter 1916" scritto per celebrare la ribellione irlandese.
Nel primo periodo, Yeats adotta un approccio romantico mescolando simboli e folklore irlandese. Nel periodo medio diventa più moderno e flessibile, utilizzando miti universali. Nel periodo finale, crea "A Vision", che descrive la sua filosofia tragica della storia.
La "gyre" è una figura geometrica che rappresenta la visione ciclica della storia di Yeats, dove la civiltà passa attraverso fasi di sviluppo e declino, con eventi storici strettamente interconnessi come una catena.
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