Liz Woolery

Irish Literature

February 2004

Yeats’ Poems

        Know for his poems on love, Maude Gonne, and old age, W.B. Yeats made a name for himself as the quintessential Irish poet.  Though world-renowned as a poet, what is important is the “quintessential Irish” aspect.  A strong Irish nationalist, Yeats fought for Home Rule and Irish self-government through his poetry.  One of the recurring figures in this “political poetry,” Charles Parnell, was a guiding light and inspiration for Yeats as a poet and a politician.

        While Yeats wrote a number of poems discussing politics and referencing (though often subtly) Parnell, several of the more dramatic pieces on “The Uncrowned King of Ireland” include Parnell’s Funeral, Come Gather Round Me Parnellites, and the short Parnell.  

        Parnell’s Funeral, as the name suggests, is Yeats’ account of Charles Stewart Parnell’s funeral on October 6, 1891.  Yeats’ poem not only covers every aspect of the event - from the crowd to those he felt were responsible - but also touches on Irish history and important political figures in Ireland’s past.  

        Yeats opens the poem with a reference to “the Great Comedian,” Daniel O’Connell, an Irish political leader.  Though seemingly appropriate, the reference seems almost out of place, however – O’Connell was opposed to insurrection and the Irish fighting for freedom from the British, a cause Parnell supported.  

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        In the third stanza Yeats brings up the deaths of three famous Irish nationalists.   Each died from a public-ordered execution or actions taken to avoid it.  Yeats also comments on the up rise of individuals who objected to Parnell’s relationship with Katherine O’Shea.  This “hysterica passio” was the cause of his political decline.  Yeats refers to Parnell as a quarry, perhaps as a rich source of Irish nationalism and hope.   Yeats continues almost bitterly in the next stanza with accusations for who was responsible for Parnell’s death – “Fix upon me that accusing eye.  I thirst for accusation.” ...

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