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The
Brownstone Journal >>
Issues >> Vol.
XII Spring 2005
Yeats and the Literary Voice of Irish
Identity
Brendan O'Bryan (CAS 06) studies Philosophy
of Politics, Law and Society. He spent the fall semester of
2004 studying Irish politics and literature in Dublin.
In any newly forming state, the establishment
of a national identity is of prime importance. Often a country's
sense of itself can be best articulated through literature.
The formation of the Irish Free State, and later the Republic
(1) was
no different. With Oscar Wilde having already established his
place in Irish literature and James Joyce, William Butler Yeats
and others quickly doing so, the voice of the Irish identity
in literature was strong. It is Yeats, however, whose work stands
out as being both appropriately Romantic enough to encompass
the spirit of the young nation and as well as refreshingly honest
enough to be considered the voice of the Irish identity.
While Joyce's portraits of the streets of Dublin
take the reader deep into the heart of the city and Oscar Wilde's
biting commentary on British society elucidates much about Irish
perceptions of the British, neither reflects the complete Irish
identity as much as Yeats; nor does either contribute to the
establishment and progression of an Irish identity as much as
Yeats does. From allusions to Gaelic (2)
folklore, to views of Connemara, to the idealized political
landscape of Dublin, Yeats’ poetry portrays the Ireland in which
he lived as well its past and visions of its future. Seamus
Heaney writes of Yeats’ work as "a point of both culmination
and origin” (Deane 783). It is this all encompassing view, not
only temporally, but also spatially and politically that makes
Yeats the voice of a newly forming Irish identity. The three
poems “Cuchulain's Fight with the Sea”, “The Fisherman” and
“Easter 1916” reflect Yeats’ contribution to the establishment
of a mythical, spatial and political component of an Irish identity
that is still relevant today. In addition, it will be necessary
to examine the relationship of each work to the time in which
it was written, in order to fully understand its cultural and
historical significance.
Beginning with Yeats’ writings in Gaelic folklore
(3)
is the proper place, for not only does it represent some of
the poet's earliest work, but the folklore itself represents
some of the first evidence of an Irish identity. From Yeats’
early collection entitled The Rose (1893), “Cuchulain's
Fight with the Sea” tells the story of the ancient Ulster hero
Cuchulain. The political connotations of the Gaelic folklore
revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in
Ireland are undeniable (4),
and Yeats contributed to these notions. As Eugene O'Brien writes,
"by delving into Celtic pre-history, the political and
historical divisions that had come to define the Irish situation
could be elided and annealed into a mythic and heroic cultural
archive which would allow people to take pride in their own
culture” (O’Brien 128). Though often discarded as his more forcibly
lyrical works, it can be seen that Yeats’ Gaelic influenced
work was important in the development of a national identity.
The politically charged time in which Yeats wrote provided a
perfect backdrop for such ancestral pride. In some ways, Yeats
spoke to these sentiments in the Irish people, but he is also
responsible for inciting nationalists to evoke Celtic inspiration.
It is also important to note, however, that
Yeats’ folklore writings were done in English, while many writers
of the revival period did so in Gaelic. Here again Yeats’ influence
can be seen, for it is a Gaelic tradition in English that persisted
as a part of a national Irish identity. As Yeats himself wrote
these works serve as a "golden bridge between the old and
the new" (O’Brien 124).
In “Cuchulain's Fight with the Sea”, several
images of Irish identity present themselves. One such image
which incited the Irish nationalism of the early twentieth century
is the final stanza of the poem:
Cuchulain stirred,
Stared on the horses of the sea, and heard
The cars of battle and his own name cried;
And fought with the invulnerable tide.
(Martin
32)
The image of Cuchulain awaiting his death,
fighting off the "invulnerable tide" reflects the
idea of a centuries-long battle with the "invulnerable
tide" of British imperialism, which pervaded nationalist
spirit. The fight for Irish identity had begun, in some sense,
with the death of Cuchulain at the sea. There is certainly,
however, much of Irishness that lies outside the realm of political
dissent, and Yeats’ use of Gaelic mythology can speak to this
as well. The Protestant Yeats was not the stereotype of an Irish
nationalist, and even his later writings showed a hesitation
in supporting the cause (5)
. The myths of Cuchulain have for centuries been shared by Catholics,
Protestants, Nationalists, Unionists and nearly all others who
consider themselves Irish. Be it a sense of Ulster pride of
an ancestral attachment to the south, the Gaelic legends of
which Yeats wrote represent an Irish identity of shared heritage
despite political or religious affiliation. Whether this was
Yeats’ intention is a matter of debate, but that the themes
of his early work in The Rose and other collections speak to
a broad base of both nationalist spirit and a shared Irish ancestral
identity is undeniable. These themes written in English make
for a forward thinking Irish identity based on images and ideals
of the past. Eugene O'Brien describes this as well: "Yeats,
too, is valorizing the past, and looking towards Celtic myth
as a possible site upon which to build the edifice of Irish
identity" (O’Brien 129). “Cuchulain's Fight with the Sea”
represents this way of thinking as well as any other early work
of Yeats. The Romantic Ireland which so many Gaelic myths had
come to represent is perhaps best exemplified in this passage
from “Cuchulain's Fight with the Sea”:
'I only ask what way my journey lies,
For He who made you bitter made you wise.'
(Martin
30)
That this journey would end with Romantic Ireland
"dead and gone" (Martin 120) was unbeknownst to Yeats
or his readers at the time. The uncertainty and also the hope
encompassed in these lines inspired by Gaelic legend represent
an Irish identity's link to the past and vision of the future.
The atmosphere in which Yeats wrote “Cuchulain's
Fight with the Sea” is also important in examining its relationship
with an Irish identity. The poem was published in 1893, most
notably, two years after the death of the famed Charles Stewart
Parnell. The scandal and fall of the great political leader
Parnell left many in the country disgusted with politics. As
Donal McCartney writes, "young men retreated from the party
politics of home rule and fashioned their dreams in other activities.
. .[they] built for themselves so many separate little dreamworlds
in a nationalistic Tir-na-nOg, where poetry meant more than
politics, and where ideals counted far more than votes"
(Moody and Martin 245). It is certainly from this attitude that
interest in the Gaelic revival sprung. It is clear then that
Yeats both reflected and encouraged new interests in many Irish
men and women. This age saw the rise of the Irish Literary Revival,
a Gaelic revival, as well as the newly formed Gaelic Athletic
Association (6).
At a time when all that was sacred in the political process
seemed to fail them, many Irish found sanctity in the strength
of their Gaelic and Irish roots. It seems Yeats himself was
caught up in this as well, as can be seen from his work in the
1890s, including “Cuchulain's Fight with the Sea”.
Published in 1919, “The Fisherman” similarly
appears to show Yeats' reflection on a more simple aspect of
Irish culture, in a tumultuous political time. Yeats published
“The Fisherman” three years after the Easter Rising of 1916
and it is interesting to note that “Easter 1916” (7)
was not published immediately after the events either. The poems
written in the years that followed the 1916 rising can be seen
as a teleological struggle with the events of the times. The
Anglo-Irish war of 1919 to 1921 was a time of disappointment
in many ways for the Irish, writes Donal McCartney. Many of
these, in fact were disappointments related to the successes
of the previous decades. The fight for home rule had been dealt
a blow in the defeats in 1916 and in the early years of the
Anglo-Irish war, and the Gaelic League had yet to establish
Ireland as an Irish speaking country. Similarly, McCartney writes
that Yeats had not achieved the "literary-conscious"
society he had endeavored to (Moody 259). Disappointments in
the revival of Gaelic athletics, language and literary heritage
perhaps led Yeats to pursue more immediate subjects. His writings
on the people of the west of Ireland reflect this. “The Fisherman”
also reflects a view backwards of the 1916 rising and all that
followed, in that Yeats was forced to reassess his ability to
write a national literature. Yeats examines this task in “The
Fisherman” after reflecting on the failures of the Gaelic revival.
Ireland's rich heritage has been, perhaps,
best retained among the peoples of western Ireland. It is, perhaps
a bit ironic, but also Romantic, that Yeats looks to the west
after disappointments in the revival of Gaelic culture. Seamus
Heaney writes that Yeats' folklore influences and interest in
the west of Ireland are thus related: "Yeats wanted to
attach himself to Irish subject-matter and settings, and to
express the lineaments of an occult doctrine which he found
corroborated in the supernatural beliefs and superstitions of
the country people of the west of Ireland" (Deane 785).
It is this connection between the people of the west and their
Gaelic folklore with which Yeats becomes fascinated in his middle
years. Thus, “The Fisherman” is an important work for several
reasons. It represents Yeats’ view of this important part of
Ireland and what it represents in the scope of a national identity.
It is also in this poem that Yeats himself speaks of writing
for "my own race," and alludes to the ability and
difficulties a poet has in contributing to a sense of national
identity.
Though not overtly political, the Romanticized
image of the Connemara fisherman, and other rural Irish labourers
had become distinctly nationalistic, in that it countered the
English assertion that these Irish were best suited for subordination.
G.J. Watson writes that "The image of the peasant was the
focal point of a racial and cultural clash of images in the
nineteenth century. For many Englishmen, Paddy and his Pig stood
for the comic slovenliness of the Irish, a kind of Caliban whose
poverty and lack of education was proof positive of Ireland's
inability to govern itself" (Watson 96-97). The rise of
the poor and downtrodden Irish into Romantic figures, mostly
through literary representations such as Yeats’, signaled an
important increase in national pride. “The Fisherman” is important
in restoring "dignity to Ireland" and to "prove
it to be 'the home of an ancient idealism'" (Watson 97).
The imagery in the beginning of the first stanza
and the beginning of the second stanza of “The Fisherman” reflects
the simplicity of the man and his surroundings. His days are
filled with physical labour, yet he is described as wise. Yeats
certainly writes of the fisherman with respect, and describes
his appearance as modest: "his sun-freckled face/And grey
Connemara cloth" (Martin 147). The poem is not, however,
written with pity by any means. In fact, it is the fisherman,
Yeats writes, from whom Yeats hoped to find the inspiration
to write for his "race."
It's long since I began
To call up to the eyes
This wise and simple man.
All day I'd looked in the face
What I had hoped 'twould be
To write for my own race
And the reality;
(Martin
146)
Yeats continues on to name those whose stories
he would include in the writing of his own race; an Irish identity
(see "The Fisherman"). “The
Fisherman” not only represents a picture of an important part
of Ireland, but also a cathartic exercise of sorts for Yeats
in his struggles with the existence of an Irish identity so
often attributed to him. In some sense, the poem shows that
the most basic element of this Irish identity can be found in
the working people of the west of Ireland. It is from there,
that all else had risen; the living men, the dead man, the craven
man, the insolent, the clever man, the wise and Art. Yeats searches
for the inspiration to write this history in the face of the
simple fisherman from Connemara. Yeats concludes the poem with
the foreboding lines:
'Before I am old
I shall have written him one
Poem maybe as cold
And passionate as the dawn'
(Martin
147)
Some speculate that a poem "as cold and
passionate as the dawn" could perhaps be “Easter 1916.”
If it should be considered such, then “Easter 1916” serves to
be the culminating work in Yeats' establishment of Irish identity,
written for the fisherman in whom Yeats found inspiration to
continue to write the story of his race. “Easter 1916” remains
one of the most important works of Irish poetry in part because
of its versatility. Yeats wavers between admiration of and distaste
for the men engaged in the rising, as did, and still do, much
of the Irish population. It is the guarded respect with which
Yeats describes MacDonagh, MacBride, Connolly and Pearse that
makes the poem stand out as a representation of Irish sentiment
at the time and, to some extent, today. Yeats expresses a range
of emotion vividly in the poem, from fear of what lies ahead,
to fond recollections of the men, to disgust for crazed ideologues.
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
(Martin
176)
These famous lines from “Easter 1916” exemplify
the shifting sentiments of Yeats and many Irish at the time.
Ireland described as a "terrible beauty" reflected
the hopes for an independent Ireland, but at what cost? The
terrible beauty, in this sense, is it the free Irish state,
burdened by the human sacrifices made to achieve it? It is this
sacrifice with which Yeats seems fascinated for much of the
poem. His fascination, like much of the poem, fluctuates between
admiration and disgust.
Hearts with one purpose alone
Through summer and winter seem
Enchanted to a stone
To trouble the living stream.
(Martin
177)
Lines such as these reflect a certain intrigue
in the author. That a cause such as a free Ireland could so
consume a group of men as to lead them to their deaths was a
horrifyingly Romantic ideal which fascinated Yeats and much
of the country. The word purpose in these lines reflects at
least a degree of respect, whereas in other lines Yeats admonishes
such blind passion:
Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.
O when may it suffice?
(Martin 177)
'Enough is enough' Yeats seems to say here,
while still acknowledging the act as a sacrifice made for him
and the rest of Ireland. Seamus Heaney writes of the intrigue
of the events: "it is less their specifically political
fervour than their sacrifice of themselves to a self-transcending
ideal—a mask, an anti-self—which elicits his astonished admiration"
(Deane 806). It certainly is a sense of something bigger than
oneself that overrides the poem. Whether that ideal is right
or laudable is what Yeats, and the Irish people, struggled with.
The fact that Yeats does not write “Easter 1916” as a poem of
unquestioned praise for Irish nationalism is what makes it so
reflective of Irish identity. The course of Irish nationalism
has been a demon with which the Irish people have grappled with
for decades, and in a sense, “Easter 1916” encompasses this.
In addition, Yeats’ Protestant heritage added
another element to his fascination with the nationalist movement.
That “Easter 1916,” the seminal literary work of Irish nationalism,
was written by a Protestant seems at first ironic, but the fact
only enhances Yeats' contribution to the establishment of an
Irish identity. "Clearly it eased the sense of marginality
arising from his Anglo-Irish birth, giving him a sense of belonging
which in turn lent his art confidence and a sense of direction"
writes G.J. Watson of Yeats’ attraction to Irish nationalism.
“Easter 1916” thus gave not only Yeats, but Irish Protestants
a place in the history of Irish nationalism (Watson 99). Watson
writes that "Yeats generous embrace of nationalism sustained
and confirmed in him a sense of identity" and in doing
so sustained and confirmed in Irish Protestants a sense of identity
with the nationalist movement which so dominated Dublin life
in the early twentieth century (Watson 100).
The historical and political influences are
thus obvious in “Easter 1916,” but what is more interesting
about the circumstances in which Yeats wrote the poem is that
it was written well after the events, and published even later.
Yeats’ reflection is what stands out in this poem; that he is
able to express clearly such mixed and complex emotions shows
a determined, belabored approach was taken. A hasty response
to the events could never have been so provocative and lasting.
It was with reflection on his initial perceptions, the implications
of the events and evidence of the ensuing troubles of the Anglo-Irish
War, that Yeats could write so eloquently what would become
the definitive sentiment regarding the Easter 1916 Rising.
To say that Yeats contributed more than any
other Irish author to Ireland's imagining of itself is a strong
claim, given the rich literary history of the young country.
With the likes of Joyce, Wilde, Synge and Beckett sharing his
national ancestry, the assertion is no small one. But though
Joyce's works live in the minds of literary critics and the
hearts of proud Dubliners, his lofty style make him less suited
to the title of writer of the Irish identity. At times in works
such as The Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as Young
Man it seems that the creation of Art trumps any endeavor to
voice an Irish identity. Readers of Joyce will struggle to find
any strong sense of the author's belonging in the Irish society
he so vividly describes. G.J. Watson writes that "for Joyce,
then, the sense of freedom and even liberation which both Yeats
and Synge found in aspects of Irish life and culture was simply
not available; such freedom had to be fought for and won by
silence, exile and cunning, by a series of willed, even histrionic
detachments" (Watson 153). Watson continued to describe
the view of Irish culture that Joyce eventually adopted as,
at best, "benign" or "ironic", and for this
reason he cannot be described truly as the voice of Irish identity
(Watson 153).
Oscar Wilde, it seems, is even less suited
than other great Irish writers, for some would argue he turned
his back on all that was Irish. Yeats himself even said that
while in England Wilde "perpetually performed a play which
was in all things the opposite of all that he had known in childhood
and youth. He never put off completely his wonder in opening
his eyes every morning on his own beautiful house and in remembering
that he had dined yesterday with a Duchess" (Deane 373).
Wilde's contribution to the realm of Irish identity is undeniable
though. He did express the disgust with which so many Irish
viewed British society with a tactful comedy that few could
rival. This, however, represents but a small portion of what
it meant to be Irish at the time, and what persisted as defining
characteristics of the Irish identity in subsequent generations.
Other celebrated Irish writers similarly fall
short, either in a lack of scope or in a lack of true connection
with the Irish people. It is Yeats’ poetry that overcomes these
shortcomings and unites under one banner of Irishness at once
a Gaelic ancestry, a simple, yet proud rural labouring community,
and a politically fervent and emotionally diverse city population.
It is not only that Yeats writes of such topics independently
over the course of a fifty year career, it is that the themes
of each are woven together seamlessly. The proud images of Cuchulain
in battle quickly became themes that rallied Irish nationalists,
and sustained the fisherman and farmers of the west, still deeply
attached to their ancestry; it was in fights for land rights
in the west of Ireland that Irish nationalism first found widespread
support; it was the proud ties to a distinct Irish heritage
that made so many struggle with the sacrifices necessary for
a free Irish state. In this sense, it is Yeats’ complete poetic
oeuvre that both reflected an established Ireland's imagining
of itself. A complex mix of inspiration and vision expressed
in an often confused or contradictory manner, yet proud nonetheless:
thus is the Romantic sense of Irish Identity one gets from Yeats’
poetic works. TBJ
NOTES
1. Irish Free
State established 1922; Republic of Ireland established 1937.
>> RETURN
2.
Gaels arrive in Ireland in roughly 100 BCE, and remain until
Viking conquests 10 centuries later. Art, literature and the
Gaelic language thrived throughout Ireland for this time. (Wright
et al) >> RETURN
3.
Yeats' work is often divided chronologically. His earliest works
draw strongly on the ancient Gaelic tradition. Crossways (1889)
and The Rose (1893) epitomize this early period and its Gaelic
influences. >> RETURN
4.
A rise in Irish Nationalism at the turn of the twentieth century
paralleled an resurgence in the Gaelic tradition and these movements
did not remain distinct. Nationalists found strength of Irish
autonomy and a distinct tradition from their English counterparts
in the ancient Gaelic literature and culture. Led by Lady Gregory,
Douglas Hyde and Yeats himself, Connradh na Gaeilge (The Gaelic
League) fostered this sense of pride both for artists and writers
and for rebel politicians. ("Revival of Nationalism”) >>
RETURN
5.
The Irish Nationalist movement can be seen to have its roots
in earlier efforts of Catholic emancipation which subsequently
led to interests in the establishment of an autonomous Irish
State free of British religious oppression. Though certainly
not excluded, and, in fact, often held in high regard (Charles
Stewart Parnell perhaps the most important leader of the movement
was Protestant as well) Protestants were a minority of Republicans.
Yeats and others artists and writers found themselves wrapped
up in the Romantic notions of Ireland through their works and
interest in the rich history of the Irish people. ("Cultural
Nationalism") >> RETURN
6.
The revival of the traditional Gaelic sports, Camogie, Hurling
and Gaelic Football, was an important part of the increased
interest in all things Gaelic. To this day the GAA represents
a relic of Gaelic Ireland; in fact no foreign sport (specifically
British rugby, soccer and others) may be played on a GAA pitch.
That includes the largest stadium in Ireland, Croke Park. (http://www.gaa.ie/)
>> RETURN
7.
The famous siege of the General Post Office in Dublin on Easter
morning 1916 represented a decisive moral victory for Sinn Fein
republicans, despite the blowing defeat it represented militarily.
The executions of 16 Nationalist leaders served as a rallying
cry of sorts for the movement, which led increasingly successful
revolts in the years that followed. (Fianna Guide to Irish Genealogy).
>> RETURN
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