Questa tesi si propone di analizzare la raccolta poetica The Wind Among the Reeds del poeta anglo-irlandese William Butler Yeats, pubblicata per la prima volta nel 1899. I primi tre capitoli intendono contestualizzare la raccolta in relazione alla vita e all’opera di Yeats, al periodo che avrebbe portato alla sua maturazione e pubblicazione, e alla critica yeatsiana, la quale ha spesso considerato The Wind Among the Reeds e la così detta “early poetry” di inferiore livello artistico rispetto alla “mature poetry” novecentesca. Nel quarto ed ultimo capitolo – che costituisce altresì il fulcro dell’intero lavoro – ci si è soffermati sull’analisi testuale della raccolta. Questa sezione ha messo in evidenza il profondo legame tra l’apparato esterno e la struttura interna del (macro)testo, sottolineando l’importanza di ogni singolo elemento della raccolta nel concorrere alla coerenza semantica e simbolica di un’opera d’arte che costituisce un esempio della maestria poetica yeatsiana. / This dissertation deals with an analysis of the poetry collection The Wind Among the Reeds written by the Anglo-Irish poet William Butler Yeats and published for the first time in 1899. The first three chapters aim to contextualize the collection within Yeats’s life and work, the period leading to its development and publication, and the yeatsian criticism that often regarded The Wind Among the Reeds and the so called “early poetry” as a minor aspect of Yeats’s literary production, if compared to “the mature poetry” of the ‘Nineties. In the fourth and last chapter – which constitutes the core of the whole research – we focused on the textual analysis of the collection. This section has shown the deep relation between the external and internal structure of the text, underlying the relevance of all the elements constituting the collection and establishing the semantic and symbolic coherence of a work of art which is representative of Yeats’s poetic virtuosity.

Uma das mais influentes figuras da literatura irlandesa, o escritor W. B. Yeats conta com uma vasta obra em diversos gêneros (poesia, prosa ficcional, ensaios, teatro, autobiografias) e que se estende por uma longa carreira, do final dos anos 1880 até sua morte, em 1939. Durante todos esses anos de intensa atividade, Yeats acumulou uma profícua correspondência, da qual quase oito mil cartas sobrevivem. Parte de um esforço de décadas, vêm sendo publicados volumes das Collected Letters of W. B. Yeats, um projeto de edição crítica completa da correspondência ativa do autor sob edição-geral de John Kelly para a Oxford University Press. Partindo de uma análise do histórico de publicação das cartas do escritor até o presente momento da edição de John Kelly, esta tese contextualiza as diferentes formas como o rico material das cartas foi utilizado pela crítica do autor e propõe uma exploração das epístolas que Yeats envia a periódicos de língua inglesa para publicação nas seções de Cartas ao Editor, ao final do século XIX. O recorte proposto e a abordagem adotada baseiam-se em um entendimento da correspondência de escritores como um campo de estudo distinto, regido por preocupações que remetem a características específicas do gênero carta. Ancorando-se em diversos outros estudos sobre a escrita epistolar, sejam eles de cunho mais teórico (como DIAZ, 2002), sejam aplicados a escritores específicos (como STANLEY, 2011), a presente pesquisa explora a correspondência aberta do jovem Yeats para ressaltar os usos políticos que ele faz desse tipo de texto. Considerando-se diferentes temas e controvérsias nas quais ele se envolve, partese de uma contextualização do conteúdo referencial das cartas para uma análise das formas como o escritor busca engajar-se com o leitor com o intuito de convencêlo. O estudo revelou que o período escolhido é rico em material sobre a relação entre a literatura e a construção da identidade seja a identidade pessoal e artística do próprio poeta, que busca definir-se em relação à tradição, seja a identidade de toda uma literatura nacional. Para o poeta, definir o cânone nacional irlandês era uma condição essencial para a independência política, uma antiga reinvidicação de parcelas do povo irlandês e que volta a ter grande relevância com os movimentos nacionalistas dos séculos XIX e XX. A análise das estratégias utilizadas por Yeats nas cartas abertas revela uma crescente sofisticação de técnicas e no uso das potencialidades dialógicas e performativas da escrita epistolar e demonstra, concomitantemente, seu amadurecimento como escritor. / One of the most influential figures in Irish literature, the writer W. B. Yeats has produced a vast oeuvre spanning many genres (poetry, prose fiction, essays, theater, autobiographies) and extending over a long career, from the late 1880s until his death in 1939. During all these years of intense activity, Yeats accumulated a fruitful correspondence, of which nearly eight thousand letters survive. Part of an effort of decades that have been published as The Collected Letters of W. B. Yeats, an ongoing critical edition of the authors correspondence under the general editorship of John Kelly for the Oxford University Press. From an analysis of the history of publication of the writers correspondence until John Kellys edition, this thesis contextualizes the different ways in which this rich material has been used by Yeats criticism and proposes an exploration of the letters Yeats sends to periodicals for publication in the Letters to the Editor section during the end of the nineteenth century. The proposed focus and approach are based on an understanding of the writers correspondence as a distinct field of study, governed by concerns that refer back to the specific characteristics of the letter genre. Anchored by several other studies on epistolary writing, both from a more theoretical nature (as DIAZ, 2002) or applied to specific writers (as STANLEY, 2011), this research explores the open correspondence of the young Yeats to highlight the political uses of this kind of text. Considering different issues and controversies in which he engages, the study includes a contextualization of the content of the letters and an analysis of the ways in which the writer seeks to engage with readers in order to convince them. The research found that the chosen period is rich in material dealing with the relationship between literature and the construction of identity be it the personal and artistic identity of the poet, who tries to define himself in relation to tradition, or the identity of a national literature. For the poet, defining Irish national canon was an essential condition for political independence a centuries-long aspiration of the Irish people that once again achieves great relevance among the nationalist movements in the nineteenth and twentieth century. The analysis of the strategies used by Yeats in open letters reveals a growing sophistication in terms of the techniques and his use of the dialogical and performative potentials of the epistolary writing, concomitantly revealing how he matures as a writer.

“The Wanderings of Oisin” was published in 1889 and is one of W.B Yeats’ earliest poems and is the main focus for this essay. The poem depicts the duality of Irish identity and the transition from one system of belief to another. This essay will demonstrate that W.B Yeats uses Celtic and Catholic mythology in “The Wanderings of Oisin” in order to reflect his contemporary Ireland. The essay begins with a deifintion and a discussion about the words 'myth' and 'mythical method'. The second part of the essay describes the depiction of Celtic and Catholic mythology in “The Wanderings of Oisin” and the connection to late nineteenth century Ireland. The first section presents information on Irish nineteenth-century history and the second section focuses on five parallels to Yeats' contemporary society: The vitality of Celtic mythological beings, the depiction of Oisin as mediator, the sense of loss regarding Irish culture, the juxtaposition of Celtic and Catholic and the ambivalence that follows in a society where two conflicting mythologies coexist and compete. The main body of arguments discusses these parallels between Yeats’ portrayal of Celtic mythology and nineteenth century Ireland and shows that "The Wanderings of Oisin" reflects Yeats' contemporary Irish society.

Mitte der 1920er Jahre und im Kontext der irischen Unabhängigkeit erklärte der Kunstkritiker Thomas MacGreevy (1893–1967) den Maler Jack B. Yeats (1871–1957) zum Nationalkünstler Irlands und verglich sein Werk mit keinem Geringeren als dem Francisco de Goyas. Im Zuge dessen konstatierte er, „Yeats’ […] pictures such as A Republican Funeral will [one day] be considered as important a part of the nation’s history as Goya’s 3rd of May is to the Spanish art lover” (MacGreevy 7999/1, S. 8). Bemerkenswert ist dabei zunächst, dass MacGreevy die historischen Gegebenheiten im Spanien Goyas mit denen Irlands im 20. Jahrhundert gleichsetzte (MacGreevy 7999/1, S. 3). Zusätzlich aber reihte der Kritiker Yeats damit auch in eine künstlerische Traditionslinie ein, sei doch der Ire ebenso wie der spanische Hofmaler in der Lage gewesen, zeithistorische Ereignisse seiner Heimat in adäquater Weise in die eigene Kunst zu übersetzen (MacGreevy 7999/2, S. 3), wobei er dessen Bild A Republican Funeral auf eine Stufe mit dem wohl bedeutendsten Gemälde Goyas stellte.

Depuis les débuts de W. B. Yeats en tant que dramaturge dans les années 1890, le personnage de théâtre irlandais semble pris dans une tempête de mémoire, chavirant entre deux écueils également mortifères, l’impossibilité d’oublier (hypermnésie) et celle de se souvenir (amnésie). Cette crise de la mémoire et par conséquent de l’identité entraîne une prolifération de troubles mentaux chez les personnages et une utilisation métaphorique croissante et peut-être inconsciente de la maladie mentale par les dramaturges comme théâtralisation des bouleversements de la société contemporaine. W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) et J. M. Synge (1871-1909) font de la mémoire dysfonctionnelle non seulement l’un des thèmes centraux de leur œuvre théâtrale, mais plus encore la matière même de leur écriture, alors que la mémoire désacralisée et déstabilisée est réécrite, remodelée par une prolifération de récits mensongers et contradictoires (paramnésie). Ce travail veut alors définir le rapport entre mémoire, maladie mentale et Modernisme sur une période relativement longue (1892-1939) afin d’observer l’évolution des modes d’inscription de la mémoire à l’intérieur du texte en se centrant sur les trois troubles de la mémoire identifiés à l’époque et à la lumière desquels seront étudiées successivement les pièces. Il s’agit de faire un aller-retour entre la perception intuitive de la mémoire par la littérature et les théories psychiatriques contemporaines, l’hypothèse centrale étant que le texte théâtral intègre certaines notions cliniques dans l’étude de la mémoire, ce qui permettrait de voir dans cette relation entre texte médical et texte théâtral l’un des éléments d’un (pré-)Modernisme irlandais. / Ever since Yeats started writing plays in the 1890s, the Irish character seems to be struggling between two opposite pitfalls of memory: on the one hand an impossibility for him to forget, and the other hand an impossibility to retain memories. This memory crisis, which entails an identity crisis, leads to an increasing staging of mental disorders by the playwrights to represent, perhaps involuntarily, a destabilised contemporary society. W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) and J. M. Synge (1871-1909) use mental disorder not only as a theme, but also as a literary ploy as memories in their plays are relived and reconstructed in misleading and contradictory tales. This work focuses on the relationship between memory, mental disorder and Modernism in a long period (1892-1939) in order to underline the evolutions of the representation of dysfunctional memory in the texts. It successively examines the plays in the light of the three major memory disorders identified by psychiatrists at the time: amnesia, hypermnesia and paramnesia. This work relies on a parallel reading of the intuitive perception of memory by literature and the contemporary psychiatric theories, the underlying hypothesis being that some clinical notions of memory dysfunctions have been integrated to the theatrical corpus, which could be a feature of an Irish (early) Modernism.

[pt] O trabalho apresenta traduções comentadas de seis poemas situados no longo século XIX, conceito criado pelo historiador britânico Eric Hobsbawm para descrever o período compreendido entre a Revolução Francesa e o início da Primeira Guerra Mundial (1789-1914). Os poemas escolhidos foram escritos como reações a guerras, conflitos ou revoluções que se passaram no continente europeu, mais especificamente à Revolução Francesa (Is it a reed, de William Wordsworth), às Guerras Napoleônicas (Poetical essay on the existing state of things, de Percy Bysshe Shelley, apesar de não ser apenas sobre isso, e Napoleon s farewell (from the French), de Lord Byron), à Primavera das Nações (To a foil d European revolutionaire, de Walt Whitman) e à Primeira Guerra Mundial (On being asked for a war poem e The Second Coming, ambos de William Butler Yeats). / [en] This thesis features commented translations of six poems written during the long nineteenth century, a term coined by British historian Eric Hobsbawm for the period between the French Revolution and the start of the First World War (1789-1914). The chosen poems were written as responses to wars, conflicts or revolutions that were happening in Europe, more specifically the French Revolution (Is it a reed , by William Wordsworth), the Napoleonic Wars (Poetical essay on the existing state of things, by Percy Bysshe Shelley, even though it deals not only with that, and Napoleon s farewell (from the French), by Lord Byron), the Springtime of Nations (To a foil d European revolutionaire, by Walt Whitman) and the First World War (On being asked for a war poem and The Second Coming, both by William Butler Yeats).

Cognitive poetics, the recently developed field of literary theory which utilizes principles from cognitive science and cognitive linguistics to examine literature, is applied in this study to an exploration of the poetry of William Butler Yeats. The theoretical foundation for this approach is embodiment theory, the concept from cognitive linguistics that language is an embodied phenomenon and that meaning and meaning construction are bodily processes grounded in our sensorimotor experiences. A systematic analysis including conceptual metaphors, image schemas, cognitive mappings, mental spaces, and cognitive grammar is applied here to selected poems of Yeats to discover how these models can inform our readings of these poems. Special attention is devoted to Yeats's interest in the mind's eye, his crafting of syntax in stanzaic development, his atemporalization through grammar, and the antinomies which converge in selected symbols from his poems.

This paper is a study of the effect of W. B. Yeats's contact with Japanese Noh drama on his work. The immediately discernible effect on his work can be seen, of course, in his adaptation of Noh dramatic form to his Four Plays for Dancers and The Death of Cuchulain. It is the thesis of this paper, then, that, despite many handicaps, Yeats's aesthetic background was not only sufficient to discover what suggestion did lie in the limited information available to him concerning Noh, but also sufficient for him to intuit much of what wasn't suggested.

Thesis advisor: Marjorie Howes / This dissertation is situated within the opening field of Irish literary and musical interdisciplinary studies and argues that a scholarly focus on the presence of music within Irish literature and culture opens new readings and perspectives. Drawing on cultural studies and musicology, I focus on the musical moment as a limited space during which identities and relationships are dynamically refigured. Through this approach, I look at the formations of communal and individual identities in and through musical performances, the production of gendered identities through music, and musical constructions of memory and the past. The first two chapters of my study deal specifically with the development of gendered identities through musical performance. Chapter 1 focuses on William Butler Yeats' and Augusta Gregory's variations on the trope of the male wandering musician as reflected in their writings on the Galway singer and poet Anthony Raftery, and the effects of Yeats' interest in Raftery on the evolution of his poetic persona, Red Hanrahan. I argue that Raftery, as introduced to Yeats by Lady Gregory, was pivotal to the evolution of Yeats' self-image as a national poet and helped to define his thoughts on poetry as a performed and musical art. Chapter 2 focuses on opera as a venue for an increased range of personal expression for female characters in Joyce. In it, I argue that the strictly disciplined nature of operatic roles allow Julia Morkan of "The Dead" and Molly Bloom of Ulysses a level of agility with gender identity otherwise unavailable to them. Chapter 3 moves from the gendered individual to communal and national identity as reflected in the musical events at the 1932 Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. In it, I argue that the musical performances throughout this event briefly opened a unique social space in which contradictory versions of Irish identity could coexist. Finally, Chapter 4 moves ahead to the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, focusing on Roddy Doyle's approaches to communal musical experience, the negotiations of identities through music, and constructions of memory through music in The Commitments and The Guts. Here, I consider the issues of cultural connections and appropriations examined by critics of The Commitments and extend these questions to a reading of The Guts. Drawing on Arjun Appadurai's work on the mobility of cultures and the availability of the past as "raw material" for the present, I argue that The Guts shows how a fraudulent "found" recording of a fictional singer can provide a needed ancestor who articulates a needed narrative of defiance and survival for a 2012 audience. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: English.

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