CALIFORNIA STATE UN IVE RS ITY , NORTHRIDGE
AN EXAMINATION OF THE INFLUE NCE OF THE
,,
FRENCH SYMBOLI STS UPON THE EARLY POE TRY
AND AESTHE T I C S OF W . B . YEATS
A t he s i s s ubmi t t e d in p art i a l sat i s fac t i on of t he
'
requirement s for t he degree o f Mas t e r o f Art s in
Engl i s h
by
Do rothy G . C l ark
January , 1 9 7 6
-:.:-:.2s:..s
.
-
.
of Do�othy G.
Cal��or��a Sta�e
Clark is ap prove d :
Uni versity, Northridge
December, 1975
ii
ABSTRACT
AN EXAMINATI ON OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE
FRENCH SYMBOLI STS U PON THE EARLY P OETRY
AND AES THE T I C S OF W.B. YEATS
By
Dorothy G. C l ark
Mas t e r of Art s in Engli s h
January , 1 9 7 6
Thi s t he s i s e x amine s t he di re c t influence o f t he
I
�
French S�b o l i st s upon the p o e t ry �d ae sthet i c s o f W.B .
, Yeat s.
The f i r s t part de fine s French S ymb ol i st t he o r y and
I
I include
. s a di s c u s s ion o f t he maj o r p oet s and word s o f t he
I
,
I movement ,
from Baude l aire to Mall arme.
The s e c ond p art o f
I the t he s i s de s c rib e s Yeat s ' s r e l at i on s hip
!
t o t h e S ymbo lis t s
and the e f f e c t o f S ymb o l i st t hought up on h i s ae s t he t i c s.
I
Yeats ' s int ere s t in Fren c h t hought and art b e g an early in
li fe.
It was strengt hened by h i s invol veme nt wi th t he
1 Rhyme r s '
I
I
l
'
l
I
c lub and hi s fri end ship wi t h Arthur S ymons , and
event ua l l y led him to Par i s an d d ire ct c ont act wi th inf luent i al S ymb o l i s t figure s.
The out growth o f t h i s int ere s t
\ eme rged as Yeat s ' s f i r s t ae s t he t i c philo sophy in Ideas o f
Good and Evil , a t h inly vei led t ran s l at i on o f S ymb o l i s t
iii
t hought and the p o e try volume , The Wind Among the Re ed s .
The third p art o f thi s t he si s examine s t he d ire ct influence
of t he S ymb oli s t s up on b o t h the c ontent and struct ure o f
I
t he Wind volume .
Th e Symb o l i s t s' s di s avowal o f the
I mat er i al wor ld and the ir de s ire t o reach a s upernat ural
I
! i de al i s b o t h a central t heme o f Yeat s's Wind volume and a
l
! det ermi nant o f i t s stru c t ure .
!
The aim o f the S ymb o l i s t s
was t o evoke , t o int imat e , and t o avoid dir e c t expr e s sion
I in or der t o
Il the re ader .
l language
1 new
c onve y a s e n s e o f an i deal r e al i t y dire c t l y t o
The Wind vo lume' s aim i s t he - s ame ; the
shar p l y diverge s from Yeat s' s e ar l y work in i t s
t e chni c al pr owe s s , a p ot e n c y d ir e c t l y at tribu t ab le t o
i S yinb.o l i s t metho d .
l
I
iv
AN EXAMINAT I ON OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE
FRENCH SYMBOLISTS UPON THE E ARLY P OETRY
AND AESTHETI C S OF W . B. YEATS
By
Dorothy G . C lark
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·----· . . -· � ..
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--·-----·-�--�-�-�-----····-·
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The c onc ept o f t he art i st a s an imaginat ive c r e at or
ii s impl i c it in t he p o etry and t houg ht o f Yeat s .
F or Y eat s , .
:t he arti st ' s world o f imagi nat io n wa s sup er i or t o what he
c ame t o c a ll t he wear y wo r ld of t he s e n s e s .
Unfort unat e l y
f o r Yeat s , hi s at t it u d e wa s i n c o nfl ict wit h t he dominant
;mat eria i st ic and p o s it iv i st ic int e l l e c t u a l t hought o f t he
l
l at e ninet e ent h c ent ur y .
Ho wever , Y e at s wa s no t t o t a l l y
i s ol at ed i n h i s int el l e ct u al perc ept i o n ; he fo und philo�
so phic al refuge i n r oma nt i c id ea l i sm , a m oveme nt out o f
f av or wit h ma i n s t r e am int e ll ect ual t hought , but a movement
whi c h c ont i nued t o f lour i sh i n t he l at t er ha lf o f t he nine·
t e ent h c ent ur y a s a philo sophi c a l und ergr ound .
For examp l e ,
· in a r eact i o n against t he sc i e nt i sm of D ar win and Hux ley ,
· e sot eric s t ud y group s appear ed l ike mu s hr o oms all ov e r
Euro p e , e . g . , Lo ndo n Theo s ophy Soc i et y , C aba li s t ic Ord er
'of t he R o s y C ro s s , S o c i et a s R o s i c ruc i ana in Angl ia . 1
Yeat s , pred i spo sed t o suc h t hi ng s , wa s an act ive p art ic i ­
: pant i n t he s e grpups .
Yet , what Yeat s lac ked i n a l l t hi s
·int e n s e ac t ivit y wa s a ne w a e st het ic t h eor y , a ne w art
·t hat o ff er ed a sp ir it ual ly or i ent ed art i st i c fr ame wo rk .
The Fren c h S ymbo l i st s pr ovid ed t h i s frame work .
!
Their
influ enc e up o n Y e at s , t ho ugh a mat t er o f c r it i c a l d ebat e , 2
a p p e ar s t o b e c o ns iderab l e .
Yeat s fr e que nt l y a ll ud e s t o
'
t he S ymbo l i st s i n Aut ob iographi e s ( sp ec i f i c al l y i n " The
.
Tremb l i ng o f t h e Ve il " - - it s e l f a phra s e fr om Mallarme{ ) ,
2
.)
t he Ep il o gue t o Per Arn i c a S i l ent ia Lunea , and mo st not ab l y
i n s everal o f t h e e s sa y s i n Id ea s o f G o od and Evil .
Add i t i o nal l y , st at ement s of Y e at s ' s c o nt emp orar i e s , e sp e ­
:c ial l y Art hur S ymo n s who d ed ic at ed The S ymbo l i st Movement
in L i t erat ur e t o Yeat s , ind i c at e c onsid erab l e Fr enc h S ymb ol i st inf lu e nc e up on Yeat s .
Ho\llev er , t he mo st imp ort ant
evid e nc e o f t hi s inf luenc e i s r e f l e c t ed in Y e at s ' s wor k .
' The c ha ra c t er o f t hi s i nflu enc e i s not imitat io n , b ut
. "mut at ion , ap p l i c at ion , t r an s f ormat ion , a spr ingboard t o
new c r e at io n . " 3
The f o l lo wing examinat ion of t h e Fr enc h S ymbo l i st infl uenc e upo n Yeat s i s in t hr e e p art s :
f ir st , a d e f init ion
o f Fre nc h S ymb ol i st t heory , inc lud ing a d i sc u s s i o n o f t he
; on Yeat s ' s ae st het ic s ; and t hird , an e xam inat ion o f t he
•di r e c t inf luenc e of t he Frenc h Symb o l i st s on The Wind
'Among t he Re ed s .
I
Alt ho ugh t he Fren c h S ymbo l i st moveme nt wa s c ompo sed o f
,d iver s e strand s o f ae st het i c t hought and pract i c e , it wa s
'held t ogether and d e f ined b y it s r eb e l l i o n a ga in st modern
so c i et y , po s it ivi st p hil o s ophy , and an art d i vorc ed fr om
' sp i r it u al c on s id erat i on s .
The Frenc h S ymbo l i st s shudd er ed
·at t he r e a l i sm o f Z o l a and at a sc i e nc e whi c h saw mat er ial
�r e a l it y as t he so l e r e a lit y.
The new ae st het ic t hat ar o s e
from t hi s re act i o n wa s i n sp ired i n p art by G erman I d eali st
phil o s op hy and Herme t i c t hought .
Both bod i e s o f t ho ught
vi ewed t he p hy s i c al univ er s e as i nf e r i or t o an id e a l o r
sup ernatural r ea l it y .
P er c ept io n of t h i s " t r ue r e al i t y "
, and it s r ev e l at i o n i n po et r y b e c ame t he S ymbo l i st p o et ' s
:aim :
The ae st het ic and my st ic al e x p er i enc e wer e fu sed.
I n add it ion t o t he d ir ec t exp e r i e nc e of t he id ea l
rea l it y , t he "my st ic a l " f or t he S ymb o l i st inc l ud ed id e a s
and c omp l e x emot ion s o r mood s whi c h we r e a s s o c iat ed wit h
,
o r wer e int imat ion s o f t hat ideal r e alit y .
S i nc e bo t h
: emo t io n s and t he ideal wor ld wer e int angi b l e , almo s t in: effab l e by t he ir nat ur e , t he S ymb o l i st s f elt unc omfort ab l e
, wit h t rad it i onal po et ic u s age s , whi c h t he y b e l ieved were
; l im it i ng .
The e xp e r i e nc e o f a m o o d o r a my st i c a l e xp e r i ­
, enc e would b e lo st i n t he t ra n s cr ipt i on .
C oncr et e o b j e c t s
and t he t r adit i o nal u sage o f language were v i ewed a s l o c k­
ed int o a c onc r e t e and l imit ed univer se - -a univ e r s e whi c h
t he Symbo l i st s be l i eved wa s but an inade quat e r e f l e ct io n
4
5
o f a great er r e a l it y .
The answe r t o t he prob lem o f e x -
pre s s ing t he int angibl e wa s fo und i n mu s ic .
Mu s i c a b ove all t he art s was capab l e o f c o nv e ying
mo od s and f e e l ing s , o f pr ovo king t he l i st ener ' s imagina 't i o n , o f c reat ing infinit e sugge st ive r ippl e s l ike a p e b b l e t o s s e d i nt o a pond .
F or the Symbo l i st s Wagner was a
,hero ; bot h B aud elai r e and Mal larm/ r e f er r ever ent l y t o him .
Wagner p er c e iv ed t he art i st a s a pr i e st who s e art had t he
r evo l ut i o nar y p ot ent ial t o make man anew .
The S ymb o l i st s
not o nl y ac c ept ed t h i s not i on o f t he art i st and art , but
al s o acc ept ed Wa gne r ' s ne w oper at i c form , t he mu s i c drama ,
a s a mod e l for t he ne w art .
T he aim o f t he mu s i c d rama
. wa s "not t o stat e and inform , b ut t o imp re s s and c onvey
1
meaning s . 114
F o r t hi s purpo se V.lagner u s ed t he l e itmot if
whic h l i nked t h e v i s ual and aud it ory ,
5
r e sult i ng in a
sy st em o f inf init e sugge st ions :
In ord er t o u se t hi s devi c e , however , a �ymphonic
t r e at ment of vo i c e a nd instrument s is imperat iv e ,
t hat i s t o say a t r e atm ent in whic h s hort phra se s ,
meani ngl e s s in t hemselve s , c an be r e p e at ed ,
i nt erwoven and devel oped over l o ng st r et c he s o f t ime .
The b e holder i s t hu s a s s a il ed from all sid e s .
He
s e e s , he ar s , f o l lo w s t hemat ic mat er ial and int erpr et s
l egendar y s ymbo l s in a c ompl e x synt het i c exp e r i enc e .
Ea c h sp ec t at or , ac c ord ing t o Wagne r , i s sup p o s ed
t o lo s e him s e l f in t he " b ot t om le s s sea o f ha:gmony "
and t o b e mad e ane w b y t he s ub mer s io n .
•
•
•
•
What Wagner acc ompl i s hed wit h note s , t he symb o l i st po et
:wou l d do wit h wor d s .
Ac c ord ing t o Mallarm�.mu s ic and
. ver s e were t o b e reunit ed :
b
Oulr l ' ind i sc ut a b l e rayo n--c omme l e s t r a it s
d or e nt et d � c hir ent un me andre d e m�l od ie s :
ou
la Mu s ique r e j o int l e Ver s po ur forme r , d epu i s
Wagne r , l a Poe s i e . 7
Inst ead o f pr e s ent ing a c o nc r et e and r eady-at - hand image ,
mu s ic sugge s t e d and evoked fee l ing s and image s i n t he l i s't· e ner .
The i nt angi b l e d i d not need t o b e made t angib l e ; it
'ne e d ed on ly t o be evoked .
The Symb o l i st p o et , in l i e u o f
mu s ic a l not e s , had t he symb ol e .
The symb o l e d i ffered from t he t r ad it ional symb o l and
t he me t ap ho r .
In a ll t hr e e c a s e s , t wo obj ect s are c omp ar ed
in o rd e r t o c reat e a new image .
In t he c a se o f t he t r ad i-
t i o nal symbo l and met apho r , t he c omp ar i s o n s are e a s ily
!Und er st o o d .
For examp l e , t he Star s and St r ip e s is under-
: st o od to r epr e s e nt t he Unit ed S t at e s and pat r iot i sm ; s imi,lar l y , t he C ro s s is und er st o o d t o r epr e sent t he s ac r i f i c e
:of Chr i st .
In t he s imi l e " s he i s as love ly a s a r o s e " t he
, c o mpar i s on o f " s he " w it h " r o s e " i s appar ent .
t he symbo l e i s c lothed in o b s cur it y .
onl y be s ugge st e d o r int imat ed .
In c o nt ra st ,
The c omp ar i s o n may
T he goal i s to evo k e t he
; c o mpar i s o n i n t he m ind o f t he r eader and i n a diale c t i c a l
synt he s i s c r e at e a t hird a s pe c t t hat i s a s s o c ia t ed wit h
t he idea l .
I
The f o l l o w ing s onnet b y Mal larme i s an
,ex c e l l ent e x amp l e:
L e v i erge , l e v iv a c e e t le b e l auj ourd ' hu i
Va-t - i l no u s d�c hir er av ec un c oup d ' aile ivr e
C e lac d ur o ub l i� que hant e sou s l e givr e
L e t ranspar e nt glac i er de s vol s q u i n ' ont p a s fui!
Un c ygne d ' aut r e fo i s se souv i ent que c ' e st l u i
Magni fi que mai s q u i s an s e sp o ir se d � l ivre
7
/
'
P o ur n ' av o ir p a s c hant e la r e g i o n ou v ivre
Quand du st ;r i l e hiv er a r e spl end i l ' ennu i .
Tout s on c o l se co uera c e t t e blanc he ago nie
Par l ' e spac e inf l i g�e a l ' o'i se au qui l e n i e ,
Mai s non l ' horreur du s o l ou l e p l umage e st pr i s .
1\
/
\
Fant ome qu ' a c e l i e u s on pur ec lat a s s igne ,
I l s ' immo b i l i se au s onge fr o i d d e me pr � s
Que vet p armi l ' ex i l inut il e le C ygne .
The t heme o f t he p o em i s t he po et ' s c r e at ive fru s t rat ion .
, He se e s him s e l f a swan c aught in t he ic e .
Like t he swan ' s
unfl own f l ig ht s , t he po et ha s t he v i s i o n o f un sung s ong s .
' The c ompar i s on b e t we e n t he p oet ' s p l ight and t he s wan ' s
c o nd it i o n i s not r ead il y apparent .
The s ymb o l e i s no t o nl y
't he s wan , but t he sad and he avy mu s i c evoked b y t he r e pe t i t io n o f t he " ivr e " and " ie /l u i " s ound s .
b e c ome s a symbo l e o f t he p o et ' s de spa ir .
T he p o em it s e l f
The s ymb o l e ,
't he r e for e , ma y range fr om b e i ng an ima ge o r a r hyt hm t o t he
po em it s el f .
In al l c a se s , t he a im i s t o a f f e c t t he r ead ­
:er ' s emo t io n s wit h l it t l e or no r ega rd fo r t he rat io nal
:fac ul t y .
T he mo st c ommon c r it i que o f Symb o l i st p o et r y , it s
1 o b sc ur it y , b e c ome s appar ent .
i
Ma l l arm � i s said t o hav e b an­
i s hed " a s " and " l ike " in met aphor s.
c ame a n ae s t het i c g oa l .
O b s c ur i t y it s e l f b e -
Thi s g oal , howeve r , wa s no t ob s c u-
,ri t y f or i t s own s ak e , b ut r at her ob s c ur i t y a s it c r e at ed
a s en s e of m y st er y .
;
The S ymbo l i st s a s so c iat ed myst ery wit h
.
/
:t he s a c r e d , for ac c ording t o Mal larme " Wha t ever i s sac r ed ,
what ever rema i n s sac r e d , mu st b e c l ot hed in my st ery . " 9
; My st e r y , symb o l , and c r e at ion bec ame f or t he S ymb ol i st s
8
/
and fo r Mal l arme int e gr a l a s p ec t s o f one pr o c e s s :
It i s t he p er fect use o f t hi s myst er y t hat
c o n s t itut e s t he symb o l : To evoke an obj e c t , lit t l e
b y l it t l e , in order t o s how a mood or , c onver se l y ,
t o s el ec t an obj e c t and t o extri c at e a mood from i t ,
b y me an s o f a ser ie s o f d ec odings . lO
Thi s evo c at ion nec e s s i t a t e d a r ej ect ion of r e al i st i c t ec h­
'
niqu e s o f d e sc r ip t i o n b e c a u s e . "t o name an obj ec t i s t o
bani s h t he maj o r p art o f t he e nj oyment d erived fr om a p o em ,
. si nc e t hi s enj o yment c on s i st s in a proc e s s o f gradual
reve lat i on . " l l
The symbol e i s t h e t o ol b y whi c h t h i s
r e ve lat ion i s real i z ed i n art .
By it s evocat iv e and sug-
ge st ive powe r s i t c onj ur e s i n t he r ead e r ' s imag inat ion an
int imat ion of t h e id e al or a mood inc apab l e o f b e ing c omimuni c a t e d b y ord i nar y met ho d s .
T he nat ur e o f t hi s " r eve la t io n " i s c ruc i a l t o an
;under s t and ing of S ymb ol i st t he o r y and art .
The S ymbo l i st s '
int e r e s t in id eal and o c c u lt r ea l it ie s i s at t he he ar t o f
:t hi s " r eve l at io n . "
•
•
·
The t he oret ic al b a s i s for t hi s id ea l
o r o c c ul t r e a l it y wa s p r ov ided , in p art , b y G erman Ideal i st
phi l o s o p hi e s whi c h wer e in vogue in Fr anc e in t he l at t er
hal f o f t he nine t eent h cent ury .
t ic ular , i s o f int ere st .
Kant ' s inf luenc e , in p ar ­
Ka nt ' s b e l i e f t h at t he se n s e s
'were inc ap able of e xp e ri e nc ing t he noumena or sp iritu al
world and t hat t he ae st he t i c fa culty or imaginat io n wa s
very p ower ful and c apab l e o f a unique v i s i o n b e c ame part o f
t he philo s ophi c al f oundat ion o f S ymbol i st t ho ug ht .
The
S ymb ol i st s ac c ept ed t he inab il it y o f t he �e n se s t o br id ge
9
t he divi sion b et we e n t he mat e rial and spirit ua l wo r l d s and
l o o ked for s ome ot her mean s o f t r ave r sing t he gap t o t he
.id ea l .
Re ligi on-- specifi c al l y r e ligiou s my sti c i sm--had
ialwa y s b e en o ne way of c r o s sing int o t he spirit ual r e alm .
Yet , Kant ' s de s c ript ion o f t he aut onomou s imaginative fa culty
o ff er e d t he S ymb ol i st p o et a fu sio n o f t he ae st he t i c and
,r e ligiou s .
The a e st hetic facult y b ec ame f or t he S ymb o li st
. synonomous wit h r eligio us per c eption .
Thus , t he ae st he t i c
e x p e ri enc e a n d t h e r e ligi o u s e xperien c e became one .
The
way one pi erced t hr ough t he barri er bet we e n t he mat eri al
and s pirit ual wor ld s wa s by art .
Engleberg not e s t hat t he
met aphor o f t he " wind owp ane " in Ma l l arm � ' s " Le s F e n gt r e s "
. i s r e pr e s ent at ive of t hi s view o f t h e univer s e and o f t he
. poet ' s func t io n . l 2
i
·
The f o l l o wing quota t ion from " Le s
F enet r e s " i ll u st r at e s t he wind owp ane met a p hor :
La s du tri st e h� pit a l , et d e l ' enc en s f � t id e
Qui mont e en l a b l anc he ur bana le de s rid e aux
Ver s l e grand c ru c ifix e nnu y � du mur vide ,
Le moribond s our noi s y r edre s se un vieux d o s ,
"
S e t raine et v a , moins pour c hauffer sa pourri t ur e
Que pour voir du s o l ei l sur l e s pierr e s , c o l l e r
L e s p oil s b l anc s et le s o s d e la maigre figur e
Aux f e n e t r e s qu ' un b eau rayon c l air v eut h�l e r ,
Et l a b o uc he , fi � vr eu se et d ' a z ur b l eu.v orac e ,
Te ll e , j eune , e l l e a ll a r e spir er son t r e"sor ,
Une peau virgina l e et d e j adi s ! e ncra s s e
D ' un l o ng bai s er amer le s t i� d e s c arre aux d ' or .
Ivr e , il vit , oub liant l ' horr eur de s saint e s hui l e s ,
Le s ti s ane s , l ' horl oge et l e lit infli g � ,
La t o ux ; et quand l e s oir s aigne parmi } e s t ui l e s ,
S o n o ei l , � l ' horiz o ne d e lumi � r e go rge ,
·
\
Voit de s galer e s d ' or , b e l le s c omme de s c ygne s ,
Sur un f l euve d e pourpr e et de par fum s d ormir
10
/
En bersant l ' ec l air fauve et r ic he d e leur s l igne s
D an s un gr and n onc ha lo ir c har g� de souve nir !
A i n s i , pr i s du d � go � de l ' homme � l ' �me dur e
Vautre dan s l e b o nhe ur , o 'u se s se ul s app � t it s
Mangent , e t qui s ' ent �t e 'a c herc he r c et t e o rdure
Pour 1 ' o f fr ir a l a f emme a ll a i t ant se s p e t it s ,
Je .fu i s et j e m ' ac c�oc he � t out e s l e s cr o i s � e s
D ' ob l ' o n t ourne l ' epa ule ala v i e et, beni ,
I
/
Dans l e ur v err e , lave d ' et
erne l l e s r o s e/ e s ,
Que dore l e mat in c ha st e de l ' Infini
Je me mire et me v o i s ange ! e t j e meur s , e t j ' a ime
--Que la v it r e s o i t l ' art � s o it l a m� st ic ite- A r ena1 t r e , port ant m o n r eve e n d i ademe ,
Au c i e l ant �r ieur o"u f l eur it la Beaut e' !
Mai s , h� la s ! I c i -ba s e st ma1t r e : sa hant i s e A
Vie nt m ' eco eur er p ar f o i s j u sque ' e n c e t abr i sur ,
Et l e v o�i s sement imp ur d e la B�t i se
M e for c e � me b ouc her l e ne z d e v ant l ' az ur .
E st - i t mo y e n , S M o i qui c onna i s l ' amert ume o/
D ' e nf o nc e r l e.c r i st a l par le monst r e i n s ul t e
Et d e m ' enfuir , av ec me s deu.x a il e s sans £ l ume
--Au r i sque d e t omb e r p e nd ant l ' et ernit�? 3
I n t he f i r st part of t he po em , a s ic k man in a ho sp ital
g az e s out hi s windo w
•
at t he fre ed om of t he sky and t he
b eaut y o f nat ure from whi c h he i s kept .
In t he s e c o nd hal f
o f t he p o em , t he s i c k man b ec ome s t he p o et who l i k e h i s
ho sp it al-bound c o nt er part gaz e s al s o at a l o v e ly wor ld b e ­
yo nd t he " wi ndowp ane . "
He mu st break t hr ough t he b arr i e r
,t o t hat lov e ly wor l d , even.t ho ugh he ha s n o not ion o f what
jr e al l y l i e s b e h ind it .
Unf ort unat e l y , mo st o f hi s e f fort s
'
:are abort ive , and he r emains on t he s ord id s ide o f t he
.barr i er .
( T he inab i l it y t o c r o s s t hi s barrier i s c ommo n in
' S ymb o l i st po et r y , ac c o unt ing for t he t heme s of he l l , ennu i ,
and de s p a i r whi c h permeat e mu c h o f t he p o et r y , e sp e c i al l y
.J....L
Baud elair e ' s. )
In a world whe re t he har s h c oldne s s of t he
mac hine wa s b e c om ing m or e and mor e dominant and whe r e l i fe
·was vi ewed as so mu c h c l ay wit ho ut t he breat h of s p ir it ,
l
't he S ymbol i st p oet saw t he a e st het ic r ealm a s a r e l igiou s
s ourc e and him s e l f a s a pri e st .
Thu s , " t h i s reve l at i on " i s
! t he p i er c i ng t hr ough t he windo wpane t o t he sp ir it ual wor ld
o f t r ut h .
What d i st ingu i she s Symb ol i st p o et r y from p r ev i o u s
Romant ic or r e l i g iou s p oet ry i s t he S ymb o l i st ' s c o nc ept i on
o f t he p o em .
S i nc e t he ae st het ic fac ult y might b e aut o no -
mou s and c apable o f c r eat ing an ent ir ely ne w world , t he
p o em b ec ome s t hat new vwr ld and i s c ompl et e unt o it s e l f .
Pr evi o us l y , t he r e wa s in po etry a mar ked d ivi s ion b et we e n
f orm a n d c ont ent .
The c o nt ent in b ot h R omant i c and nat u-
ral i s t i c art wa s t he maj or c onc ern .
The f o rm--t he language
and wor d s t hemse lve s - -wa s t he medium of t he po et ' s p art ie i ul ar vi s io n , wit ho ut a ny spe c ial po t enc y in it s own r ight .
, Language wa s " t ran spar ent , 11 a fo yer t o t he vi s ion .
In
c ont ra s t , t he S ymb o l i st vi ewed language a s e spec i al l y
pot ent .
For him , t he word s c o uld not b e separ at ed fr om
·t he vi s ion .
I f arr anged in a " sp e c i a l " fa shion , ea c h word ,
:t he po em i t se l f , and t he vi s ion bec ame o ne .
•
Tha l anguage
b e c ame opaque , r at he r t han t ranspare nt , a nd t o ok o n an
· ent ir e l y ne w d ime n s io n .
I
This t he o r y , t ho u g h Ma llarme ' s ,
r e lat ed t o t he v i s i o n and prac t ic e o f Baude laire and in
part to S we d enborg and o c cult t hought .
12
Ea c h word i s it s e l f a symb o l , and when it i s t o rn fr om
'it s c onve ntional u s ag e and st and s in it s o wn empt y space
!
( " s o no ro u s enve lope" ) , it will r everberat e , re s ound with
.as socia t io n s and imag e s .
The p o et ' s aim i s t o have know-
,led ge o f t he s e set s of a s soc iat ions and image s .
It i s he re
:t hat t he image of t he alc hemi st or magic ian b e c ome s signif­
·ic a nt .
Bo t h Ma l larm t and Baud e lair e we r e aware o f t he
I
Suc h st at ement s a s Mal l arme ' s
image o f t h e p o et -magician .
"Bet we e n t he old met hod s of magic and t he sor c e ry whic h
po e t r y wil l r emain , t he re e x i st s a s e c r et parit y " l 4 and
_Baude lair e ' s " T o hand l e languag e wi se ly mean s t o prac tic e
. a kind o f e v oc at ive wit c hcraft " 1 5 st r e s s t he r e l at io n s hip
;be t we e n magic and p o et ry .
!
The poet in j uxt apo sing word s
i s r ea l l y j uxt apo sing s et s of a s s oc iati on s .
I n t he al embi c
, o f t he imagi na tio n , t he p oet -a l c hemi st c ombine s s uc h s et s
:of a s s o ci at ions s o t hat the y wi l l evoke t he id e a l in t he
.re ad e r ' s imaginatio n and b e in t hem se lv e s a pure u s age o f
t he f orm o f t he p o em b e c om e s t he ide a l o r
l anguage :
ab s o l ut e upon p ap e r .
Ma l larm � di st ingui s hed b e -
Languag e b e c ome s my stic al.
t we e n t wo c ondit ions o f word s t hat t he po et mu st aim t o
i di sc er n .
1
The fir st wer e "immediat e word s " o r " r ep o rt age , "
d e scrib e d b y Ma l l arm � i n Divagat i o n s " a s t hough one were
!t o take a c oi n and si l e nt l y put it int o anot her man ' s
;
16
hand . "
The se word s ar e mere l y a means o f e xc h ange , func tio ning t o aid men t o c ommunic at e , but w hi c h die a s soon a s
'----·---
··-- �----�-------- ................
. . ...
... .
-------- ----
-- . ..
...
-- ------ "" '
-·
...... . ..
...
,,, ·-
-----
.. ... . .. -- .. . ..
13
t he ir me aning i s under sto o d .
e x i st enc e .
i
The y have no aut o nomou s
I n c ont r a st , t he s e c ond c o nd i t io n o f word s ,
" e s s e nt ial word s , " ar e po t ent wit h an aut o nomous e xi st enc e .
! The y evoke t he ide al , a s d e sc r ib ed in D ivagat io n s , " I s ay a
f l o wer and , o ut s id e t he ob l iv i o n t o whic h my v o i c e r e l e gat e s al l o ut l ine s - -mu s i c a l l y t h e idea it s e l f ar i s e s , t he
' s we e t id e a t hat i s a b s e nt in any b o uquet . n l 7
(
Ma l l arme ' s word s ar e al ive , animat ed b y s p ir i t .
The
:pur e nat ur e of word s ( and it i s t he poet ' s dut y t o g ive
•
" un s e n s plus pur aux mot s de l a t r ib u " ) i s d iffer ent t han
mere r e p r e sent at io n .
It i s a pr imit ive st at e wit h r e fer -
enc e s t o ide a s , fe e l ing s , and all t he s e n se s , and it i s a
. " c orre s p o nd ant . "
The pure word has c or r e sp ond e nc e s wit h
;t he id e a l s i nc e t he mat e r i al and s p ir i t ual wo r ld s ar e l ink:ed by c orre sp o ndenc e s .
.
T he c onc ept st ems fr om Herme s
Tr i sme g i st u s ' s Do c t r ine o f C orr e s p o ndenc e s " As abo v e , s o
below"
18
and f o und it s way t o S ymbo l i st t bought pr imar i l y
Baud ela ir e ' s po em " C orr e s ­
•
v i a S wedenborg t o B au d e l a ir e.
�
pond e nc e s " i s e s s ent i a l in und e rs t and ing t h e S ymb o l i s t
v i s i on o f t he unive r s e and o f art :
La Nat ur e e st un t emp l e o� de v ivant s p i l ier s
La i s sent parfo i s sort ir de c o nfu s e s paro le s ;
L ' homme y p a s se � t r ave r s d e s for�t s de s ymb o le s
Qu i l ' o b servent ave c d e s r egard s f am i l ie r s .
Comme d e l ong s � c ho s qu i de l o in s e c o nf ond e nt
Dan s une t �nebr e u s e et profo nd e unit � ,
Va s t e comme la nuit et c omme l a c lart J ,
1
Le s p ar fum s , le s c oul eur s et l e s so n s s e r e po nd e nt .
I l e st d e s parfums fra i s c omme de s c hair s d ' e nfant s ,
D ou x c omme l e s haut bo i s , ver t s c omme le s prair ie s ,
14
--Et d ' aut r e s , c orrompu s , r ic he s et t ri omp hant s ,
Ay ant l ' expan s i on de s c ho se infinie s ,
C omme l ' ambr e , l e mu se , l e b e nj o in et l ' e n c e n s ,
Qui c h ant ent l e s t r ansport de l ' e sprit et de s s e n s . 1 9
'
: The p o em vi evr s nat ure a s a t empl e , alive wit h c orr e sp o n.;.;,
d e nc e s or s ymb o l s o f t he ideal whi ch have "l ' expan s ioh de s
i
c ho s e s inf i ni e s " ( t he infinit e manife st ed in t he f i nit e ) .
Eve ryt hing i n nat ure c orr e spond s .
Though t hi s c or r e sp on-
d e nc e app e ar s c onfu s ing ( " se c o nf ondent " ) , it i s actua l l y
'emb l emat i c o f t hat " t � n �b r eu s e e t p r of ound e unit e'" whi c h i s
t he sp irit u al id eal o f Unit y o f Be ing .
ming l e and ar e r ec iproc al .
Al l s en s e s int er -
Thi s s ymp hony o f r e c ipr o c it y
c r eat e s a hor izont a l c orre spond enc e .
T h i s s e n sual c orr e s -
'pond e nc e wa s t ran s l at e d b y t he S ymb o l i st s int o t he p r act ic e
; o f s ynae s t he s ia .
:worked vert i c all y .
In add it i o n , t he c orre spond enc e s a l so
The moveme nt went fr om t h e plane of
c oncret e and sen s at e obj ect s to an ab s t r a c t l ev e l embody ing
:t he id e al or t he p o et ' s moo d .
S i nc e c orr e sp ondenc e s p erme at ed t he univer se , t he l ine
b et we e n out er and inner rea l it y wa s at t ime s t ot a lly anni• h i l ate d .
Nat ur e c ame t o repr e s ent part o f t he p o et ' s
i nner l i f e .
Thu s , Baud e l a ir e ' s de sc r ipt i on of P ar i s i an
; c it y li f e i s rea lly a d e sc r ipt i on o f t he wor king s o f h i s
i
soul .
T he po et u s e s c onc r et e o b j e c t s and Natur e--t he out er
wor l d- - f or t he e x pr e s s io n o f inner stat e s ; l at er T . S . E l i o t
adopt ed t hi s t ec hni que , t erming it t he " obj e c t ive c or r e la ­
. t i ve. "
Thi s dimming of t he d emar c at ion betwe en inner· and
15
out er r e a l it y i s one of t he mor e pr of ound e f f ec t s o f
: symbol i sm .
In add it ion t o t he b e l i e f t hat t he r e i s a c orre sp o n-
j d e nc e b et we en t he spir it ua l and mat e r i a l wor ld s and all
;
a sp e c t s o f t he p hy s ic al world,
t he S ymb ol i st s d emonstrat ed
a b el ie f in an univer sa l unc o n sc iou s or Gr eat Memor y ( whi c h
:Jung wo uld l at er c al l t he c ol l ec t ive unc o n s c iou s ) .
Symbo l e s were s imilar t o t he dream and t he stuff fr om whi ch
.myt hs wer e mad e .
All ar e a s so c iat ed w it h a p sy c ho l o g ic a l
r ea l it y whi c h , if t he r e i s a Great Memor y , i s t r ue for a l l
men .
Th e symb o l e i s simi lar t o t he arc het yp e, and t ra d i ­
t io nal ma ni fe s t at i on s of t he ar c het yp e--dr e am , myt h ,
l egend , f olkl o r e --we r e ut i l iz ed a s inc ant at ory t o o l s .
T he
!c onc e pt o f a G r e at Memory l e d t o t he idea o f imp er s onal
.
·
po et r y .
Rimbaud ' s st at eme nt " J e e st un autr e "
20
and
I
Mal l arme ' s "Je sui s maint enant imper s o nne l et non p l u s
: st ep hane qu e t u a s c o nnu , m a i s une ap it ud e qu ' a l ' univer s
sp i r i t ue l � se vo ir et � se developer a t r av e r s c e qu i fut
. 21
mo 1 "
a s sume t hat t he p o et is in t ouc h wit h a s uper i or
r ea l it y from whi c h he i s given p o et r y .
F or t he c hi e f S ymb o l i st p o et s , Baud ela ir e , Rimbaud ,
I
iVe r l a i ne and Mal l arme , b ei ng in t ou c h wit h t hi s sup e r io r
:r e a l it y t oo k t he form o f an int o x i c at io n .
Baud e la ir e v i e w-
, e d t he p o et a s t he " hornrne enf ant " for whom " e ve ryt hing i s
·new ; he i s a lway s int o xi c at ed .
No t hing b ea rs a mor e s t r ik-
ing re s emblanc e t o what i s c alled i n s p irat ion t han t he joy
16
.wit h whic h f orm s and c o l or s ar e ab s or bed b y t he c hi ld . "
22
' It i s t h i s c hi l d ' s vi s i o n , t hi s i nt ox icat i o n t hat i s t he
:moment o f r e vel at i o n f or Baud e l air e .
The p o et , t hough ,
c annot c r e at e if he i s al wa y s i nt o x ic at ed .
t he Dandy side o f t he p o et .
T he r e i s , t hu s ,
The Da nd y o we s hi s birt h , in
part , to Poe and ma y be s e e n along w it h Huy sma n ' s De s
· E s se int e s a s t he prot o t yp e of t he ' 9 0 ' s d e c ade nc e .
Upon
:fi r st r ea d i ng P o e , Baud e la ir e felt he wa s s e e ing h i s o wn
2
t ho ught s i n print . 3
What st ruck him wa s Po e ' s i n s i st enc e
t hat t he s p i r itual c ould b e c onve yed p r ec i se l y ; yet , para,do x ic a ll y , t hi s p r e c i s ion involved t he u s e o f s ugge st ion ,
t he i ndefi nit e , and t he vague .
For Baud e lair e , a s wi t h
· P o e , t hi s po et ic t e c hnique wa s ba sed upo n t he imp or t anc e
; of mu s i c , f or a c omp let ed wor k wa s a p er f e c t s ynt he s i s o f
a l l p syc hi c and mu s i c al eleme nt s .
Thi s p er f e c t synt he s i s
d emand e d gr eat s k i l l , r e q u ir i ng Baud e la ir e ' s art i st t o
i
:harmo ni z e in hi s mind t h e int o x i c at i on o f v i s io n w it h t he
:c r i t ic a l int e l l igence o f t he c r a ft sman�
To d i s c over t he o b sc ur e laws b y virtue o f whic h t he y
hav e c r eat e d ; and draw fr om t hi s st udy a number of
pre c e pt s who s e d iv�u e g oa l is t he infal l ib i l i t y of
p o et ic pro duc t i on
•
. Thi s " infa ll ib i l i t y o f p o et ic pr od uc t ion" wou l d c r e at e an
i
impre s s i on up on t he r eader whi c h wa s sup ernatur a l .
I n an
·at t empt to emu lat e mu s i c , Baud e l a ir e u s ed r e pe t it i on o f
so und , and i n ord er t o c o nvey an emot ion b y evoc at i on and
sugg e st io n , he u s ed a s e r ie s of image s t hat would r e it er at e
t he " s o u l " o f t h e p o em .
An e xc e ll e nt e x amp l e i s " Harmonie
17
du s o i r " :
'
Vo i c i v e nir l e s t emp s o u vi brant sur s a t ige
/
C ha que f leur s ' e vapore a in s i qu ' un e nc e n s o ir ;
Le s s on s et l e s p ar fum s t o urnent da n s l ' air du s o ir ;
Val s e m� l anc o l ique et l angour eux vert ige !
I
Chaque f l eur s ' evap ore a i n s i qu ' un enc ens o ir ;
L e v io lon fr �mit c omme un c o eur qu ' o n affl ige ;
Val s e m�l anc o l ique et l angour eux ve r t ige !
Le c ie l e st t r i st e et b eau c omme un grand repo s o ir .
Le
Un
Le
Le
v i o lo n fr �mit c omme un c o eur qu ' on affl i g e ,
c o eur t e ndre , qui ha it l e n6ant v a st et noi r !
c i e l e st t r i st e e t b e au c omme un grand r ep o s o ir ;
s o l i e l s ' e st noy� dans s o n sang q u i se f i ge .
Un c o eur t endr e , qui hait l e n�ant v a st et no ir ,
Du p a s s � lumineux r e c u e i l l e t out ve st ige !
Le s o l e i l s ' e s t no ye dan s s on sang qui se fi � �
Ton s ouvenir e n mo i l u it c omme un o st e n so ir ! ?
•
·
It i s onl y at t he e nd o f t he po em t hat t he r e ad e r d i sc o v: er s t hat t he pre vio u s t hr e e st anz a s have b e e n an ext e nd ed
; met ap ho r , c ompar ing " l e s t emp s " wit h "ton s ouve nir . "
. or what i s "t o n s ouv enir " is unc lear .
Who
Yet t he po em i s a -
l iv e wit h ho r i z o nt a l c orr e sp ond e nc e and i s it s e l f i nt o x i : c at ed wit h p er fume s and t he mu s i c of f lo we r s i n me l anc ho l ic
. danc e .
Add it io nal l y , t her e i s an e xp lic it c o rre spo nd ence
mad e b et we e n t he natural wor ld and t he wor ld o f t he chur c h .
•
The s c e nt of f lower s i s l ik e an " e nc enso i r , " t h e sky l ik e
. " u n grand r e po s o ir , " and " t o n so uve nir " l ike "un o st enso i r. "
; There
are t wo r hyme s c heme s wh ic h r e af f irm a c orr e s po nd enc e
: be t we e n an emot i o nal st at e and t he r el igious wor ld:
t he
" o ir " s ou nd s i nc lude re l ig io u s w ord s and t he d o oming " s o ir "
·and " n o ir " ; and t he " ig e " sound inc lude s t he t ort ur ed , emo ·.
t io nal t erm s -- suffer , s inking , v ert igo .
The ac c umu l at i o n
18
io f vi sual a nd s ound imager y cr eat e s t he impre s s i on of t h e
• p o et ' s sorrow wit ho ut t hi s s orrow ever b e ing expl ic it l y
: d i s c u s s ed .
In add it i on t o Baud e lair e , Verlaine a l s o had a t r e mend ou s prac t ic a l influence on t he S ymb o l i st mov ement .
Hi s imagery set t he t one for most o f t he Symb o l i st p o et s ,
e . g . , grey , pal e , whit e , p la c id , d ee p , f l e e t ing .
26
But it
i s Ver la ine ' s int o x i c at io n wit h mu s i c and it s appl icat i on
t o po et r y f o r whic h he i s mo st not ewort hy .
" I l P l eure
D ans Man C o eur " i s an exc e l l ent exampl e of the d el ic at e
mu s i c Ver l aine c r e at ed in hi s po e t r y :
Il p l eur e d ans man c o eur
Comme il p l eut sur la v i l le ,
Qu e l l e e st c e t t e languer
Qu i penet r e man c o eur ?
bruit doux d e l a plu i e
Par t erre e t sur l e s t o it s !
P our un c oeur qu i s ' ennu i e ,
0 l e c hant d e la plu i e !
0
I l p l eur e s ans ra i s o �
D an s c e c o eur qu i s'e c oeur e .
Quo i ! mul l e t r ah i s on?
C e d eu i l e st dans r ai s on .
C ' e st bien la p ir e p e ine
D e ne savo ir pourquo i ,
S ans amour et san s haine ,
Mo n c o eur a t ant d e pe ine ! 2 7
The mu s i c i s so pro nounc ed in t he a b ov e po em t hat o ne a l mo st lo s e s awar ene s s of t he s e n s e o f t he word s a s t he
r e p e t it i on o f s ound , all it er at ion , and wor d s c r eat e an
enc hant ing and hypno t i c melody .
The importance o f mu s i c
in po et r y i s s t r e s s ed in " Art poet ique . "
Verlaine ' s mani-
19
i
f e st o o f S ymb o l i st art and p e rhap s t he b e st i l l u st r at i o n of
S ymb o l i st met hod :
De l a mu s i que a� a�t t out e c ho s e ,
Et p our c e l a pr e f er e l ' Impair
Plus va gue et p l u s s olub le d ans l ' a ir ,
S ans r ien en l u i qui pe se ou qu i po se .
I l f aut au s s i que t u n ' ai l l e s po int
/
C ho i s ir t e s mot s sans quelque mepr i s e :
Rien d e p l u s c her que l a c han s on gr i se
oh l ' I nd�c i s au Prec i s se j o int .
C ' e st d e s beaux yeux d er ri� r e l e s v o i l e s ,
C ' e st l e gr and j our t r emblant d e mid i ,
C ' e st , p ar un c i e l d ' aut omne at t i�d i ,
Le b l eu fou il l i s d e s c l air e s �t o il e s !
Car nou s vo u l o n s l a Nuanc e enc or ,
P a s l a Coul eur , r i en que la nuanc e !
Oh , la nua nc e seu le fi anc e
Le r@v e au r�ve et la f lGt e au cor !
F u i s d e p l u s l o in l a P o i nt e a s sa s s ine ,
L ' E spr it c r u e l et l e r ir e impur ,
Qu i f ont p leur er l e s y eux d e L ' Azur ,
Et t out c et a i l d e ba s s e c u i s ine !
Pr end s l ' �lo quence et t o rd s -lu i s on cou !
Tu f e r a s b ie n , en t r ain d ' i ner g ie ,
De r e ndre u n p eu la R ime as sagie.
,
S i l ' o n n ' y v e i l le , e l l e ira j u squ ' ou?
0 qui d ir a l e s t ort s de la � ime !
Quel enf ant s ourd ou qu e l negre fou
Nous a forg� ce b ij o u d ' u n s ou
Qu i sonne c re ux et f aux sou s la lime ?
D e l a mu s iqu e enc ore et t ouj o u r s �
Que t on v e r s s o it l a c ho s e e nvo l ee
/
Qu ' o n sent qu i fu it d ' une &me e n alle e
Ver d ' autr e s c i eux � d ' aut r e s amour s .
Que t on ver s so it la b onne ave nt ur e
E p ar se au v e nt c r i sp� du mat i n
Qui v a fl eur ant l a ment he e t l e t hsm·
E t t out l e r e st e e s t l it t � r at ur e . 2
Mu s ic i s t w ic e s t r e s sed a s t he mo st imp ort ant el ement in
;
t he art of po et ic c r e at io n .
...____ �-- �---- �------�-----�--.- -·�--
--- ---- .
"-·-·
____ --� · · ·--· ---··
.
Y et mu s i c mu s t b e of a c er t a i n
---- ---··- ·-·····-
··-
-·
- ------
-----·
-·
.
·····-----· --
--
··--
--
·---- ···-
---- "
···-··-
20
j r hyt hm , not t he e a s y and mell ifluent amb ienc e o f J on s on ,
but an unev en and sl ight l y ro c ky r hyt hm t hat enc hant s t he
r e ad e r wit hout put t ing him t o s l ee p .
In add it i o n t o mu s i c ,
" La Nuanc e " or t he u s e o f vagu e and und efi ned imagery i s
" C'e st d e s beaux yeux d e r r i �r e l e s vo i l e s , "
str e s s ed :
say s Ver la ine , an image t hat i s s im i l ar ly fo und in Ye at s' s
I
Wind Among t h e Reed s .
La st , one mu st av o id " l' e lo quenc e "
o r rhet o r ic , and t he d id act ic and empt y phra se .
I
" L ' e l o quenc e " i s lit erat ur e , a
p ejorat ive t erm impr e s s ing
u p on t he p o et t hat i t i s not p o et ry · for t ex t b o o k s he is t o
wr it e , but p o et r y whi c h speaks t o t h e s oul .
It i s due t o Ver l a ine t h at R imb aud g ained l it erary
r e c ognit ion .
Like B aud e lair e , R imbaud b e l ieved in a Gr e at
Memor y and in the po et func t i oning like a ver y spec i al
sec ret ar y .
Taking Baud e l aire's c on c ept of int oxic at ion t o
it s c o nc lu s i on , R imb aud b el i eved it was t he p o et 1 s t a sk t o
awaken hi s slumb e ring fa c u lt ie s whic h wer e no ·longer c ap ab l e o f vi ewing t he d iv ine , for " our pale r ea s on hid e s t he
in finit e from u s . " 2
9
T he po et mu st make h im s e l f a seer b y
I
" l e l ong , immen se , et r ai s sone der eg lement de t ou s le s
sen s
•
•
•
11
and b y
•
"
s ou f fr anc e , d e fol i e "
30
•
•
t out e s l e s forme s d'amour , d e
t hu s b ec om ing pr ivy t o t he d iv i ne
c or r e sp ond enc e o f nat ur e b y he aring " l e l angu e de s fl eur s
et d e s c ho s e mu e t t e s . "
31
S hunning s impl e im it at i on o f
nat ur e , Rimb aud u s ed nat ur al o bje c t s a s symbo l s o f h i s
subj e c t ive s t at e o f mind .
The po em was t o b e a " sp ee c h
21
acc e s s i b l e t o all t he s e n s e s ; of t he s oul t o t he soul ,
summ ing up everyt h ing , perfum e s , co l or s , sound s , t ho ught s ,
c at c hi ng t h ought and t ugg ing at it .
•
•
•
, n3 2
The Rimb aud ian po et u s ed tradit ional obj e c t s but r e shuf f l ed t hem i n suc h a l i e n c omb inat ions t hat , a lt hough
t h e y ar e individuall y ident if iab le , t he ent ir e atmo spher e
o f t he c omb i nat ions i s st r ange a nd some what awe s ome .
The
" t rut h " o f p o et r y t a ke s p l ac e in t he r everb erat i o n s or
a s s o c iat i ons t he p o em c r e at e s in t he r e ad er .
I l l umi nat ions,
a c ol l e ct io n of suc h vi sionary po ems , o f f er s t he f ol low ing
I
e x amp l e , " R o y aut e ":
Un b e au mat i n , c h e z un peupl e for t doux , un homme
et une femme superb e s criai ent sur l a place pub l ique :
" Me s ami s , je veux qu ' e ll e s o it r e i ne!" E,l l e r ia it
et t r emb l a it .
I� par lait aux ami s d e r �velat ion ,
d ' �preuve t ermin�e .
I l s se p�ma ient l ' u n c ent r e
l'aut r e .
En e ff et , i l s fur ent r o i s t out e une mat i n � e , o� l e s
t e nt ur e s c armin�e s s e r e l ev�r e nt s ur l es ma i s ons ,
et t out e l ' apr� s -mid i , ou il s s ' avac �r e nt d u c�t e/
d e s j ard ins du palm e s . 3 3
Whi l e R imb aud has b e e n a s ignific ant f or c e i n mod e r n
l it erat u r e ( Surr e al i sm ) , hi s inf luenc e d ur i ng Y e at s ' s t ime
was pr imar i l y t hr ough hi s fr i e nd Verla ine .
Howev e r , a l ­
t hough Y e at s and Verl aine v-rer e a c qu aint ed , it w a s Mallarm /
who had t he mo st sub st ant ial inf luenc e u p o n Yeat s and who
was d e s c r ibed a s t he c ro wn o f t he Symb o l i st s .
It was wit h
Mal l arm ' t hat S ymb ol i st t heory r eac he d p e r fec t io n .
I
Mal larme ac c e pt ed Baud e l a ir e ' s " infal l ib i l it y o f po et i c
product iod ' a s hi s credo .
Whil e Ma ll arm �' s po et ic t he ory
22
has already b e en d i s c u s s ed in t he ab ov e gener al r emar k s ,
•
Mall arm � ' s ob se s sion w i t h p o et i c pur it y mu st st i ll b e
noted.
The c onc e pt o f art i st ic p ur it y wa s e s s e nt i a l t o
Symbolist t heory .
Po et r y , art i st ic purit y , t he ae st het i c ,
and t he i d e a l "La B e aut e(n wer e one and t he same .
The
creation of a p o em involved t he c r eat io n o f a new wor ld
whic h was aut onomou s and c ap ab le of r ev e al ing t he i d ea l
and t he infi nit e i n t he r e ad er .
Mal l arm � ' s init i al st rug-
gles wit h h i s art ar e mar ked in hi s ear l y p o etry by t he
desire t o escap e from art ' s c ruelt y--t he ina b i l it y t o
pure poet ry .
cf'eate
It i s in "Her od iad e "
struggle i s s omewhat re solve d .
t hat t hi s·
" He r od iad e , " t he whi t e
virgin beaut y , i s ent ranc ed w it h he r v ir g ini t y and f e ar s
J..·t s loss.
lnss.
B ot h
She is t aunt ed b y her nur se who pr e d ic t s i t s
This
John
loss oc cur s wit h t he b e he ad ing o f St . J o hn .
and
.
. . .. ,
.
Hei"Oct.
. . i.ade .d ie , but p o et r y i s c r e at ed
-
.. ·,·
·.
�.
�.
•
· ·.
(Ye at s ' s "The. King ·of t he· Great C lo c k To\'rer " and "Ful l
Mo o n in Marc h " o we mu c h t o t hi s po em . )
r
In Ma llarme ' s l at e r p o et r y , ob s c ur it y i s t he m o st
d i st inct ive c haract er i st ic .
Wor d s are wr enc hed fr om t he ir
c onvent ional synt ac t ic al p o s it i ons and re s hu f f l e d i n synt a c t i c d i sloc at i on s in o r d e r t o arr ive at a poet r y whic h
i s t otally new .
The new po em w ou l d b ec ome a mani fe stat io n
o f ·t he :infinit e ( La B eaut � ) . 34
Ma llarm ' ' s pre p arat i o n f or
writ ing t he p o em wa s a f orm of med it at i on wh er e he wou ld
c �ear h i s mind i n order t o a llow spiritual f orc e s t o ent er .
i
,.._ -�--- ------· ----�-----
--
--------····-- --- . . .
23
Thi s p r oc e s s i s t he c ent r al image in t he d az z l ing s onnet ,
f
" l e R i en que e st l a verit e " :
S e s pur s ongl e s t r � s haut d �diant l e ur onyx ,
L ' Ango i s se , c e m inu it , s out ient , lampado phor e ,
Maint r&ve v e sp�ra l br&l� par l e Ph�ni x
Que ne r e c ue il l e p a s d e c i n�ra ire amp ho re
Sur l e s c r /d enc e s , au salon v id e : nul pt yx ,
Abo l i b ib e l o t d ' inanit � sonor e
( Car l e Matt r e e st al l e pu i s 7r d e s p l eur s au St yx
Ave c c e s e ul objet dont l e Ne ant s'honor e . )
Mai s pr oc he l a cr o i s § e a u nord vac ant e , u n o r
Agon i s e s e l o n peut-�t r e l e d6c or
D e s l ic orne s r u ant du f eu c ont r e une nixe ,
' E l l e , d�funt e nue en le mir o ir , encor
Que , d an s l ' oub i ferme p ar · le c adr e se f ixe
De s c int i llat i on s s it 6t le s e pt u or . 3 5
T he p o e t ' s m ind i s an empt y r o om ; t he t heme o f empt yne s s i s furt her st r e s sed b y t he empt y s e a she ll.
T he mir -
r o r at t he e nd o f t he s onnet r epr e s ent s t he po et ' s f unc t ion ; he r e f l e c t s , a s t he mirr or r ef l e c t s , t he D ivine , t he
inf init e .
The mirr or , l ike t he poet ' s imag inat ion , sud-
denly f orm s a b e aut iful and s t r ange wor ld , " s c int i l lat io n s
a t onc e t he s ept et " ( t he st ar s denot ing t he c onst e l l at io n
t he Gre at Bear ) .
Th i s ob sc ure and yet st art l ing evocat ive
sonnet i s a s u c c e s s ful e x amp l e o f t he S ymb o l i st at t empt t o
c apt ur e t he ideal upo n p aper.
I
Alt hough Mal l arme ' s at t empt
at c r e at ing pur e po et r y led t o h i s c r eat ive st agnat ion ,
' hi s t he o r i e s had rever b erat i on s in b ot h F ranc e and Eng l and.
In summar y , t he S ymbo l i st c onc e pt o f p o et r y i s int egr a l l y r e lat ed t o a b e l i e f in an i d ea l or supernat ural
wor ld.
T he Symb o l i st p o em at t empt s t o sugge st t hi s wor ld
by e vo k ing emot i on s and image s t hat int imat e t he i d ea l.
24
Thi s pro c e s s of s ugge st i on nec e s s it at e s t hat p o et ry emula t e
mu s i c , t hat it r e l y up on evo c at i on rat her t han d e s c r ipt i on.
The po et b e c ome s a mag ic ian-pr i e st c onj ur ing s p el l s wit h
word s ; art b e c ome s a r e l ig i on a s t he ae st het ic and r e l i gious s e nt iment s fu s e .
In a s oc iet y growing mor e a nd mor e
mat er ia l i st i c , t he p o et func t i o n s in i so l at i on , st a nd i ng
out s id e so c iet y l ike Ax e l , alone in hi s t ower ob se s s ed
wit h hi s s e ar c h f or t he id e a l .
T he image o f t he i so lat ed
poet i s p o s s i b l y t he apot heo s i s of t he Romant i c .
Alt ho ugh
t he S ymbo l i st ae st het ic r eac he s back t o Baud ela i re , t he
mo vement wa s off i c i al ly b e gun in 1 8 8 6 in a pr o c lamat i on b y
6
J e an Mo r � s . 3
Whil e Mal l arm t and Ver l aine were never
o ff i c i al l y c onne ct ed wit h t he movement , it is t he ir po et r y
and t hought whi c h mo s t affe c t ed t he young p oet s o f t he
1 8 9 0 ' s , inc lud ing Yeat s .
II
Whe n as ked what wa s t he major d i ffer enc e b et we en hims e l f and Y e at s , AE r e sp ond ed " I d i d not f o l low him t o
Pari s . " 3 7
Wh i l e Y eat s ' s t r avel s t o P ar i s w e r e imp ortant ,
hi s c ont a c t wit h t he Fr en c h b egan ear l i er .
c ent Y e at s wa s pr ompt ed b y
A s an ad o le s -
hi s f at her t o r ead Hug o and
Bal z ac , and he wa s t o sa y l at er t hat a s an art student
" no influ enc e t o uched u s but t hat o f France . "
38
Y e at s ' s
int er e st in t he Fr enc h led t o hi s t aking a Fr enc h c our s e
( b egun b y a group o f young s oc ial i$t S Y eat s had met
t hrough W i l l iam Morr i s ) .
However , he t e rminat ed h i s c a-
re er a s a stud e nt o f Fr enc h when h i s s i st er s joined t he
c la s s .
Y e at s , t he young r eb el , d id no t want h i s f am i ly
t o s e e him as a c on s ervat iv e st ud ent .
Conse quent l y , hi s
knowl edg e of t he Fr enc h l angu age was a lways somewhat
l imit ed , a fact t hat l ed T ind all t o t ot all y d i smi s s t he
e f f e c t o f t he Frenc h up on Y eat s .
Yet Yeat s , t hough no t
fluent , c ould manag e we l l eno ugh in t he languag e t o r ead
( al b e it wit h d if f i c ult y ) " Ax e l " and c ar r y o n c o nver sat i ons.
The s o il in Engl and had al s o been s igni f ic ant l y
t o u c hed by Fr enc h se ed s .
Baud e l a ir e had b ee n t r an s l at ed
in 1 8 5 7 and had s p o ke smen in Swinb urne and Go s s e ; Pat er
had adopt ed Gaut i er ' s " L ' art pour l ' ar t " in what b e c ame
t he art for art ' s sake ae st het ic .
It wa s t he or y t hat t he
Frenc h o ffer ed , a t heor y whi c h part o ok o f the gro wing
p hil o s o phic al r e ac t io n amo ng young art i s t s again s t V i c t o�
ian i sm and mat er ial i sm .
The i nt er e s t in t he Fr enc h wa s
25
26
a e st he t i c and philo s ophic al .
E ar l y in 18 8 5 t he Revue
Wagner i e nne ap p e ar ed , and Wagner ' s a e st het i c t heory and
mu s i c b e c ame a met ap hy s i c .
Fr anc e gr ew in r eput a t ion as
b e ing r i c h wit h salons v i o l ent ly o ppo sed t o t he mat er i al ­
i st ic philo sophi e s .
Fran c e , Par i s e sp e c ia l l y , b ec ame a magnet for y oung
art i st s in s e ar c h of a new ae st het i c and an atmo s p he r e
c ongenial t o t he ir o c c ult p hilo s op hi e s .
Bot h t he new
a e st het i c and int er e st in t he oc c ult wer e f or c e s a lr ead y
ext ant i n Y eat s b e for e t h e int ense Ninet i e s .
Yeat s a s a
young b o y had dr e amed of b e ing a mag ic i an-p o et , had b e e n
int ri gu ed w it h myt h , and had b e en inv olved w it h oc c ult
t hought and o rganiz at i on s .
Al l t hr e e c onc e rn s ar e imp o r ­
t ant e l ement s of Symb o l i st t ho ught .
Ye at s had add i t i ona l­
l y b e c ome a war e o f t he pot e nt ial and p o wer s o f s ymbo l s in
st udie s of t he o c cu l t ( where symb o l s ac t as t he means o f
ent e r ing t he sp iritu al wor ld or o f aid i ng t he adept in
rai s ing hi s c on s c iou sne s s ) and in st ud ie s of Bl ake ( who s e
art u s e d s ymbol s i n a uni f i e d myt ho logy ) .
That Y e at s was a s ymb o l i st in t emperament and in
d i re c t ion i s c l e ar :
h e had alr ead y exp er ime nt ed wit h
symb o l s in "The Wander ing s o f Oi s in . "
Yet it i s not mer e­
l y the u s e o f s ymbo l s whi c h d i st ingu i she s a S ymbo l i st of
t he F renc h s c hoo l .
A s not ed ab ove , mu s i c , my st ery , and
t h e c or r e sp ond enc e b e t ween art and t he id eal ar e e s s e nt i al
a sp ec t s of F r enc h S ymb o l i st art .
Though t he S ymb o l is t s
27
held v i ew s s imi l ar t o t he yo ung Yeat s ( Yeat s upo n learning
of Symb o l i st t ho ug ht mu st have fe lt muc h l ike B aud el air e
c oming upon P o e - - a s i f he were r e ad ing hi s own t h ought s ) ,
t he y a l s o offe r ed an e st ab l i s hed ae st het ic and p hi l o sophi c a l frame work .
Yeat s ' s c ont act w it h t he Symb o l i st s pr ob ab ly b e g an
around 1 8 8 7 whe n he saw " a gre at d e al " o f O s c ar W i lde , t o
whom Yeat s br ou ght " The Wand er ing s o f O i s in " f or art i st ic
advi c e .
Wilde wa s an ear l y spoke sman f or t he S ymbol i st s .
I
Hi s " Salome " was insp ired by Mal l arme ' s " Her od iad e , " and
The P ic t ur e of Do r i an Gray i s quit e s imi l ar to Huy sma n ' s
\
A R eb o ur s .
Yea t s ' s int e n s e involvement w it h t he Rhymer s
i s a l s o ind i c a t ive of int e re st in and influenc e o f t he
Fr enc h .
The Rhymer s saw t hem s elve s a s po et s maud it s o n
Eng l i sh so i l .
Dows on; J o hn s on , and S ymons frequent l y
sp ent l ong st a y s i n Par i s .
The e ffec t o f t ho s e stqys i s
e vid ent in Y e at s ' s st at ement s of the Rhyme r ' s b e l i e f :
,
Br owning .
. , and
· Swinburne .
T enny son
.
,
had fil l ed t he ir wor k wit h
what I c al l ed " impur it i e s " , c ur i o s it i e s ab o ut
p o l it ic s , ab out sc i enc e , a bo ut hi st or y , a b out
r e l ig i o n ;
we mu st cr eat e onc e more t he
pure work ( Aut o b iographie s , p . 2 0 7 ) .
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Thi s d e s ire fo r pur it y i s Ma ll armt an in c harac t er .
It wa s b y way of Art hur S ymon s t hat Yeat s b e c ame in­
/
t i mat el y involved wit h t he t he ory and p o et r y of Mal l arme
and o t he r Fr enc h S ymbo l i st s .
Ye at s lived wit h S ymons
whi l e S ymons wa s writ ing The Symbol i st Movement in Lit er at ur e and t rans lat ing v ar iou s S ymbo l i st po et s .
"-·-· ·· ·
The
28
i nfluenc e o f S ymons on Yeat s was pro f o und .
Y e at s c hara c -
-t er i z ed h i s c onver sat i on s wit h S ymo n s by wr it ing , "We
1
a lway s d i sc u s s ed l ife at i t s m o st i nt en s e moment
•
•
•
t hat mome nt whe n o ne d i s c o v er s s omet h ing sup ernat ural , a
st irr ing i n t he ro ot s of t he ha ir " ( Aut ob i ograp hi e s ,
I n a furt her e l aborat io n of S ymo ns's infl u e nc e ,
p . 3 95 ) .
i
Yeat s ac knowl edged :
Aurhur Symo n s , more t han any ma n I have
ever kno wn , c ould s l ip int o t he mind o f anot her ,
and my t ho ught s gaine d in r ic hne s s and in c l e ar ­
ne s s fr om h i s sympat hy , nor s hal l I ever know
how muc h my pr ac t i c e and my t he ory owe t o t he
p a s sage s t hat he r e ad me fr om Cat u llu s and fr om
Verla ine and Ma ll arm� ( Aut ob iogr aphie s , p . 3 9 4 ) .
•
•
•
To s ome ext ent , Yeat s r e c i p o r c at ed S ymons ' s infl uenc e o n
him b y a i d ing i n t he wr it ing of The S ymbo l i st Mo vement i n
Lit er at ur e .
S ymo n s d ed i c a t ed hi s b o ok t o Yeat s and ac -
kno wl edge d h im a s no t only t he mo st S ymbo l i st of t he
Eng l i sh p o et s , b ut a l so as he lping S ymon s t o unde r s t and
t he myst i c a l e l eme nt of S ymb o l i st t ho ught :
I s p eak oft en in t hi s b ook o f My st i c i sm , and
t hat I , of all peop l e , s ho u ld vent ur e t o spe ak ,
no t quit e a s an out s ider , of suc h t hing s , wi l l
It wil l b e no
pr ob a b l y b e a s urpr i s e t o many .
s urpr i se t o yo u , f or you hav e seen me gradu a l l y
f ind ing m y way , u nc ert ainly but inevitabl y , in
t hat direc t io n whic h ha s alwa y s been to you
your nat ur a l d ir e c t i on . 39
I n add it i o n to d i sc u s s i ons of t heory and re ad ing s of
t r an s lat i o n s , S ymons a l so int r od u c e d Yeat s t o " Axe l " by
Vi ll ier s de L ' I s le -Ad am .
The vo lume b e c ame for Yeat s a
sac r e d b o o k and rekind led wit hin him hi s own long i ng for
t he c r eat i o n o f a s im i l ar k i nd o f b o ok .
The influ enc e s
29
o f "Ax e l " up o n Yeat s were many .
Yeat s ' s image of t he
st udent i n t he t o wer , h i s d e ni al o f t he phy s i c al wor ld ,
and t he c r e at ion o f spir it ual and myst i c a l art c an be
part ia l l y at t r i but ed t o t he inf luenc e o f " Axe l . "
The c r e at i on o f a sacred book was also Mall arm � ' s
g oa l .
H e and Vill ier s wer e c l o s e fri end s - -a fr i e nd s h ip
o f whi c h Yeat s mu st have b e e n awar e .
Alt ho ugh i t i s c on­
j e c t ur e , one c an a s sume t hat Mal larm � a nd Vi ll i e r s were
The s e arc h for
l ike Grand Ma st er s t o t he yDung p o et .
Ma s t er s , a c c ord ing t o E l i o t , i s c ruc i a l t o t he yo ung p oet
s inc e t he Ma st er s " e li c it h i s c on s c io u s ne s s o f what he
want s t o say him s e lf , of t he kind of po et r y t hat i s i n
him t o wr it e . "40
Bot h Vil l i e r s and Mal l arm� he ld
t he
s ame "anc ient " b e l i e f as Y eat s and saw art and t hat b e l ie f
a s o ne and t.he same t h ing .
'
Y e at s at t ri but e s muc h t o bot h
Ma l l arm l a nd V i ll i e r s whe n c omme nt ing upo n t he ma s t e r y o f
S ymon s ' s t ran s l at ions :
H e [ Symon s ] was making t ho se t r ansl at i ons from
Ma ll arm� and from Ver la ine
and I t hink
t hat t ho se fr om Ma l larm� may have given
e laborat e f orm t o my v er se s of t ho se y e ar s , t o
t he l at t e r p o em s o f T he Wi nd Among t he Reed s , t o
The S had owy Wat er s, whi l e Vill i e r s d e L 'I s l e -Adam
had shaped what ever i n my Ro sa Alc hem i c a Pat er
had not s haped ( Aut o b iograp hi e s , p . 3 9 5 ) .
•
•
•
Like Ax e l , Y eat s l oved "pr oud and so lit ar y t h i ng s , "
and l i ke t he p o et ry of Mallarm � hi s p o e t r y was t o be a
sacred advent ur e .
Eve n wit hout any p er s onal c ont act with
t he S ymb o l i st s , t he s imilar it y bet we e n Yeat s ' s and t he
S ymbol i st s ' t empe r ament and art i st i c aims , in add it ion t o
30
Symons ' s t r an s lat i o n s and d i s c u s s ion� would have s t r o ngly
influenc e d Yeat s .
Yet Yeat s d id hav e p e r s o nal c ont act
wit h Ve rlaine ( a s d o c ument e d ).n Aut o b iographi e s) , wa s
f r i e nd s w it h t he t ran splant ed Amer ic an St uart Me rr ill , and
prob ably at tended Mallarm/ ' s f amo u s Mard i s on La Rue d e
Rome .
Whil e Yea t s never affirmed t hat he att ended t he
Mard i s , 4 1 M . Paule y i n a 1 9 3 9 art icle st at e s t hat ac c or d ing t o fr i ends Yeat s fr e qu e nt ly at t e nd e d t he s e Tu e sday
le c t ure s and wa s in fac t welc omed and s ought o ut by
I
Mallarme :
Y eat s s ouffr it n: anmo i n s de ne p ouvo ir se �ler
� le ur s ar dent e s d i s c u s s i on s et de ne pou v o ir y
br iller c omme dans le s c er c l e s l ondo nie n s ou
d ublino i s :
un peu far ouc he par t imidit e' , il se
t enait immo bile , d an s un co in du c anapi ,
l�g�r ement p enc h� e n avant , le s lo ngu e s m� c he s
d e se s c he veux d ' u n no ir de c or b eau lui c ac hant
l e fr o nt et vo ilant se s yeux c lai r s et p e r c ant s ,
et il � c out ait sa ns mot d ir e , l ' air a b s e nt .
Il
ava it d emand � � s o n h�t e de ne me p a s le
pr� s e nt er et il pr� s e nt er et il e sp �r a it b i en
p a s s er inaper gu ; s ' il vo yait p ar ha s ard d e s
yeux s e t o urner ver s lu i , s ' il e nt end ait
murmur er :
" J eune p o�t e irland a i s , " alo r s il
s ' tc happait ; mai s , c harm� par ce m ili eu
d ' ard e nt e int ell e c t u alit � , il ne manqua�t p a s
d e r � app arait r e a u Mard i suivant , at t ire au s s i
p ar 1 ' ac c u e il que lui r� servait �l!allarme' et p ar
l e s longu e s d i sc u s s i ons , en angla i s , qui
2
suivai ent p ar f o i s le d&p art d e s hSt e s fransa i s .4
·
Alt houg h rl! . Paul ey ' s informat io n i s int r iguing , i t i s c ir;
.
c um st ant ial .
T he re i s no doubt , ho wever , t hat Yeat s
wi shed t o m eet Mallarml .
A let t er o f i nt r oduc t i on s , pub-
l i s hed in t he Sund ay Lo nd o n T ime s in 1 9 5 4 , ind i c at e s Y e at ' s
int er e st in Mallarm� :
31
February 2 4 , 18 9 1
D e ar S ir :
Mr . Paul Verla ine kno wing my great w i s h t o me et
you ha s t o l d me t o ment i on hi s nam e as an
int ro d uct i o n .
I am l e av i ng Par i s for Lo nd on o n
Mond ay or Tue sda y and will t her efor e c a ll upon
I ma y ment io n
y o u o n Sund a y aft ernoo n .
Mr . H e nle y i s a friend o f mine and t hat I aw a
3
c ont r ibut or t o t he Nat io na l Ob s erver
.
•
•
.
.
•
•
Unfo r t u nat e l y , Ma llarm� l eft t hat Sunday t o v i s it Henl e y
in England , b ut t her e i s li t t l e d oubt t hat i n Y e at s ' s
I
lat er t r i p s t o Par i s he met wit h Mallarme .
Like Ver l aine ,
Mallarm� was f l u e nt in Eng l i sh , and t hu s Yeat s ' s l imit at io ns wit h t he French l a nguage would b e no pr o b l em .
Eve n aft er t he br eak-up of t he Rhymer ' s , Yeat s wa s
i nvo lved i n t he d i s seminat io n o f F r enc h t ho ug ht t hr o ug h
t he maga z ine The S avoy , whic h was d ed ic at ed in part t o
e spo u s ing Fr enc h ide a s .
However , in add it ion t o art i st ic
c omr ad e s in Par i s , Ye at s al s o had o c c ult o ne s :
flour i shed in Par i s .
The o c c ult
F or e x amp l e , Mat her s l i ved f or a
long t ime i n P�r i s , and Ye at s wo uld l ive w it h him during
some o f hi s v i sit s .
Though E l iphias Levi was no lo nger
alive , hi s s p ir it haunt ed t h e st r e et s .
I n t he Ep il ogue t o
P er Arn ic a , Y eat s r efer s t o vi sit i ng t h e m y st i c Stani s l a s
d e G aet a ; Yeat s wa s al s o a student o f S ar P a l at an , who wa s
rumo r ed t o have b e en a s t ud ent o f t he r eknowned El ip hia s .
Be s id e h i s involvement wit h po et s and o c c ult i st s , Yeat s
fo llo wed t he s t ag e .
H e r ev i ewed d r ama and wa s highly im-
pr e s sed not o nl y with a pro d uc t ion o f "Axe l " but wit h t he
32
d r amat i st Maet er l inc k .
Mo reove r , Ye at s ' s par t ic i pat io n in
Par i s i an l ife wa s s ig ni fi c ant enough for him t o b e in�
valv ed wit h Maud Go nne in t he format io n of an Ir i sh So c i '
et y .
The ac t iv it ie s , wh ic h sp anned a d ec ad e , were r emem-
b er e d by Y e at s in t he E p i l o gue t o P er Arnic a .
Yeat s refe r s
t o hi s yout h i n t he s t r e e t s o f Par i s , t o t he i nfl uenc e o f
"Axe l , " Mallarm e' , and Ver la ine .
I t wa s i n " l e g end ar y "
Par i s t hat Y e at s fir st ent er ed a n art i st ic mi l i eu whe r e
"Th i s ne w pr id e , t hat o f t he ad ept , wa s add ed t o t he pride
of t h e art i st . n 44
It i s t hi s marr iage , t h at of ad ept and po et ,
s o d i l i­
gent l y pur sued by t he Fr enc h , whic h i s s ignific ant in a
study of t he influ enc e o f t he S ymbo l i st s o n Yeat s .
What
Y eat s fo u nd in Par i s t hat d i st ingu i s hed him from AE was a
cr aft and met hod .
The exp r e s s i o n of myst i c a l v i s i on
nec e s s it at e d a ne w l anguage and a new a e st het ic .
One had
t o mani pu lat e l anguage , p erfe c t t he art so t hat t he po em
or p l a y b e c am e.a s ymb ol , w it h the inc ant at o r y po wer s o f
trad i t io nal oc c u l t symbo l s .
t hr ough a t r ansfo rmat i o n :
The c o nc e pt o f po et a l s o we nt
a s a mag i c i an-po et he r e s id ed
out s id e t he flux o f s oc i ety .
Yeat s was ev id e nt ly i n-
t r i gu e d e nough wit h t he imag e of t he po et in h i s i s o lat e
t o wer
t hat he c ho s e t o l ive t he ima g e b y purc h a s i ng a
t ower as a p ermane nt home .
Yet Yeat s d id · not a c c ept
S ymb o l i st t ho ught wit hout re servat ion .
Like Baud e l a ir e ,
h e wa s t or n b et w e e n t he life i n t he t o we r and a l ife o f
33
ac t io n .
B e i ng o r i g inal , Y e at s t r an s l at ed Fr enc h t hought
t o f it hi s i nd iv idual ne ed ; Y e at s s earc hed for symb o l s in
t he her itage of Celt ic myt h , and whi l e a c c u sed o f o b s c ur ­
/
it y , Yeat s i s never a s unint el l ig i b l e a s Mal larme .
A side from Yeat s ' s d if ferenc e s wit h t he S ymb o l i s t s
and h i s gro �rt h a s an o r i g inat or , Yeat s ' s ae st het i c t hought
o f t he Ninet i e s i s a t hinly ve iled t r anslat ion o f S ymbo l i st t heo r y .
What he l o nged f or was unit y , and S ymb o l i st
t heory w a s found ed upo n a unit y o f c or r e s p ond e nc e s .
Yeat s
saw t h e world a s a " bund l e o f fragment s " and found t he
unif i c at io n of t h o se fr agment s in t he s ymb o l :
Nat io n s , r ac e s , and ind i v idu al me n ar e unifi ed
by an image , or b und l e of r el at ed image s ,
s ymbo l ic al or evoc at ive o f t he s t at e of mind ,
whic h i s o f a l l st at e s . of mind not imp o s s ib le ,
t he mo st d if f icult of t hat man , ra c e , o r nat io n ;
b e c au se only t he gr eat e s t ob stac le t hat c an b e
c ont emp l at ed w it ho ut de sp air , r o u s e s t he wil l
t o ful l int e n s it y ( Aut o b i ogr aph i e s , p . 2 4 1 ) .
The po wer o f Yeat s ' s symbol i s my st i ca l .
It d i ffer s
from alle gory b y be ing " no t unl ike ' t he t hi ng s b el o w ar e
45
.
a s t he t hi ng s above ' o f
Herme s . " · Y e at s ' s symbo l i s
.
•
.
.
.
•
c o mp arab l e t o " t ho se s ymb ol ic t al i sman s whi ch med ieval
magic ians mad e wit h c omplex c o l or s a nd f orms
•
.
•
f or it
e nt a ng l e s , in c omp l e x c olor s and f orm s , a p art of t he
D iv ine E s se nc e " ( Idea s , p . 2 3 0 ) .
A s " a part o f t he Div ine
E s s e nc e , " Y e at s ' s symbol i s an at t empt t o c apt ur e t he
Ab s o l ut e i n v e r se .
Th e p o et ' s r ol e i s t o c r e at e t h e se
" t a l i sman s , " and t h e met hod of cr eat io n , l ik e t he c o nc e pt
it s e l f , wa s ado pt ed b y Ye at s from t he Fr enc h :
34
All s ound s , al l c olo r s , all f orm s , e it her
because of t he ir p r e -orda ined energ i e s or b e ­
c au s e o f l o ng as s oc i at i ons , evoke i nd e f i nab l e
a nd yet prec i s e emot io ns , or , as I pr efer t o
t hi nk , c al l d own among u s c erta in d i s emb od i ed
p o wer s , who se foot st e p s over our heart s we c al l
emot ions ; and whe n so und , and c o lor , and f o rm
ar e in a mu s i c a l r e lat ions , a b e aut iful r e lat ion
to one anot he r , t he y b ec ome a s it wer e one sound ,
one c ol or , one form , and evoke an emot i on t hat
i s mad e out of t he ir d i st inc t evoc at ions and y et
i s one emot i o n ( Id ea s , p . 2 4 3 ) .
The "mu s i cal r el at ion s " of t he se e l eme nt s ar e s imilar
t o Ma ll arm � ' s c o ncept o f "rec ipro c it y " wit hin a p o em and
Baud e la ir e ' s c orr e s p ond enc e s .
mic ro c o sm :
The p o em i s a c omp l e x
i t mirro r s i n t he c or r e spond e nc e s b et we en it s
e l ement s t he c orr e spond enc e s in t he macroc o sm and i s a l s o
it s e l f a c orr e s po ndenc e t o t he i deal wor ld ; it i s a l i v e
wit h t he i nfinit e .
It i s t he evoc at ion of t he i nf i n it e
in t he r e ad e r whi c h a c c o unt s for t he p l ea sure of po etry �
I
Like Ma l larme , Ye at s s e e s a e st he t i c j o y a nd spiritual j o y
a s o ne and t he sam e t hing .
Yeat s d i st ingu i shed b et we e n emot io na l a nd int ell e c t ual s ymbo l s .
Emot i onal symbol s are c ommo n and a c c o unt
for t he evoc at ion of like s and d i s li ke s in t he r e a d er ,
whi c h have l it t le t o do wit h st at e s o f m ind s or mo o d s or
t he i d eal wor ld ; t he r ead er r ema ins r oot ed in t he ph y s i c al
wor l d .
Int e l l e c t ual s ymb o l s evok e e it her id e a s alone o r
ming l e w it h emot i o n s .
It i s t hi s t yp e o f symbo l wit h
whi c h Yeat s i s c onc erned :
I f I sa y ' wh it e ' or ' purp l e ' in an ordinar y l i ne
o f p o et r y , t he y evoke emot ions s o exc lu s iv e l y
t hat I c annot s a y why t he y move me ; but i f I say
35
t hem in t he same b r eat h w i t h s u c h obvious
int el l e c t ual s ymbo l s a s a c ro s s o r a c r own of
t ho rn s , I t hink of pur it y and s over e i gnt y ; whi le
innume rab l e o t her meaning s , whi c h ar e he ld t o
o ne anot her b y t he bondage o f s ubt l e sugge st io n ,
and a l i ke i n t he emo t io ns and i n t he i nt e ll e c t ,
move v i s i b l y t hrough my mind , and move invi s i b l y
b e yo nd t he t hr e s hold o f s le e p
If t he
s ymb ol s ar e mer ely emot ional , he ga z e s from amid
t he a c c ident s and d e st in i e s o f t he wor ld ; but if
t he symb o l s are int ell e ct ua l t o o , he b e c ome s
him s el f a part o f p ure i nt e l le c t , and he i s
him s e l f ming l ed wit h t he proc e s s i on ( Ide a s ,
pp . 2 5 0 - 2 5 1 ) .
•
•
•
•
The s ymbol and p o em ar e obv iou s ly my st i c al in natur e .
Y e at s ' s
" int e ll ec t ual symbol s " e c ho r.'lallarm � ' s " e s s ent ia l
word s . "
In s e ek ing e x amp l e s o f int el l e c t ua l symb o l s ,
Yeat s o nc e aga i n t urn s t o t he F r e nc h .
I n "The S ymb o l i sm
of P o et ry " h e a s so c i at e s t he v i s io n s o f Ne rval w it h t ho se
o f t he m y st i c .
He b el iev e s t he s e v i s i o n s are t he art o f
m e n l ike r.'laet erlinck a nd V i l l ier s who ,
pr e o c c up i ed wit h
int e l l e ct ual symb ol s , f oret e l l t he new sac re d bo o k .
In
t he same e s say Yeat s not e s t he c hang e s whi c h mu st o c c ur in
p o e t r y if t hat new s acred book i s t o be bo r n .
Th e s e
c ha nge s e c ho r.'lor � a s ' s pro c lamat i on :
Ennemi d e l ' e n s e i gnement , d e la d �c l amat io n , d e
l a f au s se s e n s ib i lit � , d e l a d e s c r ipt ion
obj e c t ive , la po 6 s i e s ymb o l i st e c her c he � v &t ir
Ai n s i d an s c et
l ' Id �e d ' une f orme s e n s ib le
art , l e s t abl eaux d e l a nat ure , l e s act ions d e s
humain s , t ou s l e s p h � nom� n e s c o nc r et s ne
saura i e nt s e ma ni fe st e r eux-m �m e s :
c e s ont de s
appar e n c e s s e n s i�l e s d e st in� e s � r epr �s�nt er
l eur s aff init ls e s ot er i qu e s av ec d e s Id e e s
pr imo r d ia l e s . 4 6
•
•
•
What c hange should one l o ok for in t he manner of
our p o et r yJ A ret urn t o t he way of our f at he r s ,
a c ast ing out o f de s c r ipt io n s o f nat ur e for t he
s ake o f nat ure , of t he moral law f or t he sake o f
36
t he mora l l aw , a c a st ing o ut of all anec d ot e s
and o f t hat bro o d i ng ov e r sc i e nt i fic opinion
t hat so o ft en ext ingu i s hed ' t he c e nt r a l flame
in T e nny s on
( Id ea s , p . 2 5 4 ) .
•
•
•
What p o e t r y mu st b e i s a " b er yl s t o ne " t hat " unf old s
t he pi c t ur e in it s he art " and d o e s " no t mir r or our own
exc it ed f ac e s "
( Idea s , p . 2 5 4 ) .
The p o em-beryl st one i s
aut o nomou s ; it i s a univer s e in it s e l f , a unive r s e s imi lar
i
t o t he st ar s whic h appear i n Ma ll arme ' s s onnet abo v e .
The p o em , l i ke t hi s imag e , i s t o b e st ar t i ng l y b eaut iful .
Yet it s beaut y c ome s not o n l y fr om craft , but b e c au s e it
evo ke s t he infi nit e in t he r e ader ; it part ake s of t he
wor ld o f Arc het ype s o r " d e s I d e'e s pr imor d i ale s . "
The
p o et ' s c ra ft b u i l d s a new wor l d whi c h , t hough c omp l e t e
unt o it se l f , i s a l s o shimm er ing w it h t he d az z l ing v i s ion
of t he seer and t hu s is a means o f ac c e s s to t hat v i s i o na ry wo rl d .
III
F o r Y e at s , t he S ymbo l i st c haract er i st ic s d e l ineat ed
in Id e a s o f Good and Evil c r y st al l iz ed in The Wind Amo ng
Alt hough "The S hadowy Wat er s " and t he f i nal
t he Re ed s .
ver si o n o f "The Wand e r ing s of Oi s i n " are al so il lustrat ive
of t he Fre nc h S ymbo l i st influenc e o n Yeat s , d i s c u s s i o n of
t he s e wor k s i s b e yond t he s c o p e o f t hi s paper .
The
S ymb o l i st influenc e s in The Wind Among t he Reed s wer e
s t r ong enou gh t o l e ad S ymon s , t he prime inf luenc e i n
Y e at s ' s S ymb o l i st educ at i on , t o ha il t he vo lume
t r iumph o f Symb o l i st i nd ir e ct ion"
47
11 a s
a
and t o vi ew Y eat s a s
t he o nl y S ymb o l i st in t he Engl i s h language .
A s i gnif i ca nt d i st inc t ion b e t we e n t he "Wind " p o em s
and ear l i er vo lume s i s t hat t he former repre s ent s Y e at s ' s
f i r st at t empt t o b ase a v ol ume o f po et r y o n a d e f init ive
ae s t het i c .
The u s e of an ae st het ic a s a b a si s for art i s
not ed b y Yeat s in t he f i r st part o f "The S ymb ol i sm o f
P o e t ry " :
Wagner spent seven y e ar s arr ang ing and
e xpl a ining hi s idea s b e f or e he b e gan h i s m o st
c harac t er i st ic mu s ic ;
t he P l i ade l a id t he
f oundat i o n s o f modern Fre nc h l it erat ure wit h a
p amp hlet .
G o et he ha s s a id , " a p o et need s a ll
p hil o s op hy , but he mu st keep it out o f h i s work ,"
t hough t hat i s not a lway s nec e s s ar y ; and
c er t ai nl y he c anno t kno w t o o muc h
a nd mo st
c ert a inly no gr eat art
.
ha s ar i sen w it hout
a gr e at c r it ic i sm ( Idea s , pp . 2 3 8 - 2 3 9 ) .
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
and ,
37
•
•
•
38
d e l i b e r at e art i st s at a l l , have had some p hi l o s ­
ophy , s ome c r i t ic i sm of t he ir art ; and i t ha s
o ft en b e en t hi s p hi lo so p hy , o r t h i s c rit ic i sm ,
t hat ha s evoke d t he ir mo st start l ing i n sp i r at io n ,
c al l i ng int o o ut er l ife s ome p ort io n o f t he
d i v ine l i fe , o f t h e bur ied r e a l it y , whic h c o uld
al one e xt ingui sh in t he emot ions what t he ir
p hilo s ophy or t he ir c r it ic i sm would ext i ngui s h in
t he i nt e ll ec t ( Id ea s , pp . 2 3 9 - 2 4 0 ) .
The " p hi l o so p hy " Yeat s g o e s o n t o e luc id at e i s , a s ment ione d above , a t h inly v e iled r e c apit ualat i o n of S ymb o l i st
t hought .
In t he " Wi nd " p o ems , Yeat s a t t empt s t o meld
philo s op hy and art .
Y e at s ' s st r i c t appl ic at i on o f · t he Symb o l i st a e st het ic
in hi s r end er i ng of t he "Wi nd " poems wi l l be exami ne d i n
t erm s o f t he S ymbo l i st c onc ept o f pur it y a s i t a f fe c t s
st y l e and c ont ent .
The c o nc e pt o f pur it y i s c e nt ral t o
bot h Yeat s ' s a e st het ic o f t he Ninet i e s a nd S ymb o l i st
ae s t he t ic s .
Yeat s ' s u s e o f t he symb ol o f beryl st one f or
I
hi s new po et r y i s a t r an s la t ion o f Mallarme ' s i n s i st en c e
upon p ur i t y and t he creat i on o f an " imma c ulat e language . "
Thi s ab st r u s e c onc ept involve s t he "pur i f ic at i on o f t he
i
l anguage o f t he t r i b e , " whi c h Mal l arme viewed a s t he r o l e
o f t he p o et and whi c h r e sult s whe n p o e t r y r ef l ect s t he
pur e nat ur e o f t he ideal it i s t o evoke .
Dur ing t he
Ninet i e s , Y e at s ' s pr ime c onc ern wa s t o " c re at e onc e more
t he pure wo r k " ( Autob i ogra p hi e s , p . 2 0 7 ) .
The "Wi nd "
poems are an at t empt at such a " pure wor k . "
Whil e both Yeat s and t he Symb o l i st s t r eat ed t h e c o nc ept s o f f orm and c ont ent a s un if ied , f or t he purpo se s o f
39
exp l icat io n , form a nd c o nt e nt wi l l he re be t r ea t e d a s
s ep ar at e but int err e lat e d p henome na .
·
Purit y d omi nat e s any
d i sc u s s io n of S ymbo l i st form and c ont ent .
F ir st , pure
c ont e nt i s c onc erned w it h and evo ke s t he id e al in a my st ic a l fu s io n o f t he ae st het i c /re l igi ou s s e nt iment ; it c o nc e r n s it s e lf s o l e ly wit h t he imagi nat i v e world s i nc e t hat
wor ld i s t he only t rue r e a l it y .
The "Wi nd " po ems wi l l b e
d i s c u s se d in t erm s o f t he i r a d he renc e t o t hi s r e quir ement
o f pure c ont e nt .
S e c o nd , t h e p o ems will b e e x amined i n
t he ir u s e o f S ymb o l i st t ec hnique s whi c h y i e ld t he " immac u l at e l anguage " :
/
l\1a l l arme ' s "mo t pur , " t he u se o f mu s i c ,
nuanc e , and my st ery .
I n ge neral , t he overrid ing c ha r ac t e ri st ic of t he
"Wind " po em s i s t he ir c ompl et e de nia l o f t he mat er ia l
wor l d .
A l t hough prior t o t he "Wi nd " p oems Y e at s ha d wr it-
t e n p o em s d e a l ing wit h an imag i nar y , no n-mat e r i a l wor ld
( e . g . , t he var i o u s Ro s e p o em s and t he early b a l l ad s ) , wi t h
t he " Wi nd " vo lume , Yeat s at t empt ed t o c o nstruct an ima g i nar y , i d e a l wor ld t hat we nt b e yond t he s e ear l y ve nt ur e s .
The wor l d of t he "Wind " p o ems i s not o nl y imag inar y , but
a l s o a t t empt s t o evoke t he " pure e s senc e " o f t he ide a l .
T he t he or e t ic al bas i s f or t he se p oem s i s founded i n "The
Aut umn of t he Body " where , b orrowi ng d i re c t l y fr om S ymbo -:­
l i s t ae st het i c s , Y eat s d i sc u s s e s a new p o et r y .
By
"aut umn o f t he bo dy , " Y e at s i s re f erri ng t o a pred i c t ed
end t o t he p hy s ic a l un ive r s e whe r e "ma n has wo oed a nd wo n
40
t he worl d , and has f al le n weary " ( Id e a s , p . 3 0 2 ) .
This
" we ar ine s s " wi l l end , sa y s Y eat s , i n t he " l a st aut umn ,
whe n t he st ar s sha ll b e b l own away l ike wit hered l e av e s "
( Id e a s , p . 3 0 2 ) .
The nat ur e o f man ' s we ar ine s s i s a d i s -
c ov e r y t hat t he world p er c e iv ed by t h e s e n s e s i s an i l lu­
of " but air and d u st and mo i st ure " ( Id e a s , p . 3 0 3 ) .
sion
Thi s d i s c overy re lat e s t o t h e art s and d emand s of t hem a
ne w d ir ec t i on .
For t hat ne w d ir ec t io n , Yeat s t ur n s t o
/
Mallarme via t he wr it ing s o f S ymon s .
The ne w p o et t a ke s
upon hi s shoulde r s t he funct i o n o f · t he pr ie st and u se s hi s
· art t o " l ead u s ba c k up on our j o urney b y f i ll ing our .
t ho ught s wit h t he e s senc e s o f t hing s , and not wit h t hings"
( Idea s , p . 3 0 3 ) .
Thu s , de s c r i b i ng h i s ne w p o et r y , Yeat s
e c ho e s M a l l arm / in naming " a p o et r y o f e s s e nc e s , s e para t e
o ne from ano t he r i n l it t l e and int ense poems , " s up p l ying
a k ind o f 11d i s embod ied e c st a s y " ( Id ea s , p . 3 0 4 ) .
T he r e c an b e no b et t er d e sc r ipt ion of t he "Wind "
p o em s .
Alt ho ug h t he p o em s ar e a l l " l i t t l e , " many b e ing
only o ne s e nt enc e l ong ( e . g . , "He Hear s t he Cr y o f t he
Sedge , " "The Tr ava i l o f Pa s s i on " ) , t heir overwhe lming
uni f y ing c harac t er i st ic i s a s e n s e of being d i semb o died ,
o f b e ing " e s s enc e -l ike . "
Thro ugh t he c ont ent of T he Wind
Among t he Reed s Ye at s at t empt s t o c o nve y t hi s s e n s e o f
" e s senc e . "
In ke e p ing wit h hi s d i s avowa l o f t he mat er ia l
world , t hi s sen se o f " pur e e s senc e " may be · de sc r ib e d a s a
par t i c u l ar st at e o f mind a sp ir ing for t he id eal .
The
41
rendi t i on o f t hi s s t at e o f mind i s c omp o s ed o f five int e r r e l a t e d element s :
t he concept o f moo d s a s the soul o f a
p o em ; t he nat ure o f t he d e s ire whi c h i s t he primum mo b i l e
o f t h e s e mo o d s and i t s r e la t i onship t o t h e i d e a ; t h e
s e n s e o f a di s emb o d i e d speaker ; t h e t o t al nega t i o n o f
mat e ri al r e al i t y re sult ing i n a c omp l e t e l y imaginat ive
p oe t i c re alm ; and l a s t , t he mot i f of t he r e l ig i o u s que s t .
A s ub s t an t i al p art o f t he "Wi nd " p o ems ' s e n s e o f di s emb o d iment i s the re sult o f Yeat s ' s c on c e p t o f p o e t r y a s
mood s .
Y e at s d i s c u s s e d t hi s c on c e p t i n hi s e s say "Mo o d s "
' whe re h e not e s t h at t h e maj o r di fferenc e b e tween l i t erature and s c i ent i fi c wri t ing is t hat l i t erature is "wrought
ab out a mo o d , or a c ommun i t y of mo od s , as t he body i s
wr o ught ab out an invi s i b l e s oul " ( Idea s , p .
ing i n the p o e m expre s s i ng a s tat e o f mind .
306 ) .
re s ul t -
The s p e ake r s
o f t h e "Wind " p o ems , given t h e imp e r s onal t i t l e s o f "The
Love r , " "He , " and " Po e t , " fun c t i on a s s uc h a " c ommun i t y o f
mo od s . "
The y are not " ac t ual p e r s onage s , " s a y s Y e at s , b ut
"princ i p l e s o f t he mind . "
48
The n at ure o f t he s e " pr in c i p l e s " i s revealed i n
Y e at s ' s ini t i al naming o f them :
Aedh o r " fire burn ing b y
i t s e lf , " Mi c hae l Rob art e s o r " fire re fle c t e d i n wat er , "
and Hanrahan o r " fi r e b lown b y the wind . "
49
The e l ement
c ommon t o all t hr e e "princ ip l e s " i s non-ma t e r i a l " fi re . "
"Fi re '' repre sent s the p a s s i on o f an unquenchab l e d e s ir e ,
the nat ure o f whi c h i s c ru c i al t o an und e r s t anding o f
, � t he s e mo o d-p rinc i p l e s .
In hi s No t e s t o t he "Wind !! poems ,
42
Yeat s d e s c r ib e s t hi s de s ir e a s f o llows :
I hav e no t t he Gae l ic p oem b y me , and de s c r ib e
i t from memor y --a young man fo ll owing a g i r l who
has a g o l d e n ap p l e , and aft erward s a hound wit h
o n e r ed ear f o l lo wing a d eer wit h no ho r n s .
Thi s hound and t hi s deer se em p la in imag e s o f
t he de s i r e o f the man ' whic h i s f or t he woman , '
and ' t he d e s ire of t he woman whic h i s f or t he
de s ir e o f t he man , ' and all o f t he d e sire s whi c h
a re t he s e
[ I ] have made m y l ov er s i g h
b e ca u s e h e ha s s e e n ip t he ir fa c e s ' t he immor t al
d e s ire o f Immort al s . ' ? O
•
•
•
Ye at s ' s unquenc hab l e d e s i r e i s t hu s p ur e , a s s o c i at ed wi t h
t h e " Immor t al s " a nd unt aint ed wit h t he impur it i e s o f t he
mat e r i a l wo rl d .
The aim o f t he de s ire i s t o be re unit ed
wit h t he ideal , whi c h met ap ho r i c a l l y o c c ur s when t he man
and woman are unit ed in se xual c on summat i on .
Thi s s ym-
b o l i c unio n , fr om Hermet ic lore , v i e w s t he man and woman
a s s ymb o l i c of t he et erna l o p p o s it e s in t he uni ver s e .
When t he y a r e marr i e d in my st ic a l c onsummat i on , t he oppos it e s a re j o ine d a nd t he ind iv idual arr ive s a t a st at e o f
51
In t erm s of t he
my s t i c a l uni f i c at i on wit h t he un iver s e .
prev i ou s d i sc u s s io n , t h i s unit y o c c ur s whe n t he " windowp ane " ha s b e e n s �c c e s �full y c r o s s ed .
I t i s t oward t hi s s t at e o f uni f ic at i on t hat Yeat s ' s
1
t hr e e pr inc i p l e s a s p i r e .
Ea c h i s an a sp e c t o f t he " l ov -
er ' s s igh" f o r t he " immo rt a l d e s ir e " and i s c ont r o l l e d b y
t he f orm o f h i s d e sire .
F or examp l e , Ha nraha n i s " f ire
b lo wn b y t he wind " and hi s de s ir e is c haract eri z e d by t h e
haunt ing and in sub st ant ial nat ur e o f t he wind .
The wind ,
say s Y eat s , stand s fcir " vague d e s ir e s and ho pe s " and t he
2
immor t al worl d o f t he S idhe . 5
I n "He Reprov e s t he
Curl ew , " Hanrahan e xpr e s se s sorr ow at t he lo s s of h i s l ove:
0 c ur lew , c r y no mor e in t he a ir ,
O r o n ly t o t he wat er in t he We st ;
B e ca u s e y o ur c r ying br ing s t o my mind
P a s s i on-dimme d eye s a nd lo ng he av y hair
That was s hake n o ut ove r my b r e a st :
T he r e i s eno ug h ev i l in t he c r y ing o f t he wind .5 3
I t i s s ou nd i n t he a i r t hat r em ind s Hanrahan o f hi s l o st
love .
The spe c i f i c c ry o f t he c ur lew br ing s t o m i nd h i s
lov e , but Hanrahan i s c on st ant ly p l agu e d w it h t he omni­
pr e s ent c r y ing of t he wind , w hic h r emind s him no t o nly o f
hi s l ove b u t o f t he wor ld o f t he S idhe .
I n c ont r a st t o Hanr ahan ' s in sub st ant i a l i t y i s Mic ha el
Robart e s '
"dr e amy c o nt emplat ed p a s s i o n " 5 4 of h i s p a s s iv e
" fire re f l e c t ed in wat er . "
" H e Rememb e r s F or g ot t e n
Be aut y " i s i ll u st r at iv e of Robart e s ' mood .
Although
Rob ar t e s is also separ at ed from t he ideal , he ha s more
t ha n a vague d e s ir e t o r emind him o f hi s l o st ec st a sy :
When my arm s wr ap you r ound I p r e s s
My heart upon t he love l ine s s
That ha s lo ng f ad e d fr om t he wor l d ;
T he j e we l l ed c r owns t hat k i ng s hav e hur l e d
I n s hadowy p o o l s , when arm i e s f l ed ;
T he love -t ale s wr ought wit h s il ke n t hr e ad
B y dr e aming ladi e s up on c lot h
Ro b ar t e s , t he dr eamer , r emember s t he r i c hne s s o f " her "
pr e se nc e .
,
Yet Ro b ar t e s i s a l l p a s s iv it y , c aught up i n
dreamy memor ie s .
Hanrahan i s Aedh .
In c ont r a st t o b ot h Ro b ar t e s a nd
He i s a l s o s e e king t he i d ea l , b ut he i s
ac t ive , int en s e , a nd creat ive .
He i s " f ire bur n i ng b y
it s e l f " and i s t hu s a fu s ion o f d e s i r e and c reat ivit y .
44
A edh i s t he make r o f song s , and i t i s b y hi s c re at i o n s
t hat Aedh att empt s t o wi n b ac k h i s lo st love .
In "He
Thi nk s o f Tho se who Have S p o k e n E v i l of Hi s B e l oved , "
c reat io n g ive s Aedh p o we r :
But wei ght t hi s s ong wit h t he great and t he ir
p r i de ;
made
i t out o f a mout hfu l o f a ir ,
I
T he ir c h i ld r e n ' s c hi ldre n s hal l say t he y have
l i ed .
But i n " He G iv e s H i s B e loved Cert ain Rhyme s , " e v en worki ng " d ay out , day in" c anno t c r eate r hyme s c omp ar a b l e t o
hi s b e lo ved ' s b eaut y :
You ne ed but l ift a p e ar l -p ale ha nd ,
And b i nd up your lo ng h air and s ig h ;
And a l l men ' s hear t s mu st burn and b e at ;
And candl e-l i ke foam on t he d im s and ,
And st ar s c l imbing t he d ew-dr opp ing sky ,
Live b ut t o l ig ht y o ur pa s s ing feet .
Alt hough p o e t r y o ff e r s Ae dh s ome p ower , he i s st i l l
separat ed fr om hi s i dea l and c annot fu lfi ll hi s i nt ent i on
o f inc arnat i ng Id ea l Beaut y in hi s p o et r y .
C ommon t o a l l t hr e e pr inc ipl e s i s t he f orm t he ir d e s i r e t ake s a s a lo st love .
Thi s lo st l o ve o f ext raord i -
nary b e aut y i s a p er sonific at i on of Ideal Be aut y .
"He
Te ll s o f t he Perfect Beaut y " c l ea r l y make s t hi s a s s o c i a t io n :
0 c loud-pale e y e l id s , d r e am-d immed e ye s ,
T he po et s l ab our ing a ll t he ir d a y s
T o bu i ld a pe rfect b e aut y in r hyme
Are overt hr o wn b y a woman ' s gaze
And by t he unl ab our ing br o od o f t he skie s :
And t h er e f or e my he art will b ow , whe n dew
I s dropp ing s lee p , unt i l God burn t ime ,
B e f o r e t he unl ab our i ng st ar s and you .
45
T he f ir st l i ne o f t h e p o em i s an evoc at i on o f t he I d ea l
Woman , de f i ne d only b y her p ale e y e l id s and dreamy eye s .
The p o e t b e wa il s hi s strug g le t o c r eat e t he p er fe c t or
I d e a l Beaut y , w hi c h he a s s oc i at e s wit h "a woman ' s gaz e "
and "t he unl abour ing b r o od o f t he s ki e s " ( whi c h al so sug­
ge st s Mall arm e' ' s " Azur e . ")
55
The l a st l ine c l ea r l y as s o -
c iat e s t he symb o l o f b ea ut y , "t he s ki e s , " and t he " yo u , "
t he woman evo ked i n t he f ir st l ine of t he p o em .
Thi s same
image o c c ur s in t h e pr e c e ed ing p oem , " He Te l l s o f a Valley
Full of Lover s . "
The l o st l ove is ident ified a s t h i s
woman o f " c l oud -pal e e y e l id s and dream -d immed e y e s . "
Whene ver t he I d e a l Woman i s evoked , she i s drawn with few
l ine s and i s d e s c ri b e d minima l l y as p a l e , d im , and dr eamf i l l ed .
A l t ho u gh Yeat s ' s Ide a l Woman r e s emb l e s t he ide al
image o f b ot h S he ll ey and D ant e , a nd t o s ome ext ent Pra z ' s
c onc ept i o n o f t he F at al Woman , 5
6
s he i s more c l o s e l y
a s s o c i a t e d w it h a Symb o l i st r end er ing .
He r pr ot o t yp e
o c c ur s i n Ma l l arm � ' s "Her od iade " and Vi l l ier s d e L ' I sl e Ad am ' s "Axe l . "
Her od iade i s t he e p it ome o f pur it y , burn-
i ng with c ha st it y and d e s c r i b ed a s "vlhi t e night o f ic e ­
c lo t s and c rue l snow . "
57
Yet s he i s not crue l i n a
ma levo l ent s en s e ; r at her , s he i s imp e r s ona l and obj e c t ive
l i ke t he st a r s and t he e l em ent s .
Her "crue l t y " l i e s i n
t he unat t a inab l e b e aut y o f he r p ur it y and t h e fru s t r at i on
engend e r e d b y t ho s e who at t emp t to p o s s e s s i t .
I n a s im-
46
i l ar ve i n , Ye at s ' s pa l e woman i s cruel in her s e em i ng unat t ai nab i l it y t o t he sp eaker s of t he "Wi nd " p o em s .
Vi l l i er s ' S ar a in "Axel " i s c lo ser t o Y e at s ' s p ale woman
t h an Her od i ad e .
S he i s de s c r ibed a s start l ing p a l e ,
Rar e ly i s
" c oldl y f lawl e s s " and o f a "dang e r o u s b e aut y . "
she v i e wed wit hout me nt i on o f v e i l s t hat hide her a st oni s hing l y p al e a nd b eaut iful fac e :
A human shap e --c omp l et ely ve i le d , i t s bare feet
s and al ed - - i s st and ing under t h e l amp
The
Abb e s s appr oac he s t he ve i le d c r eat ur e and
bru sque l y unc over s it s he ad . A myst erio u s l y
b eaut if� l f ac e i s d i sc lo sed--t he fa c e of a
woman . 5 C5
•
•
•
•
Vil l ie r s ' w oma n i s de s cr ib ed a s if she wer e not human
( "a huma n s hap e ' " "ve. iled c r e a t ur e , " n it s he ad " ) a nd
ec hoe s i n her my st er y Yeat s ' s b eaut i ful and
man .
e l u s ive wo -
Li ke Ye at s ' s a s so c iat i on o f hi s woman w it h t he
ideal , Sar a ' s b e aut y a l s o r epr e s ent s t he i d ea l and her
ve i l s ar e t hat "windowp ane " separat ing her ide al nat ur e
fr om t he mat er i a l wor ld .
Be c a u s e Yeat s ' s woma n i s a p er s on i f ic at io n o f t he
id eal , t ho se p o em s whi c h on t he sur f ac e app e ar t o b e about
t he p e r s onal p l i ght o f unr equit ed l ov e b e c ome an e x pr e s sion o f . t he p o e t ' s aim t o f ind " immor t al mood s i n mor t al
d e s ir e s " ( Id e a s , p . 3 0 7 ) .
For examp l e , t he s urface l eve l
o f "The Love r Mourns for t he Lo s s o f Love " sugge st s a
love r mourning for a n affair ruined b y t he memory o f a
past l ove :
P a l e brow s , st i l l hand s and d im hair ,
47
I had a b e aut iful fr iend
And dre amed t hat t he o ld d e spair
Would end in l ove in t he e nd :
S he lo oked in my heart one d ay
A nd saw your image wa s t h er e ;
S he ha s gone we ep ing awa y .
T he p o em ha s v ar io u s l y b een i nt erpr et ed a s Ye at s ' s inab il it y t o s u s t a in a n a f f air wit h Olivia S hake s p ear b ec au s e o f
hi s memo r y o f t he more pa s s i onat e Maud Gonne .
59
B ut t he
maj o r image s of t he p o em s ugge st t hat t hi s "memor y " o f t he
ot her woman i s of t he Ideal Woman .
S he i s d e sc r ib ed a s
" pa l e b r o w s , st i l l hand s and d im ha ir , " imagery c on s i s t ent l y a s s o c ia t e d wit h t h e ide al .
The re fo r e , t h e p o em may
b e r e ad a s t he poet we ep ing f or t he lo s s o f t he i d e a l or
for t he sadne s s whic h c ome s when t he p hy s ic al wor ld i s
sub ord inat ed t o t he ide al wor l d in t he po et ' s s e ar c h for
t r ut h .
T hi s e l evat ion o f p e r s onal emot ion t o an int e l l e c ­
/
t ual l e v e l i s c on s i st e nt w it h Mal larme ' s c onc ept o f pur i fic at i o n o f emot i o n l e ad i ng t o a pur e and ar c he t yp al
p o et r y .
The t hird e l eme nt c har a c t e r i z ing t he c ont ent o f t he
"Wind " poems a nd c on s i st ent wit h Mal larm � ' s c o nc ept of a
pur e and " e s s e nc e -l ike " p o et r y i s t he sen s e of an imp e r s ona l or d i semb o d i e d speaker .
S edge" i s an apt e x amp le .
"He Hear s t he Cry o f t he
A lt hough a n " I " i s i d e nt ified ,
t he t ru e sp ea ker o f t he p o em i s a c t ua l l y t h e c r y of t he
wind :
I wand er b y t he edge
O f t hi s d e s o l at e lake
Whe r e wind c r ie s i n t he se d ge :
48
Unt i l t he a xl e br eak
That keep s t he star s in t he i r r ound ,
And hand s hurl in t h e deen
T he banne r s o f Ea st and We st
And t he gird le of light i s unbo und ,
Your br e a st will not l ie b y t he br ea st
O f your b e l oved in s l e e p .
To a c e rt a in ext e nt t he s e n s e o f impe r s ona l it y i s d ue t o
t he f l u id it y o f t he p o int of . v iew .
The sp eaker i s b e st
de s c r i b ed a s o ra c ul ar , speaking fr om s ome no n-c orp o r e al ,
s p i r i t ual r e a lm .
T hi s impr e s si o n i s a r e sult o f Y e at s ' s
u s e o f me t ap hy s ic al symb o l s and t he c o smic image t he y
c onnot e .
S ymbo l s s uc h a s t he " ax le " t hat "ke e p s t he st ar s
in t he ir r ound , " t he " banner s o f E a st and We st , 11 a nd · t he
" g irdl e of l i ght " hav e no f ixed po int o f r e fe r e nc e i n t he
mat e r ia l w or l d .
Their imp a c t r e sult s f r om t he ir myt hic
and p s yc ho l o gic al signif ic anc e .
The "ax l e " may be t hat
myt hic a x l e t hat i s t he f o und at i o n o f t he univ er se ; " t he
g ir d l e of lig ht ,
11
t he univer se it s e l f ; a nd t he my st e r i o u s
" banne r s o f E a st and We st " some s or t o f her a ld o f a
spir i t u al realm .
The t ot al l ac k o f any r ef e r e nc e p o int in
t he mat e r ial wor l d c oup l ed wit h t he myt hic a s s oc i at ions of
t he s ymbo l s provide s a se nse of myst er y and o t he r - wor ldl ine s s .
al .
The vi ewpo int i s vi s io na r y and t he v i s io n imp er s o nWhe n r e ad i n t erm s o f Hermet i c l or e , t he s e n s e o f t he
v i s io n i s c la r i f i e d .
Only when t he p hy s i c a l wor ld i s
d e s t r oyed i n a p o c a lyp s e ( t he br eaking o f t he univ er sal
axle and t he unb ind ing o f t he unive r se ) will t he " I " of
t he p o em f i nd uni f i cat io n wit h hi s be l oved --t he ide al - - i n
49
,
s p i r i t u a l s le e p o r d e at h .
T he e nd of t he c orporeal wor ld
and s p ir it ua l dea t h o c c ur in t he c onsummat ion of t he man
and t he woman .
The no t i o n i s b a s ic :
born whol e , one must f ir st d ie . 6 0
in order t o b e r e­
T hu s , Yeat s ' s wi sh f or
t h e "aut umn o f t he b o d y " a nd t he many r e ferenc e s t o
apo c a lyp s e in t he "Wind " po em s are b a s e d i n t he po et ' s
d e s ir e f or s p ir it ua l r euni f ic a t ion .
T he imp e r sona l s p eaker of t he ab ove p o em i s s ugge st ed
in t he t it l e o f t he v o l ume .
T he p o et may be v i ewed a s t he
r eed--the t hi n and e a s i l y swa yed p hy s ic al be ing t hat i s
u se d a s me d ium b y t he wi nd
or t he vi s i onar y p o int o f vi ew .
The p o em b ec ome s t he v e hic le t hr ough whi c h t h e v i s io n
spea k s fre e l y .
Thi s imp e r s ona lit y of t he s p eaker ' s v o ic e
I
e c ho e s Mallarme :
I f t he p o em i s t o b e pure , t he p o et ' s v oi c e mu st
be st i l l ed and t he init i at ive t aken by t he word s
t hem s e lve s , whic h w i ll b e set in mot i on a s t he y
meet unequal l y i n c ol l i s ion , a nd i n an e x rihange
of g l eam s t he y w i l l fl ame out l ike some g l itt e r ­
ing swat h o f f ir e swe e p ing over pr e c i ous st one s ,
and t hu s rep la ce t he audi b l e breat hi ng in l yr i c
p o et r y of o l d --r e p l ac e t he po et '
o wn per s o nal
and p a s s iona t e c o nt r ol o f v e r se . � 1
S everal year s a ft er t he p ub li c at i on of t he " Wind " p o em s ,
Ye a t s saw t he ir spe aker a s " somet hing unmov i �g and s i lent
l iv i ng in t he middle o f my own m i nd and b o d y . 11 6 2
I n add i ­
;
t i on t o Mallarme , R irnbaud ' s st at ement " J e e st un aut re " i s
a l s o e c ho ed in Yeat s ' s st at em ent �
The four t h e leme nt c hara c t eri z ing t he c ont ent o f t he
"Wind " p o em s i s t he c r eat i o n o f a t ot al l y imagina t ive
50
r ea l it y .
I n t erm s o f Y e at s ' s met aphy s i c , t hi s imagi nat ive
r ea l it y i s e t e r na l and i s c onv e yed in t he po em s in t erm s
o f v i s i on or dr e am .
Ye at s i nt r oduc e s t he volume wit h t wo
poems sugge st i ng anot her r eal it y :
"The Ho st i ng o f t he
S id he , " t he r e a l i t y o f C e lt i c myt h o l o g y and t he imag ina­
t io n , a nd "The Ever l a s t ing Vo i c e s , " t he r ea l it y o f
H erme t ic and m y st i c t ho ught .
A s not ed b y Unt er e c ke r , 6 3
t he t wo p o em s a r e ind i c at iv e of t he me ld ing o f C e lt ic myt h
wit h Herme t i c symbo l t hat wi l l o c cur i n t he v olume , but
t he p oems a l s o t el l t he r ead er t hat t he wor ld he i s e nt er­
ing i s not t he f am i l i ar p hy s ic al unive r s e .
"The Ho st ing of t he S id he
11
T he t ime of
i s " ' t wi x t night and day " whe n
t he " wi nd s awake n and t h e l e ave s whir l r ound " --t he t ime of
apo c a l yp s e , e nd ing t he mat er i al wor ld .
T he r ead e r i s t o ld
by Niamh t o " empt y y o ur he art of i t s mort al dr e am " imp l y ­
i ng t hat t he heart mu st no w be r ead y t o har bor t he Et er nal
and Immo rt a l --t he nat ur e of t he d r e am t he reader wil l
ent er in t he vo lume .
The t heme o f " The Ever l a st ing
Vo i c e s " e c ho e s Niamh ' s c a ll .
The Vo ic e s o c cur i n t he
sp ir i t ua l , my st i c r ea lm and ar e he ard b y t he s p e aker pr e ­
sumab l y a s h e i s i n a t r anc e -l ike s t at e .
The spe aker
p l ea d s wit h t he se Vo i.c e s t o e nd hi s mo r t al p l i g ht , f or ,
e c ho i ng "The Aut umn o f t he B o d y , " " our he art s ar e o ld . "
The c o smic
st i l l ne s s f or whi c h t he spe aker . pl e ad s mani­
f e st s t hr o ug hout t he v o lume a s an imag e of t he et er nal
wor ld , e . g . ,
"Mast er of t h e st i ll s t ar s , " " unla bo ur ing
51
br ood of t he ski e s . "
It i s t he st i l lne s s o f t he et er na l ,
of a wo r ld not · r ac ked b y Time and Change , a wor ld s imi lar
t o Keat s ' s "Grec i an Urn . "
But unlike Keat s ' s Ur n , t he
wor ld o f t he " Wind " po em s ha s no c o nne c t i o n w it h t he c orp or e a l univer se , eve n to t he ext ent of b e i ng up on a v a s e ,
it se l f mut ab l e .
I n "Moo d s , " t he no n- c orp or e a l nat ur e o f t hi s wor ld i s
fur t her e luc idat e d .
The f ir st hal f of t he p o em c l e a r l y
dea l s wit h t he mut a b i l it y o f t he c orp o r eal wor ld , whe re
even t he s e em ingly permanent mount ains and wo od s event ua l l y d e c ay :
T ime dr op s in d ec ay ,
Like a c and l e burnt o ut ,
And t he mount a i n s and wo od s
Have t he ir d a y , have t he ir d ay ;
In c ont r a st t o thi s e p hemer al wor ld o f dec ayi ng d a y s i s
t he " f ir e-born mood s " o f Aed h , Ro b art e s and Hanr ahan .
The
mo od s oc c ur in a " r out " o r pa s s i o n , whi c h is t he pa s s io na t e d e s ir e for unio n with t he idea l .
Alt hough t he la st
hal f o f t he f i na l ver s ion of t he po em is s omewhat o b s c ur e ,
an e x ami nat io n o f an e a r l i e r v er s i on o f 1 8 9 3 c le ar l y s ho w s
Y e at s ' s int e nt io n :
But , k i nd l y o ld r o ut
Of t he fir e -b or n mo od s ,
Yo u pa s s not away . 6 4
F o l l o wing S ymb ol i st t he or y o f avoid ing d ir e c t st at ement in
favor o f sugge st ion and e vopa t i o n , Ye at s c ho s e i nst ead o f
t hi s d ir e ct sent enc e , t he more my st eri ous que st ion o f t he
f inal 1 8 9 9 ver s io n :
52
What o ne in t he r o ut
Of t he fire -b orn mood s
Ha s fa ll en awa y ?
T he c lar it y of t he or i g inal ver s i on s uddenly bec ome s ve i le d , my st e r i ou s , s e eming ly ind e c ipher ab l e .
The u s e o f t he
que st ion br ing s t he r eader i nt o t h e p o em and a sk s him t o
furni s h an answer .
The que st i on may b e l i kened t o a Z e n
Budd hi st Ko a n ( "What i s t he s o und o f o ne hand c l ap p i ng ? " )
whi c h i s d e s i gned t o c onfu se t he r at i ona l facult y a nd c an
only b e answer ed in t erms o f an emot i onal or int u it ive
p er c ept i on .
Two c hange s o c cur in t he f inal ver s i o n of t he
st anza whi c h creat e t hi s sen se o f my st ery .
T he f ir st
c ha nge is a c hange of subj e c t ; t he subj ect " r out "
of t he
f i r s t ve r s i on b e c ome s t he my st er iou s " one " o f t he f i na l
v e r s i on .
Suddenly t h er e i s " some one " who wh i l e i n t he
r out o f t he s e mo ods e lude s t he law s o f mut abil it y .
S e c ond ,
t he or i g i nal "p a s s not awa y " i s c hange d t o " fallen away . "
The fir st v er s i on i s c onvent i onal a nd u suall y a s s o c iat ed
wit h t he p a s s i ng o f t ime ; t h u s , it s s e n s e of not b e ing
affe ct ed b y t ime i s c le ar .
In t he sec ond ver s io n , t he
image of " fa l l i ng away " i s o b l ique and seems t o evoke t he
image of a c and l e me l t i ng or " f a ll ing away " wit h t ime .
Thu s , t he unc hang i ng moo d s ar e vi sual l y a s s oc iat ed wit h a
melt i ng c and le and b o t h image s are j o ined , c omb ining t he
oppo s i t e imp r e s s i on s of mut ab i l it y and et ernit y in one
image .
65
I n t he f ol l owi ng p o em , "The Love ( or i g inal l y Aed h ,
53
t he maker o f s ong s ) T e l l s o f t he R o se in Hi s He art , " t hi s
et erna l st at e i s a s so c iat ed with t he c r e at ion o f p o e t r y .
The p o em r e i t erat e s t he Symb o l i st c onc e pt ion t hat p o et r y
not onl y fu nct i o n s a s a me ans o f a c c e s s t o t he et ernal ,
but a l s o emb od i e s it .
The f ir st st anz a of t he p o em c at a -
l ogue s a sp ec t s o f t h e we ary wor l d p er c e ived b y t he s e n s e s :
Al l t hings unc ome l y and b r oken , a l l t hing s worn
out and old ,
The c r y o f a c h i ld b y t he r o adway , t he c r e ak o f a
lumber ing c ar t ,
The heavy st ep s o f t he p l oughman , s p l a s hi ng t he
wint r y moul d ,
Ar e wr ong ing your image t hat b l o s s om s a r o s e i n
t he d e ep s of my he art .
The s e imag e s ar e " un s ha p e l y " and t he ir mu sic d i sc ordant ·
( "t h e c r eak o f a lumb e ring c art " ) , b e c au s e t he y are t hing s
"unc ome l y and br oken
•
•
•
worn out and o ld " l ike t he
he art i n " The Everl a st ing V o i c e s " and t h e wea r y wor ld
d e s ignat ed in " The Aut umn of t he B od y . "
The ima g e whi c h
i s wr ong e d , t hat r o se d ee p i n hi s hear t , i s Idea l B e aut y .
In t he s e c ond st anz a o f t h e po em , Yeat s d e f i ne s hi s
int e nt io n :
The wr o ng of unsha p e ly t hings i s a wr ong t o o
gr eat t o b e t o ld ;
I hung er t o bu i l d t hem ane w and s i t o n a green
kno ll ap art ,
Wit h t he e art h and t he s ky a nd t he wat e r , remad e ,
l ik e a c a sket o f go ld
F or my dr e ams o f your image t hat b l o s som s a r o se
in t he d e e p s o f my heart .
The po e t w;i. ll. r ight t he wr ong "t o o gr eat t o b e t ol d " o f
t hi s u n s hap e l y p hy s ic al unive r s e b y c r e at i ng a ne w wor ld ;
what wi l l b e r emad e · ar e t.ho s e e l em ent s pr oven fal s e and
54
i ll u sory , "t he eart h and t he sky and t he w at er s . "
The
four t h e l ement , fir e , i s t he po et him s e l f ( Aedh-- " f ir e
burning b y it se lf " ) a nd t he p o em s w i l l b e a r e sult o f t h i s
f ir e - b or n mood .
c a s ket .
The r emade unive rse wi l l b e a g o lde n
The image invol v e s t he previ o u s l y ment i oned end
o f t h e p hy s i ca l univer se in t he d e at h c o nnot at ions o f c a s ket ; y e t , t he image a l s o c o nnot e s t ha t t h e n e w c r e at i o n s
will b e man-mad e art i f i c e s f o r g e d i n t he a l c hemi c al s ymb o l
o f pur i t y and my st ica l union--gold .
66
In l i eu o f t he
mat er ia l univer se , t hi s r emade wor ld w i ll b e " dre am s of
your ima ge , " t hat i s , a dr eam - l ike r e al it y evo c at ive o f
t he ideal .
Whi l e many p o em s ar e v i s i onar y , " dr eam" b e st d e s c r i b e s t h e a t mo spher e of t he volume , from t he init i al
"The Ho st ing o f t he S i d he " t o t he a c knowl edged dream o f
" The C ap and Be ll s " a nd t he v i s i on o f " T he Val l e y o f t he
B l ac k P ig . "
The s e r emade wor ld s are t o b e t he pure , l i ke
t he a ut onomou s c r e at io n s o f t he S ymb o l i st s and Yeat s ' s
ber.Yl st one s .
F inal l y , in t he t r ad it i on of t he Frenc h
S ymbol i st , t he p o et wil l build t he se new wor ld s upon " a
gr e e n kno l l apart " f r om s o c iet y , e n s c onc ed in t he br i c k
and mort ar o f h i s creat i o n s .
The po et i s t hu s bot h
pr i e st , l ead i ng t he r eade r t o a truer r e a lit y , and magu s ,
mag ic al l y c r e at i ng t hat new r e a l it y .
T he r e al i t y sugge st ed in t he f ir st t hr e e p o em s of t he
volume and furt her d e f i ned in " He T e l l s of t he Ro s e in H i s
55
Heart " i s o ne i n whi c h t he b ound ary o f " L a Fen � r e " ha s
b e en c r o s se d .
C r o s s ing t hi s boundary i s
o f t he "Wind " po em s .
a
c e nt r a l c o nc ern
Whi l e "dr e am " d e s c r ib e s t he gene r al
atmo s p he re of t he po em s , t he mo st pre val ent image i s o f
ha ir , wh ic h func t ions a s a s ymbo l o f t h e b oundary b e t w e e n
t he phy s i c al and s pir it ual w or ld s .
Unt erec ker ha s po int ed
out t he fre quenc y o f t he oc curr enc e o f t he ima ge o f ha i� 6 7
but he wr ong l y a s so c i at e s it wit h Yeat s ' s init iat i on i nt o
t he wor ld of s e n sua lit y and womanl y love .
ind e e d s e n sual :
The image i s
u su a l l y ha ir i s d e sc r ib ed a s p er fumed and
heavy , e vo king o l f ac t or y and t ac t i l e s ense s .
Yet t he a d -
j ec t ive " d im " i s a l s o a p p l i e d t o t he image of hair , sugge st ing ob s curit y and fa int ne s s of l ig ht .
Thu s , the image
of ha ir i s a s soc iat ed wit h p e rfume , s e n s at io ns of hea v i ne s s and lu s hne s s , and wit h . o b s c urit y .
"Hair " i s l o ng and
dr ap e s a b out t he shoulder s , nec k, and arm s o f Yeat s ' s
Idea l Woman .
I n ever y c a s e , t he me nt i o n o f ' � im" and
" heavy " hair int r od uc es t he ot he r wor ld .
In " The H o s t ing
of t he S id he , " t h e image o f ha ir i s i nt r oduc ed in t he
" f l aming ha ir " o f Caol it e a nd t he " unb o und hair " o f t he
Ho st .
Thi s c oupl ing o f f ir e and hair a s so c i at e s hair wit h
t he f i r e - born mood s of t he ima g inat ive r e alit y .
I n "The
Ho st o f t he Ai r , " O ' Dr i sc o l l ' s exp eri enc e s c ome a s he
d r e am s o f " l ong d im ha ir " :
And he saw how t he r eed s gr ew dark
At t he c omi ng of night -t ide ,
And he d r e amed o f t h e l o ng d im hair
O f Br idget hi s br ide .
56
I n " The Heart o f t he Woma n , " t he " s had owy bl o s s om o f my
ha ir " prot ec t s t h e c oupl e fr om t he b it t er st orm of l ife
and t r ansport s t hem t o anot her r e a l it y :
0 hid ing ha ir and d ewy e y e s ,
I am no mor e with l i f e and d eat h .
Aga in , i n " H e T e l l s of a Vall ey F ul l o f Lover s , " p e ac e and
t he e nt ra nc e int o t he o t her r eal it y are a s s o c i at ed wit h
hair :
I c r i e d i n my dr eam , 0 wome n , b id t he y oung men
l ay
The ir hea d s o n y our kne e s a nd dr own t he ir e ye s
wit h y our hai r .
The met aphor b e c ome s app ar ent .
The image o f hair i s
t hat " Tremb l i ng of t he Ve i l o f t he T empl e " t hat Yeat s bor­
/
rowed fr om Mal larme .
Pr ior t o t he S ymb ol i st s ' b e l i e f t hat
t he " wi nd owpane " c ould be c r o s s e d , t h e ve i l was s o l id , and
t ho s e who c ame up on it f led o r b ac ked reve re nt l y awa y .
F o r t he S ymb ol i st s , t he ve il t remb l e s , t he b o und ar y b e t we e n wor ld s i s l e s s d i st i nct , and t hat bound ar y i s c r o s s ed .
Yeat s or ig inal l y u s ed t he phr a s e t o sugge st " T he
Trag i c Generat io n " wit h whi c h he spent hi s y outh and
e i t her c o n sc i o u s ly or unc ons c io u s l y t r ans l at ed it int o the
promi ne nt a nd uni f y ing image of hair in t he " Wi nd " p o em s .
Hai r i s t hat t r e mb l i ng v e i l , part i ng and o f f e r ing image s
o f t he b e y o nd ; hair i s t he s i gnal o f t he dre am or t r anc e
t o c ome , a s i t i s t h e s e n s at io n o f t hat t ranc e it s el f ; and
ha i r i s t he p oet - s e e ker ' s s he lt er fr om t he b ar b ar i sm of
t he p hi l i st ine wor ld --hi s Ax e l ' s c a st l e , s o to sp e a k .
57
The a s so c iat ion o f h air , ve il , a nd ot her wor ld i s found i n
Vi l l ie r s 's " Ax e l . "
T h e c oupl ing of ve il and window ( o r
b ound ar y t o t he ot her wor ld ) i s evid ent i n t he f o l l ow ing
p a s sage :
He [ Ax e l ] wa l ks over t o t he br oke n window and
o p e n s it a s a man might t hrust a s id e a v e i l ,
t hen , p o int in � t o t he st i l l e d air and
6
st ar s
•
•
•
•
Vi l l i er s 's image o f " st i ll a i r and st ar s " i s st ar t l ing l y
s imi l ar t o Y e at s ' s image s of t hat ot he r r e al it y .
In
ano t he r p a s s age from " Ax e l , " Sara st at e s t he f o l lowing t o
Axe l p r i o r t o t he ir doub l e su ic ide :
0 t o bur y yo u in my whit e ne s s , whe r e y ou would
l e ave y our s oul l i k e a f lower lo st deep in t he
s no w ! And t o ve il you wit h m y ha ir , whe r e y ou
wou ld bre at he t he sp ir it of d e ad r o se s . b 9
A s s o c iat e d w it h t he im ag e o f hair ar e ot her d im
imag e s t hat r e c ur , sugg e st ing t he shadowy and d im atmo sp he re o f t he sp irit ual wo r ld :
" s hadowy hor s e s , " " d r i ft ing
smoke , " " s hadowy poo l s , " " gr e y c l oud s o f inc ense , " " dr e amhe avy l and , " "dov e-gr ey sand s . "
The r e i s al s o a sub st an-
t ial number of image s deal ing wit h light and f ir e .
light o r f ir e i s super nat ural :
it
The
is p owerful , yet
et herea l , for e xamp le , "a t wink l i ng o f anc i ent hand s , "
" O Heart s o f wind�b l own f lame , " and " t he pale f i r e of
t i me . "
Like t he
ima g e o f ha ir , t hi s l ight or f ir e i s
a s s oc i at ed w i t h t he dre am and wit h t he ide a l .
Thi s image
o f l ig ht j o i n s wit h t h e ha i r image in t he r e c urr ing ima ge
of " d e w . "
Hai r , in addit io n t o b e ing d e sc r ib ed a s t hi c k
58
and dim , i s " heavy wit h d ew" :
We wi ll b e nd down and l o o s en our hai r over y ou ,
T hat it may dr op fa int p er fume , and b e he avy wit h
d ew . 7 0
The d e w dr op s s l o wl y and dreams gat her . 7 1
Laug h , he art , ag ain in t he gr e y t wi l ight ,
S i g h , hear t , again in t he d ew of t he mor n . 7 2
The ima g e c r ea t ed i s o f t he "ve i l " a s shimmer ing strand s
'
o f d im p erfumed ha ir , b e j ewe l l ed wit h d e w , g li st ening wit h
a n i d e a l o r sup er nat ur a l l ig ht .
of image s i s found i n Axe l .
Aga i n , t hi s c omb inat io n
Whe n Ax e l d ec ide s t o l eave
hi s He rme t i c Ma st er J anu s , he st at e s :
I f ind t hat I am a waken ing fr om a c ha st e and
pa le dre am enve lo p ed in et he r and c o lor o f
d iamo nd s . 7 3
The d r e am , o f c our s e , i s t he s ame dr eam whic h f orm s t he
r ea li t y of t he " Wi nd " p o em s .
T he s e c lu s t e r s o f image s a nd t he ir var i ou s a s s o c i a t i o n s c ontr i b ut e t o t he cr eat i o n o f a su st a ined atm o s p he r e wh i c h expre s s e s b ot h t he e nt r anc e i nt o t he ot her
r e a l i t y and t hat r eal it y i t s e l f .
Gr adu ally t he r e c urr i ng
ment ion o f suc h image s a s ha ir , t wi l ight , d ew , and d r e amhea v y c ome t oget her on a subc o n sc i o u s leve l , o ffer ing t he
reader b ot h a v i ew of and t he s e n s at i on o f t hi s d r e amy
world .
symbo l e .
The s e n s at ion it s e l f in p art c on st ru c t s t h e
The rat i onal fac u lt y i s by-pa s se d and t he c om -
mun i c at io n o c c u r s i n t he emot i o nal ar ena o f t he r e ad er .
Wal l ac e S t evens in The Nec e s sar y Ang e l d i sc u s se s t h i s
p he n omenon :
59
It i s t he mund o o f t he imag inat i on in wh ic h t he
imaginat ive ma n d e light and not t he gaunt world
The p le a sur e is t he p l ea sur e o f
of t he rea son .
p owers t hat c r eat e a trut h t hat c anno t b e arr ived
at by t he r e a s o n al one , a t r ut h t hat t he p o et
r e c o gn i z e s by s e n sat ion . The mora l it y o f t he
p o em ' s r ad i ant a nd pr oduc t ive atmo sphe r e i s t he
mor a l it y o f t he r ight s e n sa t i on . 7 4
Ye at s ' s u se o f imager y invo l v ing a l l t he se nse s func t io n s
t o c ommuni c at e t hi s " r ight s e n s at i on . "
The c r eat i on o f
t hat sen sat i on t hr oug h spe c i fic S ymb o l i st t ec hnique s w il l
b e d i s c u s sed b e low .
vlhat i s e v ident fr om t he ab ove d i s -
c u s s i o n , t hough , i s t he c re at i on o f a " r e-made " world
t hrough t he man ipulat io n of l angu age i n which poet r y
st and s b y it s e lf , p o i nt ing n owhe re but t o it s own unique
wor l d --Y e at s ' s b er y l st o ne .
I n ke ep ing wit h t hi s s e l f-c o nt a ined wor ld , de s c r ip t io ns o f natur e whic h o n t he sur f ac e appe ar t o b e o f t he
p hy s i c a l world func t i on subj e c t ive ly t o d e s c r ib e t he ideal
world .
In " I nt o t he Twi l i ght , " whic h by it s very t it l e
imp l ie s t hat t he re ad er i s t o ent e r t he i d e al wor ld ,
image s o f t he p hy s i�ca l wor l d a r e j o ined w it h my st i c al
r e f e r e nc e s :
When h i l l i s h e aped up o n h i ll :
For t h er e t he myst i c al brot he rho od
Of su n and moon and hollow a nd wood
And river and str e am work out t he ir will .
A s imil ar synt he s i s o c c ur s i n "The S o ng o f Wande ring
Aengu s " whe re what a p p e ar s to be t he u sual p hy si c a l wor ld ,
"I
am
•
•
•
wander ing/ T hr ough holl ow l and s and hi l l y
lands � " i s ac t ual l y a mag i c al wor ld whe r e f i s h c an
60
my st er i o u s l y be c ome yo ung women .
A fina l e xamp l e o f t hi s
subj ec t ive u s e o f nature o cc u r s in " T he B le s se d " where
Dat hi l ive s i n a c av e " Be t we e n t h e wind a nd t he wood . "
T he s e r at he r strange wor l d s ar e a sp e ct s o f t hat m y st i c al
unit y for wh i c h t he speaker s e ar c he s .
T hi s i s e v i d e nc ed
in t he r e c urr ing image of t he uni o n of op po s it e s t ha t
a c c ompanie s var iou s me nt i on o f t hi s c ount r y s ide ..
F or
ex amp l e , t he mu s ic O ' Dr i sc ol l he ar s i s bot h sad and g ay ,
and t he sp ea ker in " T he Se c r et Ro s e " await s t he " gre at
wind o f l o ve and hat e . "
Thus , a lt hough t he spe c i fi c s o f
e ac h p o em m a y vary , t h e world i n w hic h ac t i on o c c ur s i s
alwa y s sup er nat ural and a s s o c iat ed wit h t he m y st i c al union
o f opp o s it e s .
T he l a st e lement c ont r ibut ing t o t he pur i t y o f c ont ent o f t he vo lume , one whic h a l so func t i on s as an unifyi ng t heme , i s t he r e l ig i o u s que st mot i f .
For t he S ymb o l-
i s t s t hi s qu e st t oo k t he f orm of c r o s s ing t hat b ar r ier b et we e n t he p hy s i c a l and s p ir it ua l wor l d s , whet her it wa s
I
I
man ife st ed a s Ma ll arme ' s c onc ept o f pur it y , Baud e la ir e and
Verla ine ' s d i s sip at ion , or R imbaud ' s d er a ngeme nt o f t he
sens e s .
All st r ov e t o a lt er t heir c on s c i o u sne s s i n order
t o a ll ow a c c e s s t o t he sp ir it ua l .
I t i s t h i s que st t hat
i s at t he c or e o f t h e "Wind " p o em s a s t he y b e c ome mani f e st
in Y e at s ' s " immo rt a l d e s ire " of t he man-ho und c ha s i ng
aft e r t he woman-d e er .
T he inab i l it y t o a t t a in t hi s g oa l
cr eat e s s or r ow i n Hanr aha n ' s l ong ing ; dr e am s i n R o bart e s
61
'
c o nt emp lat i o n s ; c r e at i o n i n Ad e h ' s s ong s ; and t he s p ir i t u al w i s h for ap o c al yp se in suc h poem s a s " The Va l l e y of t he
B l ac k P ig . "
The r e l i g io u s que st mot i f i s int r oduc ed i n " The Ho st i ng o f t he A ir . "
The s e t t ing , a s wit h a l l t h e p oems , i s
t he my st i c t ime of t wi l ight , · " t he c oming o f n ight -t ide "
whe r e O ' Dr i sc ol l t he p o et -v i s io nary i s s i ng ing among t he
r e ed s .
JJi ke t he r e ed s , he w i ll b e blo wn b y t he wind , t h e
grea t H o s t o f t he S idhe , and wi l l t umble int o vi s i o n .
O ' Dr i s c ol l ' s v i s ionar y t r anc e i s p r e fac ed b y t he " l o ng d im
hai r " o f h i s b e loved Br idget , a s ymbol of t h e I d e a l 0 oman .
The et erna l nat ur e of hi s vi s i on i s ind ic at ed b y t he p i p ing mu s ic he hea r s , whi c h c omb ine s et ernal opp o s it e s :
And never wa s p i p ing so s ad ,
And nev er wa s p ip i ng so gay .
O ' Dr i sc o l l env i s i on s t he S i dhe at p l a y ; t hro ug ho ut hi s
vi s i on t he dre amy , d im hair o f t he Id eal Woma n i s a l e it ­
mot if , r emind ing t he r e ad e r t hat he ha s e nt ered int o
ano t her r e a l it y .
The c l imax o f O ' Dr i s c o l l ' s v i s io n i s t he
l o s s o f h i s b eloved .
. ...
The lo s s of t he b e loved , t he
p ain
fe lt by t he l ov er from t h i s l o s s , and hi s que st t o r ec apt ur e her ar e c e nt r al e l ement s of a s p ir it ual drama o c c urr ing t hr o ughout t he volume .
In " The F i sh , " Yeat s r e it erat e s t hi s lo s s and c l ear l y
ident i fie s i t a s s ym b ol i c .
T he F i s h- Id e al . re s ide s in t he
my st i c t ime o f t wi l i g ht whi c h o c c ur s in t h e mind :
Alt hough you hid e i n � t he e b b and fl ow
62
Of t he pal e t i d e whe n t he moon ha s set ,
The p e op l e of c oming d a y s . will know
Ab out t he c a st ing out o f my net ,
And ho w you have l eap ed . t ime s o ut o f mind
Ov er t he l itt le s i lve r c ord s .
rrhe fu s io n of ' t he f i s h s ymbo l w it h t he Idea l Woman f igure
oc c ur s in " The S o ng of Wande ring Aengu s . "
Ae ngu s
wand e r s int o t he ha z e l woo d b e c a u s e o f a " f ir e " in hi s
head ; t he f ir e i s t hat same f i er y mood whic h manife st s a s
t h e unque n c ha b l e d e s ir e i n Aed h , Ro b ar t e s , a nd Hanra han .
Ae ngu s ' s c ho i ce o f haz e l wo od for hi s f i shing p o l e i s
anot her ind ic at i on t hat t h e que st i s s p ir it ual , b ec au s e
ha z el i s a s ymbol o f wi sdom .
Lik e t he speaker of "The
F i s h , " Ae ngu s c a t c he s t he " s i lver t r o ut 11 but l ike t hat
The F i sh a nd I deal
s ame speaker , Aeng u s lo se s t he f i s h .
W oman s ymbo l are fused in t he g l immer i ng g ir l wi t h t he
,
app le b l o s som , " ap p le b l o s som in her ha ir . "
F or Y e at s ,
t he app l e b lo s s om wa s a p r ivat e s ymbol of wi sd om , 7 5 a nd
t he r e i s no d oubt t ha t t he g ir l t hat e lude s Aengu s i s t he
s ame a s t he pa le woman of sub sequent p o em s .
Like
O ' Dr i sc o l l and t h e spe aker of " The F i sh , " Aengu s will
wander in searc h of hi s lo st l ov e .
S he is furt her d e f ined
,, a s a y oung woman wit h a golden a p p l e - -a n imag e t hat ec ho e s
Yeat s ' s d e sc r ipt ion o f de s i r e , " .
.
.
a young man f o l l ow-
i ng a girl who ha s a golden ap p l e , and a ft er war d s a ho und
. 76
wit h one r e d e ar f ol lo wing a deer w it h no horn s1'
Thi s image i s ex p li c it y drawn i n " He Mourn s Fo r t he
C hange That Ha s C ome Up on Him and Hi s B e l oved and Long s
63
f or t he End o f t he Wor ld " :
D o y ou not hear me c al l ing , whit e d eer wit h no
· ho rn s ?
I have b e e n c ha nge d t o a ho und wit h o ne r e d ear .
The s p ea ker g o e s o n t o stat e t ha t hi s l ife ha s b e e n alt e r ed b y a man w it h a ha z e l wa nd ( Ae ng u s a nd hi s wand of wi s d om ) , a nd no w hi s c al l i ng i s b ut t he " c a l l ing o f a ho und . "
Thi s " ca l l ing " i s t wofold :
i t i s hi s c a ll ing in l if e t o
seek aft er her and al s o t he nat ur e o f h i s voi c e , hi s c a l l .
Bot h " c a ll ing s " int erming l e in t he c ont ext o f t he "Wind "
p o em s .
T he last t hr e e l ine s of t he p o em int r oduc e t he
c onc ept o f spiritual d e at h a s an a sp ec t o f h i s de s i re :
I wo uld t hat t he B oar w it hout br i st l e had c ome
fr om t he We st
And had r o o t ed t he sun and moon and st ar s out o f
t he s ky
And l a y in t he darkne s s , gr unt ing , and t urning
in h i s re st .
Thi s same de sire o c cur s i n " He Te l l s of a Va l l ey Full o f
Lover s " where t he young men " wi ll f ind n o o t her fac e f air /
T i l l a l l t he val l e y s o f t he wor ld have b e en wi t he r ed
away " and i n "The Vall e y of t he B l ac k P i g " wher e t he
spe aker v i e w s t h e f i nal b at t l e of t he wor ld .
....
Thi s drama
of lo ve lo st and t h e q u e st in sear c h of it i s t h e c onc ern
of a ll t he po ems in t he volume .
Ea c h p o em re f l ec t s an
emot ional a s pe c t o f t he s e e ker :
t he a t t empt t o r e -woo t he
idea l , ang e r at t he idea l , t he sorr ow at it s d epar t ur e .
Anot her e l ement o f t he r e l i g i o u s que st mot i f o c c ur s
in t he "Wind " p o ems b orrowing mor e fr om the r om-ant i c d e ­
b auc h o f B aud e l a ir e and Verl aine t han fr om Ma llarm / and
64
Vi ll i e r s � Id e al i sm .
Thi s s e e ker , t hough st i ll in s e arc h
o f t he i d e a l , i s not c onf ined t o a c ha st e and r e l i g io u s
wor ld .
down"
77
H e may t r ave l , a s J ohn S e nior t erms it , " t he way
in hi s s e ar c h f or e t er nit y .
I n t he t wo mo st
appar ent ly r e l i g i ou s po em s , " T he B l e s sed " a nd "The S e c r e t
R o s e , " t he r e i s t h e ind i c at i o n o f t h i s n e w po s s ib l e pat h
for t he s e e ke r .
Alt ho u g h b ot h p o ems s e em t o d i ffer in
t one f r om t he r e st of t he volume , t he y ar e r e lat ed t o it
i n t erm s o f imager y .
In " T he B le s s ed " C umha ll t e ll s D at hi
t ha t he ha s c ome by t he " windy way , " imp l y i ng t h� wa y o f
t h e S i d he or t he wind o f d e s ir e .
Hi s vi s ion o f bl e s se d
sou l s c ome s t o him " l ike dr ift i ng smoke " e c ho ing
O ' Dr i sc o l l ' s vi s i o n wh ic h w a s " go ne l ik e a dr ift ing
smoke . "
Ble s s edne s s o c c ur s i n t hat mag i c a l t ime "Whi le
t ime a nd t he wor ld ar e e b b i ng awa y / In t wi l i ght s o f dew
and o f fire . "
"The S e c r et Ro s e " a l s o a b ound s wit h imagery
c ommo n t hroughout t he v olume :
. ... •
•
and d e ep
Among · pa l e e ye l i d s , he avy wit h t h e s l eep
Men have named bea ut y .
•
•
•
I , t oo , await
The hour of t he gr e at wi nd of l ov e and hat e .
When sha ll t he st ar s be b lown ab o ut t he sky ,
Like t he spar k s b l own out of a smit hy , and d i e ?
Sur e l y t hine hour ha s c ome , t he great wind b lows ,
F ar -o f f , mo st s e c r et , and inv io lat e Ro s e ?
A new pat h i s indic at e d in bo t h p o em s t hat c o nc er n s t he
sacred nat ur e o f drunkenne s s .
I n "The Ble s se d , " Dat hi
s ay s to C umhall , " I s e e t he b l e s se d e st s oul in t he wor ld /
And he nods a drunk e n he ad " and l at e r
"
•
.
.
one ha s s een
65
in t he r edne s s o f wine / The Inco rrupt ib le R o s e . "
" T he
S e c r e t Ro s e " c l ear ly d e l ine at e s t wo pat h s op e n t o t he s e e �
!
t ho se / Who s ou g ht t he e in t he Hol y
er o f t rut h , "
S e p ul c hre ; I Or i n t he wine -vat .
.
•
11
•
Drunkenne s s , like a st at e o f vi s i onar y t ra nc e or
waking dream , i s c onduc ive t o vi s io n .
One e f f e c t o f
: drunke nne s s i s t o l e s se n t he p ower o f t he rat ional fac ult y ,
a l l owi ng ot her facult i e s fr e e d om .
The inc lu s i o n o f t h i s
new p at h i n t he " Wind " p o em s may b e t he r e su lt o f Y e at s ' s
a c quaint anc e wit h Ver la ine a nd hi s at t empt t o ind i c at e
t hat t he p at h o f t he s e e ker i s not alv-ray s wit ho ut v ic e .
Y et , b e c au se t he end i s pur e , t he v ic e o f drunke nne s s i s
pur i f i ed b y t he imb ib er ' s a sp ir at i on for t he ideal .
He i s
R imbaud , c onfu s ing hi s s e n s e s i n o rd e r t o c arve a pat h t o
t he d ivi ne .
Yeat s ' s c onc e pt o f a p o e t r y o f e s s enc e s i s r e a l i z ed
b y t he f ive e lement s of c ont ent whic h cre at e an aut o nomous ,
imaginat ive wor ld c har act er i z ed b y an a sp ira t ion for a
s p i r i t u a l ideal .
It i s evident t hat Y e at s wi s hed t o
.
I
c r e at e in thi s vo lume a unif i ed p o et r y , e c ho ing Mal larme ' s
c oncept . o f t he Gr eat \>fork, whi c h wo uld be t he e x pr e s s i o n
o f su bj e c t ive u nit y .
T he st ruc t ur e of t he Gr eat B o o k i s
" ar c hit ec t u r ed " and " pr emed iat ed . "
I
A s Mal l arme d e s cr i bed
it :
I m e an a b o ok , s imp l y ; a b o ok in many v o lume s ; a
b oo k whi c h_ i s a b o ok , ar c hit e c t ura l and preme d i ­
t at ed , and not a mi s c e l l ane y of c hanc e i n s p ir a­
t i ons , however marve l o u s t he y may b e . 7 8
66
The "Wi nd " volume i s pr eme d iat ed i n t he s e n s e c onve y e d b y
Ma llarm �; t he r ec ur r i ng t heme and imagery form a c o nne c t ing b o nd wit hi n t he poems .
Eac h po em ind i c at e s a mo od o r
st at e o f mind whi c h i s b u t a n a sp e c t o f a larger unif i e d
st a t e of mind .
I
In t erm s o f Mal l armea n a e st he t ic s , t hi s
uni fi ed st at e of mind s ho u ld · r e f l ec t a st at e o f s p ir i t u al
unit y .
A lt hough t h e " Wind " p o ems evoke spirit u al unit y
and make r ef e r enc e t o it , t he y r ef l e c t a t orme nt ed st at e
of mind t hat ha s not yet ac hie ved t h i s supreme s t at e .
Neve rt he l e s s , t he p o em s are a n at t empt t o r e f l e c t a uni f i ed
wor ld o f e s sence s .
Yeat s ' s t e c hn ique for c r eat ing a p o et r y o f e s senc e s
I
invo lve s a Mal larmean pur if ic at i o n of t h e language , i . e . ,
"t o make an e nt ir e wo rd hit hert o unkno wn t o t he l anguage
out of many voc ab l e s " ( Id e as , p . 3 0 4 ) .
•
Thi s " ent i r e
word " i s t he " s i gnat ur e or s ymb o l of a mood o f t he d ivine
'
imag inat io n " and c onve y s " t he horr or o f t he for e st " ( a
f e e l ing ) and " not t he int ense d e n s e wood o f t r e e s " ( a ir e c t
de s c r ipt i o n )
( Id e as , p . 3 0 4 ) .
T h e l anguage of t he po e t r y
a s muc h a s it s c o nt ent i s " arc hit e c t ura l " a nd " p r em e d i t a t ed . "
i
I n short , t he aim o f t hi s p o et i c t ec hnique i s t o
c onve y what i s u sually ine ff ab l e b y t he c oncr et e u s e o f
l anguage .
Thi s pur i f i ed l angu age i s t he r e sult of four ma j o r
dev ic e s .
The f ir st devic e i s t he u s e o f mu s i c .
In " Art
P o et ique , " Verlaine adv i s ed t he a sp ir i ng p o et t hat � p o e t r y
67
i s " l a mu s ique avant t o ut e . "
Ye at s obv i ou s ly acc e pt ed
t hi s adv i c e , f or in sever a l po em s " so ng " i s e it h e r u s ed in
t he t it l e , "The Song of Wa nd er i ng Aengu s , " "The S 9 ng o f
i
t he O l d Woman , " or i t i s d i st inc t l y u s ed t o mean " p o em , "
" The Lover Spe ak s t o H ear e r s of Hi s S o ng s in C oming D ay s . "
Y e at s al so u s ed "dre am" t o mea n " p o em . "
The po ems ar e
dr e am- s o ng s , forged fr om t he s am e mold a s O ' Dr i s c o l l ' s
v i si on wher e i n t he po et " sa ng and dr eamed . "
Eac h p o em- s ong c onve y s a d i st inc t m e l o d y t hat c r e at e s
an atmo sphere e s s e nt i a l to t he o nt o l ogy of t h e poem .
Mel od y c orre spo nd s t o t he c haract er o f t he sp eaker ' s mood .
In e f f e c t , me lody and moo d merge , and s i nc e mood i s t o t h e
po em a s soul i s t o t he b od y , t he impor t a n c e o f mu s i c f or
Y e at s i s evident .
I n d i s c u s s i ng rhyt hm i n " The S ymb o l i sm
of Po e t r y , " Y e at s c all s f or t he " c a st ing o ut o f ser ious
p o et r y
•
•
.
energet ic r hyt hms " ( Id ea s , pp . 2 5 4 - 2 5 5 ) .
R at her , he sa y s , " we s e e k out t ho se wavering , med it at i ve ,
organic r hyt hm s , wh i c h are t he embo diment o f t he imag ina­
t io n " (Id e a s , p .
25 5 ) .
Thi s new "organic r hyt hm" p e rme at e s
t he " Wi nd " poems , d i st i ngu i shing t hem fr om pr evi ou s and
l at er vo lume s .
T he init ial p o em o f t he vo lume , " The Ho st ing o f t he
S idhe , " no t onl y war ns t he r e ader t hat t he wor l d he i s
ent er ing i s sup ernat ur al , but a ls o c onve y s an ot her -wor l d ­
l y s e n s e b y it s rhyt hm .
T he mo st obv i ou s c hara c t er i st i c
o f t hi s rhyt hm i s it s c hant -l ike , drumming · beat whic h c o r -
68
r e sp o nd s wit h Y e at s ' s c onc ept o f a " wav er ing , med i t at ive
rhyt hm . "
This c hant -l i ke effect is evi d ent i n t he f ir st
t hr e e l i ne s o f t h e po em :
The ho st i s r id i ng fr om Knoc knar ea
And over t he gr av e of C l oo t h-na-Bar e ;
C ao l it e t o s s ing hi s b urning ha ir .
The r hyt hm i s s l o w and h e av y ; r e s ul t ing fr om t he u s e of
he avy s t r e s s word s whic h f or c e t he t ongue to l ing er over
t hem .
For examp l e , t he " o " s ound of " C ao l it e " is f ol low-
ed by t he l o ng " s " of " t o s s i ng " whi c h t hen end s wit h t he
ling er i ng and ext ended so und of " i ng , " in t ur n fo l lowed
by anot her heavy stre s s a nd long s ou nd in t he " s " o f ·
" hi s . "
The se s i b ilant s ound s are b ro k en b y t he so lid and
heavy stre s s of "burning . "
ing " r " s ou nd o f "hair . "
T he l ine e nd s wit h t he l i ng er The general e f f e c t i s o f a s l ow
and h e avy r hyt hm , punc t u at ed b y t he l ight and l i ng er ing
s ou nd s ( " s , " " r , " " ing " ) wh ic h c r eat e a m i st y and
et h er ea l atmo sphere .
Alt hough t he r hyt hm i s be st c har act er i z ed · b y it s
p l et hora o f heav y st r e s se s , t he stre s s e s a lt er nat e i n
we ight ; l ig ht et ner eal sound s ar e f o l l owed b y h ea v y f i na l
sound s .
F o r examp l e , i n " Our arm s ar e waving , our l i p s
ar e apart , " t he t wo word s m o st he avi l y st r e s s ed ar e
" wavi ng " ( a light s ou nd ) and " ap art " ( a heavier s ound ) .
Th i s int erweav i ng of hea v y and l ig ht st r e s s ed sound s i s
rep eat ed i n t he rhym e s c h eme , e . g . , t he l ight er , s oft er
s ing ing s o und s of :
Knoc hnar ea , awa y , d r e am , ag l e am ,
69
heart , d ay ; and t he he av i er end i ng s ound s o f :
r ound , unb ound , apart , b end , hand , f ar .
bar e , hair ,
The o v er al l
e f f e c t o f t hi s alt er nat ion wov e n wit h t he c h ant - l i ke b e at
i s t o c r e at e an et her e al and haunt i ng mu s i c .
Two ot her e l ement s c ont r ibut i ng t o hi s c hant -l ike
effect are t h e u s e o f r epet it ion of phr a s e s or anap hor a
and int ernal r hyme .
I n t he 1 6 line s o f "The Ho st i ng of
t he S idhe " t her e i s o nly sl ight var i at i o n in t he b eg inning s o f e a c h l i ne :
"The Ho st ' " " And Niamh ' " "And our ' "
"The Wind , " " Caol it e t o s si ng , " " Our chee k s , " " Our arms , "
"Our b r e a st s , " and " We c ome . "
Repet it io n a l s o o c c ur s in
par a ll e l phr a sal st ruc t ur e :
T h e ho st i s r id i ng/ The ho st i s r u sh ing
Our c he e k s are pa l e , our hair i s unb ound
Our br e a st s a r e heaving , our e ye s ar e agleam
Our arm s ar e wav ing , our l ip s ar e apart
We c ome b et we en him a nd t he d e ed of hi s hand
We c ome b e t w e e n him a nd t he ho p e o f hi s he art
The s e l ine s a l so ind ic at e t he he avy u s e o f a s s onanc e and
all i t e r at i o n in t he d o ub l e " e e ' s " o f " b et we en" and " d e ed "
a nd t he a l l it er at ive u s e of " h ' s . "
The r ep e ated u s e o f
t h e " ing " s o und t hrougho ut t h e p o em fu nc t i on s t o no t o n l y
c r e at e word e c hoe s c o nt r ibut ing t o t he drummi ng e f f ec t ,
but pr ovid e s t he p o em s wit h a s e n s e of movem e nt .
T h i s s ame c hant -like , haunt ing mu s ic oc cur s in " T he
Ever l a st ing V o i c e s . "
ar e heav i l y s t r e s s ed :
I
0
The maj o r it y of word s i n t he p o em
I
I
I
I
I
I
swe et ever l a st ing voi c e s , b e st i l l
70
and ,
I
I
I
/
I
I
I
F l ame und e r f l ame , t i l t ime b e no mor e
A s i n "The Ho s t ing of t he S id he " each l ine a b ound s wit h
heavy st r e s s e s , bu t in c ont r a st t o t he f ormer p o em , t her e
are f ew word s t hat c r e at e a l ight , l inger ing e f f e ct .
T he
onl y sub stant ia l br e ak in r hyt hm o c c ur s in the r e peat ed
phr as e , " O sweet everl a st ing vo ic e s . "
The r e sult i s a
ver y sl ow and heavy rhyt hm punc t u at ed wit h t he me lanc ho lic
call of
11 0 . 11
The fe el ing emit t ed b y t hi s rhyt hm is inc an-
t at or y , but at t he same t ime p l a i nt iv e , r e f l e c t ing t he
moo d of l ong ing t h e p o em at t empt s t o emb od y .
"The Va l l e y o f t he Bl ack Pig " a l s o i llu st r at e s t he
u s e o f mu s i c in t he "Wind " p o em s .
T he r hyt hm , a s in t he
t wo poem s ab ov e , abound s wit h heavy s t r e s s e s , sl owing t he
t emp o :
T he d ews d r op s l owl y and d r e am s g at her :
s p ear s
Unknown
Sudd enly hurt l e b e f or e my dr eam-awakened eye s
And t hen t he c la sh o f f a l len hor s emen and t he
cries
A s i n "The Ho st ing o f t he S i d he , " t he rhyme s ar e b o t h lo ng
and s o ft s o und s ( " sp e ar s , " " e ar s , " " d e w , " " c r i e s " ) t hat
l inge r at t he end o f e a c h line l ik e a so ft mi st .
TQe
atmo sphe re cr eat ed by t h i s s lo w and d e l ic at e rhyt hm i s
harmo ni ou s wit h t he image s o f "dr ift ing smoke " and t he
shado wy p l ac e s t hat p ermeat e t he other dr eam p o em s o f t hi s
;
'·-
volume .
Thu s , mu s ic and image b lend and p ar t ic ip at e in
71
t he c r eat i o n of t he mood o f l ong ing and wi st ful d e s ir e
t ha t l i e s at t he h e art o f t h e po et r y .
Alt hough Y ea t s ' s u s e o f mu s ic i s et her ea l , t her e i s
a p ower and s t r engt h t o it t hat c onv e y s a n i nc ant at o r y
a nd t r anc e -l ike e f f e c t .
e r i s nar c ot i z ed .
79
To paraphr a se El lmann , t he r e ad ­
The p o et i s a mag i c ian, and hi s
p o e t r y i s a sp e l l o r c harm he weave s ab out t he r e ad e r ,
lul l i ng h im i nt o a t wil i ght s t at e simi lar t o t he t wi l i ght
at mo spher e
of
t he po ems .
t na t c ommuni c at i on o c c ur s .
It i s in t hi s st at e o f r every
The nat ur e o f t hi s c ommu ni c a-
t i on i s c omp ar ab l e t o t he t ype of c ommu n i c at i on c ommon in
mu s ic .
The c e ntr al f act or i s t he c omp l et e b y -p a s s i ng o f
t he r at i onal facul t y ; mu s ic i s init ial l y felt , and int e ll ec tual i z at io n i s sec ond ar y . � The c ommunic at i on i s d ir ec t
wit h n o i nt e l le c t ual barr ier .
It i s f or t hi s r e a s o n t hat
mu s i c wa s r evered by t he S ymb o l i st s ; it s pur it y l i e s i n
it s ab i l it y t o c ommuni c at e f e e l ing d ir ec t l y and rea c h
immed iat e l y int o t he d eepe st r ec e s s e s o f t he l i st e ner .
It
i s t hi s und e r l y ing a im of S ymb o l i st t ec hnique t hat Y e at s
at t empt s i n t he "Wind " po em s .
The c r e at i on o f a d i st inct
and t ranc e -evo king r hyt hm part iall y ac hi ev e s t hi s end .
I n add i t i o n t o r hyt hm , a s e c ond d ev i c e borr owed fr om
mu s i c at t empt s t o c ommun i c at e t o t he r e ad er d ir e c t l y and
by-pa s s t he rat i o na l facult y .
I
Thi s d ev ic e i nv o lve s t he
u s e of what Mallarme t ermed t he "mot pur . "
I
Ma ll arme ' s
"mot p ur " was an att empt t o u se word s in t he same f a s hi on
72
a s not e s ar e u s ed i n mu s i c .
Whi le eac h word has i t s d i s-
t inc t d enotat iv e meaning , it a l so has myr iad c onnot at ions
t hat hover about it .
B y b e ing awar e of t he se c o nnot at ive
p ower s , t he p oet , d i st il l ing t he " e s s e nc e " of t he word ,
at t empt s b y t he c oncr et e u s e o f word s t o invoke t he
" inf init e in t he f init e . "
The r e sult i s t he symbo l e .
Alt ho ugh Yeat s had exp e r iment ed w it h t h e s ymb o l i n pr e v i ou s volume s ( e . g . , "Th e R o s e " ) , h i s u se wa s t radit io na l ,
r e l yi ng u p on a c c e pt ed image s w it hin t he c ultur a l her it age .
S ymb o l s i n "The R o se " p o em s , e sp e c i a l l y "The Wh it e B ir d s, "
hi nt at t he c omp l ex it y o f t he Fr enc h S ymb o l i st t ec hniqu e ,
but st i ll r ema i n c onve nt i o na l .
A s imp l i st ic , but u s e ful ,
way o f d i st i ngu i shing bet w�en Fr enc h S ymb ol i st and c onvent ional u sage i s by v ie wing t he f ormer a s c ov ert and sub j ec t iv e and t he l at t er a s more st r a ight f or ward .
For
examp l e , "The V.Thit e B ird s " quit e openly e xpr e s s e s t he
poet ' s d i sc o nt ent w it h h i s pr e se nt st at e and hi s wi sh t o
b e t ransformed int o s omet hing t hat will t r ansc end t he
mi sery of t he human c ond it i on :
I would t hat we wer e , my b e loved , whit e b ird s
o n t he fo am o f t he sea !
We t ir e of t he f 1 am e o f t he met e or , b e for e it c an
f ad e and f le e ;
And t he f lame o f t he b lu e star o f t w il ig ht , hung
low o n t he r im of t he sky ,
Ha s awaked in our heart s , my b e loved , a sadne s s
t hat may n ot d ie .
Though t hi s p o em ut i l i z e s s ymb ol s , e . g . , t he b ird s , t he
l il y , t he r o s e , t he r e
is
no sense of my st ery ab o ut t hem ,
no c ov ert l eve l t hat na g s at t he r e ad e r for a more complet e
73
und er st and ing of t he wor k .
I n c ont r ast , o b s c ur it y mark s t h e "Wind " poems whe re
symb ol ic u s age f l ows fr e e o f t he u sual int e l li g ib le c o nnec t io n s wit h c onve nt i o n .
An e xc e ll ent e x amp l e of t he
S ymb o l i st t e c hnique o c cur s in "The C ap and Be ll s . "
Whi le
t he s ymb ol o f c ap and b e l l s i s fam i l iar , it is u s ed wit hin
t he p o em in a st art l ing and unfam i l i ar fa shion , r e sembl ing
Mal larm t ' s " swan " in " Le v ierge , le vivac e et le b e l
auj ourd-hu i . "
The phr a s e " c ap and b e l l s " oc cur s i n t he
p o em aft er t he j e st er ha s fut il e l y at t empt ed t o wo o t he
Que e n wit h hi s heart a nd so u l :
" I have c ap and b e l :Ss , " he pond e red ,
" I wi ll s end t hem t o her and d i e ; "
And when t he morning whit ened
He l e ft t hem whe r e she went b y .
She la id t hem upon her b o som ,
Und er a c loud of her hair ,
And her r e d l i p s sang t hem a love- s ong
T i l st ar s grew out of t h e air .
S h e op e ned her d o or and her wi nd ow ,
And the he ar t a nd t h e s oul c ame t hr o ugh ,
To her r ight hand c ame t he r ed o ne ,
T o her l eft hand c ame t h e b lu e .
The y s e t up a no i s e l ike c r ic ke t s ,
A c hat t ering w i s e and s we e t ,
And her hair wa s a f old ed fl ower
And t h e qu i et of l ove in her f e et .
•
The meaning o f t h e s ymb ol and o f t he po em i s u nc l e ar .
Yeat s s aid o f t hi s po em , "The p o em has alway s m eant a
gr e at d e al t o me , t hough , a s i s t he way wit h s ymbo l·i c
po em s , it ha s not a lwa y s me ant q u it e t he same t hi ng . n 8 0
The po em i s my st eriou s ; it s m e aning i s und e r st ood muc h
74
l ike t he "meaning " in a mu s ic al p iec e t hr ough t he e x p er i ­
enc e evo ked b y t he imagery and rhyt hm .
To a c e rt ai n e x ­
t ent , t he narr at iv e it s e lf generat e s t hi s expe r i e nc e o f
meaning .
The enc hant ing nat ur e of t he narrat ive i s due t o
it s arc het ypa l r o ot s .
A s it s mo st ske l e t a l level , t he
narrat ive inv olv e s t he at t empt of s ome one t o gain som e ­
t hi ng b e aut iful and eva s ive .
From a p sy c hoana l yt i c al
p o i nt o f vi e w , t he e lu s ive b eaut y i s t h e mot her and t he
d e s i r e t o once mor e f ind t he p eac e o f t he s ymb i o s i s o f t he
womb .
At a n ae st het ic and spirit ual l ev e l , t he elu sive
b eaut y ( her e the Que e n ) i s s p ir it u a l uni f ic at ion , whic h
f or t he poet i s t he at tainmen�· o f b e aut y in h i s p o et r y .
The my st er y surround ing t he cap and b e ll s ac c ount s fo r it s
powe r i n obt ai ni ng t he d e s ir ed o b j e c t .
I n addit i on t o t he ar c het ypal nat ur e of t he narrat iv�
t he r e ad er i s a l s o affe ct ed by t he c ol or and mu s i c al
imag er y .
Thr ee c o l or s d ominat e t he po em :
The b lu e gar ­
ment o f t he s oul , t h e r ed g arme nt o f t he h e art , and t he
whi t ene s s of t he que en ' s " p a l e night g own , " o f her c lo ud ­
l ik e ha ir , and o f t he "mor ni ng wh it ened . "
and dr e amy .
S ound i s s o ft
Ini t i a ll y , "t he garden had fa ll e n st i l l . "
The st i l l ne s s i s br oken b y t he c al l o f an ow l and t he
s oft ne s s o f t he qu e e n ' s fo ot st ep s .
ilar l y s o ft :
Ot her s o und s a r e s im­
t he flut t er of t he que en ' s hair and t he w i se
c hat t er ing c r ic ke t s ound o f t he s ou l and heart .
The over­
all e f fe c t of t hi s ima gery i s t he cr ea t i o n o f a dr e am-l i ke
75
atmo sphe re , c har ac t e ri z ed b y de licat e s e nse o f fra g i l i t y .
Yet it i s t he s ymb o l o f t he c ap and b e l l s wh i c h i s mo st
The t e c hnique of u sur p i ng t he s ymb ol from it s
p owerfu l .
u su a l u s age g iv e s it not only new and myr i ad m e aning s , but
a l s o a new s ymb o l i c ont o l o g y .
T he r e ar e ot her s ymb ol s and phr as e s i n t he "Wind "
poems t hat func t ion t o evoke by way o f t he ir a s s o c iat i o n s
a spec i f ic ima ge or a mor e ge ner al i z ed f e e l ing ab out t he
p o em .
A f e w e x amp l e s will i l lu st r at e t hi s t echniqu e .
In
" The F i s h , " t he image of " l it t l e s i lver c ord s " i s t he o nly
d i st inct c o lor image in t he po em :
Alt hough yo u hide in t he eb b a nd fl ow
Of t he p a l e t id e wh en t he moon ha s set
The p e o p l e of c om ing d a y s w i l l know
Ab out t he c a st ing out of my net ,
And how y ou have le aped t ime s out o f mind
Ov er t he l it t l e s i lver c ord s .
Like t h e t ide , t he po em ha s b e e n pale up t o t hi s po int ,
but t he p a lene s s i s sudd enly i ll um inat ed b y t hi s s il ver y
image .
The p o et ' s net i s dr awn out o f t he mund ane uni-
· ve r s e ; t he j o i ni ng of " l it t l e " a nd " s i lver " and " c ord s "
creat e s t he image o f a d el i c at e l y c o nst ruct ed ne t o f s i l v e r c ord s .
What i s unu sual i n t he image i s t he u s e o f t h e ·
word " s i lv er . "
" S il v er " i s t r ad it i onal ly a s s o c i at ed wit h
t he moo n and i s r ic h wit h t he moon ' s myt hic al , p sycho l o gi c a l , and b i o l o g i c a l a s s o c i at i on s .
The se var i ou s and
ind e fina b l e a s so c iat ions linger ab out t he image o f " l i t t l e
s i l v e r c ords " i nt en s ifying not only t he image , but t he
e nt ir e p o em .
76
-·
-· · -�
·�·
·- . ,
T h i s s ame a s s o c i at ive t ec hni qu e i s r e a li z ed i n
Y e at s ' s u sage of " h az e l wand " f o r f i s hing po le in " The
Song of Wand e r ing Aengu s . "
" Ha z e l , " even i f one i s not
, v er s e d in it s myt h i c s ignif ic anc e , ha s mag ic al a s so c iat ions ( o ne need only lo ok a s f ar a s t he c ommo n name o f
st ory - b oo k wit c he s ) .
"Wand " . a l s o hold s mag ical a s so c ia-
t i on s , e . g . , fairy wand , mag ic i an wand .
The j o i ning of
t he s e t wo a s s o c i at i on-l o aded word s c r e at e s a p syc hi c
c harm e l ic it ing c o nnot at ions in whi c h mag i c and my st ery
c ont r i but e t o t he f ee ling t r ansmi tt ed by t he p o em .
T he
-
t r ansmi s s i on o f t he f e e l ing o f t he p o em i s vit a l t o
S ymb ol i st ae st het ic s , for what i s imp ort ant i s :
not t he o bj e c t it s e lf , but t he e f f e c t it produc e �
Ther e fore a v e r s e mu st not b e c omp o se d o f word s ,
but of int 8 £t i ons ; a l l word s mu s t yi e ld t o
_
s en sat 1on
.
Thi s sen sat i on has a s mu c h v al id it y a s t he c ont ent matt er ;
b o t h s t r iv e t o c ommun icat e t he s ame o bj ec t .
The u s e o f
a s s o c iat i on-lad en word s i s a n e s s e nt i al e lement i n t he
c re at i o n of t hi s s e n s at i on .
Thi s t ec hnique o f evok ing a s u st a ined feel ing i s apt l y d emon s t r at ed i n t he u se o f r e f l ect ed l ight imager y in
" The S ong o f Wand er ing Aengu s . "
The " l ight " imagery
foc u s e s upo n t he f i s h c au ght by Ae ngu s .
Thi s im age r e -
peat s t he imager y o f " The F i s h " a nd int egr at e s t he a s so c iat ive p ower o f t he pr ec eding po em :
" l it t l e s i lver t r out . "
" Lit t le s i lver c ord s , "
T he image o f l i g ht i s f ir st int r o­
duc ed as t he fire i n Ae ngu s ' s he ad , is r ef l e c t ed i n t he
77
"mot h - l ike st ar s wer e f l i c k er ing out " a nd t he " g l immering
gir l , " and c ome s t o fru it i o n in t he last t w o pot ent and
evo c at i ve l i ne s o f t he po em :
Th e s i lver app l e s o f t he moon .
The g ol d e n appl e s of t he sun .
The u suall y unc on sc iou s a s soc iat i on of s i lver wit h moon
a nd g ol d en wit h sun ar e mad e exp l ic it .
T he app le image
br ing s t o mind in it s orb - l ike s hap e , t he sphe r ic al moon
and sun , t hu s c r e at i ng a se rie s of a s so c iat iv e ec hoe s
b ounc i ng o ff o ne ano t her .
Appl e s al s o have c u l t ur al s i g -
nif i c anc e f or We st ern ma n a s t he fru it o f kno wl edge , t ai rt e d w it h d anger ; t h i s a s soc iat ion i s inc luded i n t he
imag e s .
The e f f e c t o f t hi s image i s a v ib r at ing o f s ome
inner c hord b y t he s e n sat ion c r ea t ed t hr ough t hi s r e f l e c t ive imager y .
T he e f f e c t i s like mu s i c , d if f er ing only i n
t hat t her e i s a sub st ant ive narr at iv e t hat fu s e s w it h t he
f e e l ing ev oked .
T he "Wind 11 p o em s abound wit h o t her s ymb o l i c r e fer enc e s whi c h t o ac h a s s o c iat ive c hord s .
In " He M ourn s for
t he C hange t hat Ha s C ome Upon Him and His Be loved , and
Lo n g s for t he End of t he Wor ld , " t he spe aker st at e s , " I
have b e en i n t he Pat h o f St one s and t he Wood o f Thor n s . "
The r e f e r enc e i s myst erio u s .
The p e ri l o u s nat ur e o f t hi s
pat h and wo od s s e ems t o i ndi c a t e t he t orme nt t he speaker
ha s e ndured in hi s qu e st .
The re i s an added myt hic a s s o -
c iat ion c r ea t ed b y t he d e l ine at i on of t he s e va gue p l ac e s
a s d i st i nc t ent it i e s .
T he re i s no r e a l " Pat h o f St one s "
78
or "Wo od o f Thorn s , " but t he y ga i n a rea lit y and e v o c at ive
power wit hin t he struc t ur e o f t he p o em , ad d i ng t o t he g e n­
era l s e n s e o f a dre am-l ike atmo s p he r e .
Thi s dream- l i k e
and my st e r i ou s s e n s e i s c onve yed b y ot he r u sa ge s :
T he
hound and deer imag e , t he r epet it ion o f Aengu s ' s ma g i c a l
haz e l w and , and t he my st erious B o ar o f t he We st r oo t ing
" t he sun and mo o n and st ar s out o f t he sk y . "
All t he s e
ima ge s ar e emot i o nal l y lad e n and , c omb ine d wit h t he
my s t er i ou s narr at ive , ac hieve a fu s i o n of f orm and c ont ent
in t he c r e at ion o f a s e n sat i o n evok ing t he ot her wor l d l y
d e si r e t hat infu se s t he v olume .
The l a s t line o f " The Va l l e y o f the Black Pi g " i s
ano t h e r e x c e lent examp l e o f t hi s t e chnique o f j ux t ap o s ing
enigmat i c s ymb o l s in order to c r e at e a p art i c ular s en s a­
" Ma s t er o f the s t i l l s t ar s and o f t he f l aming
t i on :
door . "
The " s t i l l s t ar s " image , a s d i s cu s s e d ab ove , i s
emb lemat i c o f t h e s p i r i tual univ e r s e for whi ch t he s p e aker
longs .
The image evoke s a fro z e n , b e aut i ful p anorama o f
t he h e aven s .
Th i s vi s i on o f t he h e avens i s j oi ned w i t h
t h e f ant a s t i c image o f a " fl aming door , " and t o b o t h o f
t he s e image s i s added t he i d e a o f a "Ma s t e r " cont ro l l i ng
t hem .
The c omb inat i on o f t he s e a s s oc iat i on s in one s en­
t en c e i s powe r fu l .
A l a s t e x ample o f t h i s s ymb o l i c t e c hni que o c cu r s in
" Th e P o e t P le ad s with t he E lement al P ower s � "
The f i r st
s t an z a make s e xt en s ive u s e o f highly evo c at ive s ymb o l s :
79
The Powe r s who s e name and shape n o l iving
c r e ature knows
Have p u l le d t he Immo rt al Ro s e ;
And t hough t h e S e ven Light s b owed i n t he i r d an c e
and wept ,
The P o l ar Dragon s l ept .
Hi s he avy ring s unc o i l e d , from gl immering d e ep
to deep :
When wi l l he wake _ from s l eep ? ( emp ha s i s adde d )
Like the s ymb o l s previ o u s l y d i s cu s s e d , t he ab ove underlined s ymb o l s are vagu e and app e ar to have no di s t ingu i shab l e r e f e ren c e .
The i r e f fe c t i s t o evoke a s en s e o f t he
myt h i c and my s t er i ou s .
Whi l e t he e x a c t sub s t ance o f t he
s t anz a i s amb i guo u s , the s ymb o l s c onve y t hr o ugh fe e l ing
and imag e a s e n s e of a glimme ring y e t s had owy ot her-wo rld .
" To H i s H e art , Bidding It Have No F e ar " i l lu s t rat e s
the c omb ine d e ffe c t o f mu s i c and s ymb o l i c u s age t o evoke
a my s t i c al awarene s s in the reader .
The s e n s e o f a d i s -
t in c t b e at i s evident i n t h e init i al t wo line s :
B e you s t i l l , b e you st i l l , t remb ling heart ;
Rememb er t he wi s d om out o f t he o ld days :
The mo s t apparent rhythmi c devi c e i s anapho r a ; t he re p e t i ­
t io n o f " b e y o u s t i l l , b e y o u s t i l l " t ake s a fami l i ar
c ommand , " b e s t i l l , " and b y t he i ntru s i on of " yo u " s lo w s
t he rhyt hm , empha s i z ing " s t i l lne s s . "
The s e init i a l line s
al s o make u s e o f a s s onance and al l i t e rat i o n , c r e at i ng t he
whi sp e r o f vowe l e c ho e s whi c h introduce t he my s t i c al
admoni shme nt :
Him who tremb l e s b e fore t he f l ame and t he flood ,
And the winds that b low thr ough the s t arry wa y s ,
Let t he s t arry winds and t he f l ame and t he f l o od
Co v e r ove r and hide , for he ha s no t part
With the lone l y , maj e s t i c al mult i tude .
80
Again , the u s e o f he avi l y s t re s sed word s , al ong with ana­
p ho ra , as s onanc e , and al l i t e rat i on c r e a t e in t h e i r chant ­
like rhy thm not only a mu s i c a l e f f e c t , but a l s o a p s y cho­
l o gi c al one .
The f o l l owing p hra s e s conn e c t t he re ad er t o
a s ymb o l i c ground :
" t he flame and the f lo o d , " " st arry
way s , " " s t arry wind s , " and " l one l y , maj e s t i c al mult itude . "
The " fl ame and t he f lo o d " phr a s e c omb i n e s t he s p e c i f i c image
' o f wat e r in " f lood . "
In ad d i t i on t o t he j o ining o f the s e
opp o s i t e e lement s , t h e image s evoked b y e a c h s ingul ar l y
re f le c t s up o n t he o t he r , e xp anding . t heir " i nt en s i ve " me an­
ing and e vo ki ng an ap o c al yp t i c image and s e n s at i on .
· The
" s t ar r y way " i s s imi lar to " girdle of l i ght " in "He H e ar s
t he C r y o f t he S e dge " in i t s s ugge s t i on o f t he heaven s .
Y e t " st arry way " i s not qui e t and s t i l l , b ut dynami c al l y
b lown wi th t he " st arry wind s . "
The s e image s sugge s t t he
awe s ome , apo c alypt i c , and c o smic nat ure o f t he " lonel y ,
maj e s t i ca l mult i tude , " for whi c h t he he art i s admo ni shed
to b e s t rong .
Thi s phr a s e al one i s c onno t at i v e l y p owerful .
There i s a s t rength and s t ark b eaut y in tho s e things whi c h
are l o n e l y and maj e st i c .
That a mult i t ud e , u sual l y a s s o ­
c i at e d w i t h c hao s and c o nfu s i on , should b e lonely and
awe s o me ly maj e s t i c al i s a c o nt radi ct i on in t erms .
Yet
t he s e s e emingly c ontradi c t or y image s re fle c t upo n e a c h
o t he r , bro adening t h e p arame t e r s o f e a c h image , re sult ing
i n the s tart ling and e vo c at ive image of t he p o we r s o f
Ye at s ' s o ther wor ld .
Thi s c ombined e ff e c t o f mus i c , image,
81
and s ymb o l c reat e t h e French S ymb o l i s t s ymb o l e .
The p oem
re ache s b ey ond i t s e l f in i t s var i o u s s o und and vi s i o nary
r e f le c t i on s , evoking a wo rld c omp l e t e unt o i t s e l f whi c h
i s al s o a s ymbo l o f an e t e rnal , supernat ural world .
Although s ymb o l s are u s ed i n the above poem ( f l ame ,
f l o o d , mul t itude ) , t he s ugge s t i ve p ower o f j ux t ap o s i t i o�Jng
h i gh l y t oned wo r d s i s a s e s s ential t o i t s o nt o l ogy .
Thi s
j ux t ap o s it ion o f wor d s i s t h e third devi c e o f S ymb o l i s t
art whi c h Ver laine c al l e d " La Nuanc e " and whi c h rlla l l arm /
di s c u s s e d a s the " u s e o f wo r d s in s u c h a way t hat t he y
at t ain t he maximum o f evo c at i ve energy " s o t hat 11 o ut of a
numbe r o f wor d s , po e t r y fashions a s ingle new word whi c h
i s t o t al i n i t s e l f and f o r e i gn t o t he l anguage --a k i nd o f
i nc ant at i on . "
82
The me thod invo lve s sugge s t i o n o f t he
" hi dden o b j e c t b y a l lu s i ve word s , neve r d i re c t "
83
creat ing
p o e t ry whi c h " i s s ome t hing vague , int angib l e , evane s c ent ,
.
84
a winged soul i n fl i ght . . . , "
a p o e tr y o f e s s enc e s .
A s p o inted o ut in t h e ab ove p o em , s ugge s t i o n i s the
re s u l t not only o f spe c i f i c s ymb o l s , but of a j uxt ap o s ing
o f e vo c at i ve wor d s .
In "He Hear s the Cr y o f the S ed ge , "
Yeat s ' s. p hr a s e " girdle o f l i ght " for "mi lky way " r e s emb l e s
A
I
Mal l arme ' s " d e s c int i l l at ions s i t o t l e s e p t our . "
" s e ven s t ar s o f t he Gre at Bear . "
for t he
Whi l e "mi lky way " and
t he " s even s t ar s o f t he Great Bear " d e s c r i b e a p hy s i c a l
real i t y , t h e y are c l o s e d image s , l o c ked i n b y t h e i r denotat ive me aning .
Yeat s ' s " girdle o f l i ght " i s open ,
82
e voking a vague
,;r e t
he aven s , radi at :i :
· ..
glimmering image
l i ght .
-� ;:>
t he c urved
The image s of s o l i t ar y s t ar s
and t he s hap e o f t h e heaven s and i t s c e l e s t i al l i ght are
e vo ke d .
Y e t even t he s e image s ar e vague , shift ing and
re f l e c t ing upon e ac h o t he r , o ffe ring finally a " f e e l ing "
o f t he C o smo s .
A s imi lar e f f e c t i s ac hi eved in Ye at s ' s
phr a s e " unlaboring b ro o d o f the s ki e s . "
The j uxtapo s ing
'
o f the a c t i vi t y o f " b ro o d " with t he c ont radi c t or y qui e t ude
of " un l ab o ring " t o d e s cr i b e " s t ar s " evoke s b o t h the mult i t ud e o f s t ar s fi l l ing u p t h e he ave n s and an e t ernal p e a c e fulne s s .
Again , t he vi s i on i s vague and open-ende d ,
evoking a wor ld remo ved from t he fami l i ar .
Thi s j uxt ap o s ing o f sugge s t ive word s c harac t e r i z e s
a l l t he imagery i n t he "Wind " poems .
Individua l s or
e vent s are never d e s cr ib e d , but , i n s t e ad , ar e evoked b y
s ugg e s t ive wor d s .
For e xamp l e , i n "The Ho s t o f t he Air , "
t he dreamy atmo sphere i s a re s ult o f a c onfluence o f
image s .
The s c ene i s s et b y t he ment ion o f ni ght fall ,
the r e c urring image o f " lo ng d im hair , " and a s t range
p i p ing .
The vi s i on i t s e l f i s marked b y i t s l ack o f c le ar
d e finit i o n :
And h e s aw y o ung men and y o ung gir l s
Who danc ed o n a level plac e ,
And Bridget hi s bride among t hem ,
Wit h a s ad and a gay fac e .
The
And
And
And
danc e r s c rowded ab o ut him
many a swe e t t hing said ,
a y oung man b r ought him red wine
a y o ung g i r l whi t e b r ead .
83
But Br idget drew him b y the s l eeve
Away from t he merry band s ,
T o o ld men p laying at c ard s
With a twinkling o f anc i ent hand s .
***
H e b o r e her away i n hi s arms ,
The hand some st young man t here ,
And hi s neck and hi s b r e a s t and hi s arms
Were drowned in her long dim hai r .
The danc e r s are " young men and young g i rl s " who speak
" swe e t " word s .
Bri dge t i s de s c ri b e d only b y her hai r and
t he hand some young man by "hi s ne c k and hi s b r e a s t and
hi s arms . "
Pro b a b l y t he mo st s u c c e s s ful image i s o f t he
s ugge s t i on o f t he mag i c al nature o f O ' Dr i s co l l ' s v i s i o n
in the c ard p laying o f the o l d men " w i t h a twinkling o f
anc i ent hand s . "
The image o f the f l a s hi ng , gnar l e d han d s
o f t h e o l d m e n e voke a s e n s e o f t he my s t e ry and t imele s s ­
ne s s o f the S i dhe .
85
Throughout t he vo lume , t he whole i s s ugge s t e d b y a
s e l e ct e d few o f i t s p art s .
l y de fined .
The Ideal Woman i s ne ver c l e a�
She i s de s c r ib e d a s b e ing o f p al e skin wi t h
dewy , dim e ye s ; whi t e s houlde r s , n e c k and h e avy long hair :
P a l e brows , s t i l l hand s and dim hair .
86
**
You need but l i ft a p e ar l -pale hand
87
And b i nd up your l ong hair wi t h a s i gh
**
Hal f c l o s e your eye lid s , loo s en your hai r
88
**
Wi t h h e r c l o ud Qale eyelids fall ing on dream­
�
d immed ey e s �
The s e fragment s d o p r e sent an image o f Y e at s ' s woman ; y e t ,
the r e ader s i gni f i c ant ly do e s not know the c o l o r o f her
e y e s and hai r , t he s hape of her fac e , her hei ght o r we i ght,
84
t he nature o f h e r smi le , and t he myri ad o t her c harac t e r i s t i c s o n e u sually ne e d s f o r an ad equat e p ic t ure o f a p e r son .
Thi s s ame t e c hnique o f u s ing a few s ugge s t i ve word s
t o c onve y a p i c ture i s u s e d in t he "Lover Te l l s o f t he
Ro s e i n hi s Heart , " where t he ug line s s o f t he p hy s i c a l
w o r l d i s c onve y e d b y only t hr e e image s , " t he c ry o f a
c h i ld b y t h e r o adwa y , t he c reak o f a lumb e ri ng c art , / The
heavy s t ep s o f
a
p l oughman . "
The D anaan c hi ldren in " The
Unapp e a s ab l e Ho s t " are s imilarly d e s c r i b e d b y few
re ferenc e s :
The Danaan chi ldren laugh , i n c radl e s o f wrought
gold ,
And c l ap t he i r hand s t o g e t her , and hal f c l o s e
t h e i r e ye s ,
For t he y wi l l r i de t he Nor t h whe n the ger-eagle
flie s ,
Wi t h heavy whi t ening wi ng s , and a he art fallen
c o ld .
A l t h ough the imagery i s c omp o s ed o f fr agment s , t he c omb i nat i o n o f vi sual , audi t o r y , and t a c t i l e s e n s at i o n s evoke s
a vi s i on o f t he who l e .
Thi s c onfluence o f s ugge s t i ve
word s b rings t o mind Yeat s ' s d i s c u s s i on o f hi s new p o e t r y
as a s p e c i a l r e l at i onship b e tween s o und , c o l o r , and form
t hat evok e s " an emot i o n t hat i s made out o f t h e i r d i s t inct
e vo c at i ons and y e t is o ne emo t i on " ( Id e a s , p . 2 4 3 ) .
In t he "Wind " p o ems t hi s " emot ion " i s achieved b y t h e
sub t l e l y wrought c orre sp onden c e s whi c h invo lve
and s e n s o r y e voking image r y .
r e c ur r ing
The r e c urrenc e o f t he hai r -
dew-dream imag ery has a lready b e en di s c u s s ed as a un i fy ing
devi c e in t he volume .
Linked to t hi s c entral image o f
tl 5
hai r and dew are many wo rd s d e al ing with shad ow o r pale
and fire and l i ght .
In this c on s tant int e rp lay b e tween
l ight and shad e , o b j e c t s gl immer , s hine o r b urn in t he
t wi li ght mi s t s ugge s t ive of d ream .
Almo s t every p o em in
t he vo lume re fle c t s thi s intertwining of image r y .
In " The
Ho s t ing o f t he S idhe " there i s C ao l i t e ' s b urning hai r ,
p a l e c h e ek s , g l e aming e ye s , and t he image o f "twixt night
, and day . "
" The Ever la s t ing Vo i c e s " introduc e s t he recur-
ring image of " f lame under flame . "
The p al e ne s s o f a
me lt ing c andle ming l e s wi t h t he " fi re -b orn mo od s " i n "The
Mo od s . "
In " The Ho st of the Air , " . " t he drear Hart Lake , "
" t he ni ght t i de , " " lo ng d im hair , " " whit e b r e ad , " and
" d r i f t ing smoke " are c omp l ement ed b y t he gay fac e and
mu s i c , red wine , and t wi nkl ing hand s .
S i mi lar imagery
has b e en di s c us s e d in " The Fi s h " and " The S ong of Wandering Aengu s . "
" In t o the Twi l i ght " pre s ent s ano t her f ine
e x amp le of t hi s b l end :
Out -worn heart , in a t ime out -wo rn ,
Come · c le ar o f the net s o f wrong and r i ght ;
Laugh , he art , again in the grey twi l ight ,
S igh , he art , again in t he dew o f t he morn .
Your mot her Eire
Dew e ver shining
Though ho pe fa l l
Burning in fire s
i s always y oung ,
and twi l ight gre y ;
from you and l ove d e c a y ,
o f a s lande r o u s t ongue .
( emp ha s i s added)
Shad owy and pale imagery ab ound , but t he y ar e c on s t ant ly
c ount erp ointed with image s o f fire and l i ght .
Whi le s u c h
imag e r y funct ions spec i fi c a l l y in each o f t he ab ove p o em s ,
t he e ff e c t a s a who l e i s t o sugge s t t hat whi c h i s f l e e t ing
·--··· .
-�---·-
.
·-- - -· · · ·
· · -·· -
-··
.
-
86
and i n s ub s t ant i al , whe re d i s t inc t ivene s s i s b l urred .
.
/
e ff e c t e c ho e s Mal larme 1 s d e fi ni t i on o f mu s i c ,
I
Thi s
'To c r eat e
i s t o c onc e i v e an obj e c t in i t s f l e e t ing moment ,
in i t s
ab s en c e . " 9 0
In add i t i on t o t he s e vi sual image c orre s po nd en c e s ,
there are t a c t i l e and o l fa c t o ry image s t hat p e rme at e t he
v o l ume in hori z ont al c orre s p ondenc e .
The t wo s i gni f i c ant
t a c t i l e image s are of heavy dim hair and t he c on s t ant
s en s e o f wind b lowing and hurt l i ng l e ave s and dr e am s in a
O l f ac t o ry image s ar e a l s o
s o ft mirage o f d r i ft ing smok e .
numero u s :
" gr e y c loud s o f inc e n s e ro s e , " " and c ov e r · your
l ip s w i t h o do r o u s t wi l i ght
s p onge . "
.
, " " t he vinegar-heavy
The wind al s o evoke s aud i t o r y image s ; t he cry o f
t h e wind b e c ome s t h e imp re s s i on l e ft b y t he p o e t r y ' s wi s t ful mu s i c .
When a l l t h e s e s e n s or y image s c ome t o gether ,
t he e f f e c t i s r i c h wi t h s ugg e s t ive power :
We wi l l b e nd down and l o o sen our hair over you ,
That i t may drop faint p e r fume s , and be he avy
w i t h de w . 9 1
and ,
And smoke from t h i s dead h e ar t d r i ft s t hr o ug h
the v i o l e t a i r
A n d c o v e r s away he smoke o f myrrh and
�
frankinc en s e . 2
In t he f i r s t e xamp l e , the t o u c h o f t he he avy and d ew-damp
hair i s s c ent e d wi t h p e r fume .
The s e n s at i on evo ked i s
b o t h r i c h and e t he r e al , fo r i n a s e r i e s o f c ount erpo int s ,
t he p e r fume i s " faint , " t h e dew d e l i c at e , and t he hair
t ho ugh lush i s dim .
I n t he s e c ond e x amp l e , v i sual , tact i le
87
and o l fa c t o ry i �age s are b rought t og e t he r .
The fami l i ar
d r i ft ing smoke now i s c o l ored vi o let --a c o lor c o n s i st ent
w i t h du s k or dawn , and the " odorous twi li ght " i s b a t hed in
t he aromas o f myrrh an d fr ankinc ense .
The s e imag e s , whi l e
vague b y t hems e l ve s , c re at e wi thin t he vo lume a s e r i e s o f
c o rr e sp onden c e s whic h r e f l e c t and e xp and upon e a c h o t her
c re at ing a t angi b le s en s at i o n o f Y e at s ' s int ang i b l e wor ld .
Thu s , t h e "Wind " vo lume draw s he avi l y from S ymbo li s t
t e c hn i que .
D i r e c t s t at ement i s shunned in favor o f a
s ub t l e , s ugge st i ve s e r i e s o f image s .
The s ugge s t ive power
o f t h e vo lume i s i n p art t he re sult of word s arranged in
s e emingly p arad o x i c a l j uxtapo s i t i on , where wor d s reach t o ward e a c h o t her , expanding upon e a c h o t he r ' s c o nno t at ive
p ower .
Like not e s in mu s i c , words are t one d and c h ime
agai n s t one anot her ; t h e i r re s o nanc e s are t he imag e s and
s e n s at i ons , and ult imat e l y , t h e p o em e vo ked .
Yet whi l e
t h i s avo i danc e o f d i re c t s t at ement re sult s in a highly
e vo c at ive p oe t r y , i t also c r e at e s a t hi c k b l anket o f
ob s cu ri t y .
But for t he S ymb o l i s t s , o b s curi t y i s p art o f
t h e de s i gn .
I
Again , quot ing Mal l arme :
What e ver i s s ac red , what ever i s t o rema i n
s a c re d , mu st b e a my s t ery . . . . Art ha s i t s
o wn my s t e ri e s .
***
There mu st alway s b e enigma in p o e t r y .
The
purp o s e o f l i t erat ur e , t he only purp o s e - - i s
t o evoke thing s . 9 3
My s t e r y and enigma p e rvade t he "Wind " p o em s .
The s ub j e c t
i t s e l f i s a my s t e ry, t he my s t i cal de s ire t o r e ac h a
88
s p i r i tual un i t y .
But i t i s the c on s c io u s b y-p as s ing o f
de s c ri p t i on and t h e fo c u s upon wo rd s with evo c at ive powers that spin an enigmat i c web ab out t he p o e t ry .
The
my s t e r i o u s " Ma s t e r o f t he s t i l l s t ar s and of t he f l aming
d o or , " the vo i c e s o f " The Eve r l a s t ing Vo i c e s , " and t he
var i ou s e l emental p ower s evoked t hroughout t he po ems may
b e vi ewed t hrou gh anal yt i c al l en s e s , b ut t h e y alwa y s
e l ude p r e c i s e de finit i on .
Like t he image s t hems e lve s , t he
me aning o f t he volume i s vague and akin t o "dr i ft ing
smoke . "
The p o e ms sit wit hin t he r e ad e r like a riddle
whe re me aning t ake s form o n an emot ional leve l , emerging
onl y aft e r t ime in t e rms o f int e l l e c tual t angible s .
Yeat s ' s s t at eme nt ab out " The Cap and Be l l s " i s apro p o s
f o r t he ent i r e vo lume .
e xamp l e o f t he
" The Trava i l o f Pa s s i on " i s ano t her
elu s ivene s s of me aning :
When t he f l aming l ut e -t hronged ange l i c d o o r i s
wide ;
When an immo rt al p a s s i on b r eat he s in mor t a l
c l ay ;
Our he art s endure t he s c ourge , t he p l ait ed
t ho rn s , t he way
C r owd ed wi t h b i t t er fac e s , t he wound s in p a lm
and s i d e ,
The vinegar-heavy sponge , t he flowers b y Kedron
s t ream ;
We wi l l b end down and loo s e n our hai r over you ,
That it may drop faint p e r fume , and be heavy
w i t h dew ,
Li l i e s o f d e at h-pal e hop e , ro s e s o f pa s s i onat e
dream .
E xp l i c at i on i s p o s s i b l e .
The " ange l i c d o o r " o f the fir s t
l i n e may b e vi ewed a s s imi lar t o B lake ' s " do o r s o f p e r c e p t i on , " o p ening t o a d i vine and e t e rn a l unive r s e , a vi s i on
whi ch infu s e d the s p eaker with divine p a s s i on .
But t he
e xp er i e n c e i s amb ivalent ; i t i s b o t h painfu l , "our heart s
endure t he s c ourge , " and e c s t a t i c a s imp l i ed in t he l a s t
t hr e e l i n e s .
Thi s amb ival ent experienc e i s s ymb o l i c o f
t he s t at e o f mind whi c h the vo lume h a s wi shed t o c onve y :
The sp e aker has cro s s ed the " wi ndowp ane , " b e en privy t o
t h e b e aut y o f t h e ideal , b ut c annot c on s i s t ent ly ret ain
t he vi s i on whi c h is the cause of hi s pain .
Even wi t h
e xp l i c at i on , " The Travail o f Pa s s i on " s t i l l remains a
my s t e ry .
I t i s un c l e ar who are t he "we " o r " y o u " o f the
s i x t h line o r what is t he s igni f i c ance o f " l i l i e s o f
d e ath-p a l e hop e , ro s e s o f pa s s i onat e d r e am " i n thi s e xp e r i enc e o f e xp and ed p er c ept i on .
In t erms o f S ymb o l i st ae sthet i c s , t he "Wind " vo lume
d o e s a c h i e ve a s en s e o f pur i t y in b o t h c ont ent and l anguage .
In c r e at i ng hi s p o e t r y o f e s senc e s and o f b e ryl
s t o ne s , Ye at s fo l lowed Mal l arm t :
[ W ] e mu s t de lve into our s oul for s t at e s and
gleams o f such p e r f e c t puri t y , s o p e r fe c t l y
s ung and i l l uminat ed , t hat t h e y w i l l t ru l y b e
the j e we l s o f man . 9 4
Yet Ye at s i n The Wind Among t he Re e d s never ac hi eve s t he
I
bri l l i an c e o f rl!al larme ' s image o f the " swan " or an overwhe lming mo od a s in Mal larm /' s " L ' Ap :r>e s -mi di d ' une Faun . "
' Yeat s ' s experiment at i on wi t h French S ymb o li sm i s o b v i ou s ,
9
and , i n hi s own e s t imat i on , unsuc c e s s fu 1 . 5
The c hange in
p o e t i c s t anc e i s indi c at e d in t he l as t t wo p o em s in the
vo lume .
90
In "He Thinks o f Hi s P a s t Greatne s s When a Part o f
t h e Cons t e l l at i o n o f Heaven , " t he speaker r e c ount s t he
maj o r e l ement s o f t he previou s po ems :
I have drunk ale from t he C o untry o f t he Yo ung
And we ep b e c au s e I know all t hing s n ow :
I have been a haz e l - t re e , and t he y hung
The P i lot S t ar and t he Crooked P l o ugh
Among my l e ave s in - t ime s out of mind
I b e c ame a ru sh t hat ho r s e s t read :
I b e c ame a man , a hat er o f t he wind ,
Knowing one , out o f all t hing s , alone , t hat hi s
head
May not l i e on t he b r e a s t nor hi s l i p s on the
hair
O f t he woman t hat he love s , unt i l he di e s .
0 b e a s t o f t he wilderne s s , b ird o f t he a i r ,
Mu s t I endure y our amo ro u s c r i e s ?
The s p e ak e r has exper ienc e d a var i e t y o f mo od s , ha s b e en
a l l t h ings , none o f whi ch has re sul t e d in t he regaining of
t he i de al .
Alt hough the sp eaker i s not angry , the p a s t
t en s e o f hi s p laint ive c r y imp li e s t hat h e h a s l e ft b e hi nd
t he s e var i e d e xp e r i enc e s .
Thi s spiri tual c hange i s e choed
and fur th e r e lu c i dat ed upon in " The Fiddler of Dooney : "
When I p lay on my fiddle in Doone y ,
Folk dan c e like a wave o f t he s e a ;
My c o u s i n i s pri e s t in Kilvarnet ,
My bro ther in Moc harab u i e e .
I p a s s e d my brot her and c o usin :
The y read in their b oo k s o f prayer ;
I read in my b o ok o f s o ng s
I bro ught t o t he S l igo fair .
When we come at t h e end o f t ime
To P e t e r s i t t ing in s t at e ,
He wi l l smi le o n t he three o l d s p i ri t s ,
But c a l l me fi r s t t hr ough t he gat e .
The speaker/p o e t i s o bviou s l y the p o e t /pri e s t , indi c at i ng
t h e path o f t ru t h not b y s e rmon but b y the mu s i c o f h i s
91
fiddle ( o r p o e t i c c re at i ons ) .
He i s evi dent l y on t h e
r i ght p at h , for i t i s h i m and not hi s brot her s whom P e t e r
we l c ome s fi r s t .
Thi s at t i t ude i s s t i l l qu i t e c o n s i s t ent
wi t h S ymb o l i s t t hought , e x c e p t for o ne po int .
The
S ymb o l i s t p o e t , t he p o e t on a kno l l apart , ha s no d e al ings
wi t h s o c i et y .
Y e t , t he " fiddl e " c re at e s for " t he mul t i ­
t ud e " who " danc e l i ke a wave o f t he s e a " t o i t s mu s i c .
The . p o et , thu s , has c ome o f f t he knoll and now e xi s t s in
an ac t i ve role within s o c i e t y .
Thi s c hange i n poe t i c ro l e
harkens t o t he c hange i n p o e t i c s t yle o f t he forthc oming
volume , whe r e i n almo s t t o t a l revo lut i on , Yeat s mov e s t o ­
ward s a pl ain , c on c re t e , and s t rai ght forward s t yl e .
A l t hough t he infl uenc e o f t he French S ymb o l i s t up on
Yeat s , s o preval ent in The Wind Among t he Re ed s , d i d not
p e r s i st in s u c h a s t r i c t fashi on in the lat e r p o em s , i t
d i d s ub s t ant i a l l y affe c t t he chara c t e r o f Yeat s ' s art .
The i d e a o f the aut onomy o f t he p o em and t he i ntr i c ac y o f
c raft t hat c r e at e d s u c h sp lendid p o ems a s " The Cap and
B e l l s " i s p e r fe c t e d and e xp anded upon in "Leda and t he
Swan " and " B y z ant i um . "
Both p o em s make u s e o f a s e n s e o f
s u s tained rhy t hmic at mo sphere and f o l low t he l e s s o n o f t he
u s e o f s ugge s t i on over d ire c t st atement .
Ult imat e l y ,
Y e at s ' s p o ems r e f l e c t the S ymb o l i s t s ' i nf luenc e i n t hat
t he y are no t ab out somet hing , but , inst ead , are s ome thi ng .
The marvel o f t he c r aft , i n b o t h the "Wind 11 vo lume and t he
l at e r p o em s , i s Yeat s ' s s k i ll in making vi s i b l e and s ome-
92
how t angi b l e t ho se thing s , as Mi lt on s a i d , " invi s ib l e t o
mort al s i ght . "
93
NOTES
1 vi rginia Moore , The Uni c orn :
W . B . Yeat s ' s S e arc h
for Real i t y ( N ew York :
Macmi l l an and Co . , 1 9 6 7 ) , p . 64 .
2
General crit i c al opinion a f f i rms the French influ­
ence up on Yeat s , but i s fo r the mo st p art in sub s t ant ial .
Ment i o n o f t hi s influe n c e o c curs in Rut h Temp l e s ' s The
Cri t i c s Alc hemy , Eni d S t arkie ' s From Gaut i e r t o E l iot;
Chadwi c k ' s S ymb o l i sm , and Gr aham Hough ' s The Last Romant i c s .
Whi l e French Symb o l i s t influence up on Yeat s i s t re at e d a s
f a c t i n t he s e vo lume s , there i s n o s ub s t ant i a l d i s c u s s i on
o f t he nat ure o r ext ent o f thi s influence .
A mo re thorough
d i s c u s s i on o c curs in Wi l s on ' s Ax e l ' s Ca s t l e and Bowra ' s
The H e r i t age o f Symb o l i s m .
Both Wi l s on and Bowra d i s cu s s
In hi s
S ymb o l i s t influe n c e o n Yeat s pure l y t he ore t i c al l y .
di s c u s s i on o f Ye at s and the Fren ch , Wi l s on do e s not exam­
ine t he dire c t app l i cat ion of S ymb o li s t t heory to Y e at s ' s
p o e t ry .
Bowra ' s di s cu s s i on i s more sub s t antial , b ut s t il l
s u ffer s from b e ing t hin and short . Whi l e Eddins , i n
Y e at s :
The 1 9 th Century Mat ri x , ap pears t o devo t e an
ent i re chap t e r t o t he i l l u s t rat i on o f t he French influe n c e
up on Y e at s , the chap t e r i s actually an e xp l i c at i on o f
Yeat s ' s e a r l y p oems with o n l y a hand ful o f p ar agrap hs
Both R i c hard
e x c lu s i v e l y c o n c e rned with Fr ench influenc e .
El lmann an d W . Y . Tindall deny d i r e c t French influe n c e upon
Y e at s .
Tindall as sert s , in " The S ymb o l i sm of V.T . B . Y e at s , "
t hat s in c e Yeat s c ou l d not read Fr ench we l l , he c o u l d not
be i n f lue n c e d by t he S ymb o l i s t s ; t hat Ye at s had alre ady
di s c overed a s ymb o li s t t heory prior to he aring ab out t he
Frenc h ; and t hat Yeat S ' s act ivit i e s in Par i s we re o f mini­
mal imp o rt an c e .
El lmann in t he Ident ity of Yeat s is le s s
vehement t han Tindal l . H e c ontends t hat, alt hough Yeat s
and Mal l arm� held di ffe rent conc e p t ions o f t he p o e t ,
imaginat i on , and p o e t r y , r1allarm e' may have b e en a " t ut e lary
s p i ri t " for Yeat s .
3
Anna Balak i an , The Symb o l i s t Mo vement .
A C r it i c a l
Apprai sal ( New York :
Random Hou s e , 1 9 6 7 ) , p . 2 7 .
4
Jac que s Bar z un , Darwin ) Marx , Wagne r ( Ne w York :
Doub l e d ay An chor Books , 1 9 5 8 , p . 2 3 7 .
5
6
7
B ar z un , p . 2 3 7 .
B ar z un , pp . 2 3 7 - 2 3 8 .
c . M . Bowra , The Herit age of S ymb o l i sm ( London :
Mac mi l lan & Co . , Lt d . , 1 9 54 ) , p . 9 .
v
\"
94
I
8
Ro g e r Fry , t ran s . , S t ephan e Mal l arme Po ems . With
c omment ari e s by Char le s Mauron ( New York : New Dir e ct ions ,
195 1 ) , p . 1 02 .
9
Balak i an , p . 8 0 .
10
11
p. 2.
Balaki an , p . 8 2 .
char l e s Chadwi c k , Symb o l i sm ( London :
Met huen
&
C o. ,
12
E dward Enge lb erg , The Symb o l i s t P o em ( Ne w York :
E . P . Dut t on & Co . , In c . , 1 9 6 7 ) p . 3 1 .
13
Fry , p . 1 3 1 .
14
Mar c e l Raymond , From Baude l aire t o Surre a l i sm
( Lo ndo n :
P e t er Owen Lt d . , 1 9 6 1 ) , p . 2 6 .
15
16
17
Balakian , p . 3 0 .
Raymond , p . 2 5 .
Raymond , p . 2 6 .
18
carl Jun g , Al chemi c al S t udi e s ( N . J . :
Unive r s i t y P re s s , 1 9 6 7 ) , p . 1 4 0 .
Princet on
l9
c . F . Mac int yre , trans . , French S ymb o l i st Po e t ry .
W i t h Comment ar i e s ( Be re k l e y and Lo s Ange l e s : Unive r s i t y
o f Cal i f orni a Pre s s , 1 9 6 1 ) , p . 1 2 .
.
20
Chadwi ck , p . 3 6 .
.
21
Chadwi ck , p . 3 5 .
·
22
Pet e r Quenn e l l , Baud elaire and t he French S ymbol ist s
( Lond on :
We idenfe ld an d Ni c o l s en , 1 9 1 9 ) , p . 2 1 .
23
24
25
26
Quenn e l l , p . 4 7 .
Raymond , p . 2 1 .
Mac intyre , p . 1 4 .
Ms . Bal akian d i s cu s s e s
Balak i an , pp . 1 0 1 - 1 2 3 .
' S ymb o l i s t c onvent i ons , s t re s s ing t he influence o f Verlaine
up on image r y .
.
27
Mac int yre , p . 3 0 .
95
28
29
30
31
32
Mac intyre , p . 3 4 .
Raymond , p . 3 2 .
chadwi c k , p . 3 0 .
chadwi c k , p . 3 0 .
Raymond , p . 3 4 .
33
Aut hur Rimb au d , Il luminat i on s and Other Pr o s e P o ems.
New Dir e c t ions , 1 9 46 ) ,
Lou i s e Vare s e , t r an s . ( N ew York :
p . 36 .
34
J ame s R . Lawle r ,
( New J e r s e y :
Pri n c e t o n
35
· Fr y , p . 1 0 4 .
36
Mor ta s ' s proc l amat i on was pub l i s he d in Figaro on
S ep t emb er 1 8 , 1 8 8 6 .
Thi s p r o c lama t i o n o f f i c i a l l y b e gan
the s ymb o l i st movement , a moveme nt t hat wa s mor e no i s e
t h an s ub s t anc e , and whi c h o ff i c i a l l y d i d not survive t h e
c ent ur y .
37
M . H . Paul y , " W . B . Yeat s et l e s S ymb o l i s t e s
Fran c ai s , " Revue d e L i t t e'rature Comp ar �e ( Jan . -Mar . 1 9 4 0 ) ,
p . 33 .
38
w . B . Ye at s , Aut ob i o graphi e s ( London :
Macmi l l an and
C o . , Ltd . , 1 9 2 6 ) , p . 1 5 0 .
Sub s equent referen c e s t o . thi s
t e x t wi l l ap p e ar p arenthet i c a l l y a s Aut o b i o graphi e s .
39
Rut h Z . Temp le , The C r i t i c ' s Alc hemy .
A Study o f
t h e Introduct i dn o f French S ymb o l i sm int o En l and ( New
York :
Twayne Pub l i shers , �nc . , 1 9 5 3 , p . 1 5 9 .
40
T . S . E l i o t , "Yeat s , " in Yeat s :
A C o l l e ct i on of
C ri t i c al E s s ay s , ed . J ohn Unt erec ker ( New J er se y : Prent i c �
Hall , In c . , 1 9 6 3 ) , p . 5 4 .
41
Y e at s di e d b e fore Mme . Pauly was ab l e t o int e rvi ew
; him and confi rm her informat i on .
42
Pau l y , p p . 2 2- 2 3 .
43
/
E i le en S o u f fr in-Le -Bre t on , "Yeat s t o Mallarme , "
Tim e s L i t e rary Suppl ement , 2 7 5 6 ( Novemb e r 2 6 , 1 9 5 4 )· , p . 75 9 .
44
W . B . Y e at s , Myt hol ogi e s ( Ne w York :
195 9 ) ' p . 367 .
C o l l i e r B o ok s ,
96
45
w . B . Ye ats , Ide as o f Good and Evil ( London : A . H .
Sub s equent re ferenc e s t o t hi s
Bullen , 1 9 0 3 ) , p . 2 26 .
t e xt will app e ar p arenthet i c al l y as Ide a s .
46
A . G . Lehmann , The S ymb o l i s t Ae s thet i c in Fr an c e .
1 8 8 5 - 1 8 9 5 ( Ox f o rd :
B a s i l B l a c kwe l l , 1 9 68 ) , pp . 6 6 - 6 7 .
47
w . Y . Tindal l , " The S ymb o l i sm o f W . B . Y e at s , " in
A C o l l e c t i on o f Crit i c al E s say s , ed . John
Y e at s :
Prent i c e -Hal l , Inc . , 1 9 6 3 ) , p . 4 9 .
Unt e re cker ( New J e r s e y :
48
w . B . Y e at s , The Vari o rum E d i t i o n o f t he P o ems o f
W . B . Y e at s , ed . P e t e r Allt ( N ew York : Macmi l l an and C o . ,
1957) , p . 803 .
49
5°
Y e at s , Var i orum , p . 8 0 3 .
Y e at s , Vari orum , p . 8 0 7 .
51
c ar l Jung ' s a l c hemi c al wr i t ings provide one o f t he
b e st di s cu s s i ons o f the Herme t i c t r adi t i on , i t s s ymb o lo gy ,
and i t s r e lati onship t o mod e rn p s ycho l o g i c al t hought .
Allen R . Gr o s sman ' s P o e t i c Knowl ed e in the Earl Y e at s .
A S t u d y o f t he Wind Arnon t he R e e d s Char l o t t e s vi l l e :
Univer s i t y Pre s s o f Virgini a , 1 9 6
i s an int e re st ing
d i s c u s s i on o f Y e at s ' s "Wind " volume s t r i c t ly in t e rms o f
H e rme t i c lore .
52
Y e at s , Var i o rum , p . 8 0 6 .
53
w . B . Yea t s , The Co l le c t ed P o ems o f W . B . Y e at s ( N ew
Y o rk :
Ma cmi l lan and C o . , 1 9 5 6 ) .
Sub s e quent re ferenc e s t o
Y e at s ' s p e oms wi l l b e from t hi s ed i t i on and wi l l b e not e d
b y t i t le i f not o t h e rwi s e n o t e d i n the t e xt .
54
Ri c har d E l lmann , The I dent i t y of Y e at s ( New York :
Ox ford Un iv e r s i t y Pr e s s , 1 9 5 4 ) , p . 3 0 1 .
55
" L ' A zur " f o r Ma l l arm e" was a c omp l ex b l end o f the ;
e t e rnal , o f puri t y , o f an e xi s t ent i al not hingne s s ( Le Neant �
o f t rut h a s symb o l i z e d b y the end l e s s b e yond o f t he sky .
Mallarm� ' s p o em " L ' Azur " i l l u s t rat e s t h i s amb igu i t y .
56
Mari o Praz , The Romant i c Agony .
Angu s Davi d s on ,
trans . ( Lond on :
O x f ord Unive r s i t y Pr e s s , 1 9 5 1 ) , p p . 1 8 7 There i s no que s t ion t hat t he S ymb oli s t inc arnat i on
413 .
of B eaut y has char a ct e � i s t i c s o f t h e Fat al _Woman ( s e e
Baude laire ' s "La B e aut � " ) .
Whi l e Praz ' s int erpr e t at i o n o f
t he s ymb o l in t e rms o f s e xual p e rver s i t y h a s s ome r e l e ­
vanc e t o t hi s di s c u s s i on , it i s , a l l in a l l , t o o narrow a
p o int o f v i ew and mu s t remain a minor c on s i de ra t i on .
97
57
Fr y , p . 7 1 .
5 S Phi l ippe Augu s t e Vi l l i e rs de L ' I s l e - Adam , Axe l .
June Gui charnaud , t rans . ( N ew Je r s e y :
Prent i c e-Ha l l , Inc. ,
1970 ) ' p . 2 3 .
59
J ohn Unt e re c ke r , A Re ader ' s Guide t o Wi l l i am But l e r
Y e at s ( New York :
No ond ay Pr e s s , 1 9 5 9 ) , p . 9 2 .
60
Jun g , p . 1 0 2 .
/
61
B r ad ford Cook , t r an s . , Mal larme :
S e l e c t e d Pr o s e ,
The J ohn Hopkins Pre s s , 1 9 5 6 ) ,
P o em s , E s s a y s , ( Bal t imore :
p . 40 .
62
63
64
E l lmann , p . 1 2 3 .
unt e re c k e r , p . 9 0 .
Y e at s , Var i orum , p . 1 4 2 .
65
unt e r e c k e r ' s int erpre t at i on o f t hi s p o em i s e x c e l ­
lent unt i l h e not e s that i t i s one of t h e f i re -born moo d s
The i n t e rpre t at ion has va l i d i t y ,
whi ch h a s fallen away .
t hough I di sagre e , and only demo n s t r at e s the vague and
my s t e r i ou s nat ure o f Yeat s ' s revi s i on .
66
67
68
69
70
7l
72
73
Jung , p . 1 4 9 .
unt e r e c k e r , p . 9 2 .
vi l l i e r s de L ' I s l e -Adam , p . 1 3 6 .
Vi l l i e r s de L ' I s l e - Adam , p . 1 6 6 .
" The Trava i l o f Pa s s i on . "
" The Val l e y o f t he B l a c k P ig . "
" Int o t h e Twi li ght . "
Vi l l i er s de L ' I s l e -Adam , p . 1 3 1 .
74
wa l l a c e St even s , The Ne c e s s ary Ange l ( New Y o rk :
Vint age Book s , 1 9 5 1 ) , pp . 5 7 - 58 .
75
Mi chae l J . S i dn e l l , e d . , et al . , Druid Craft
( Amhe r s t :
The Univer s i t y of Ma s s achu s e t t s Pr e s s , 1 9 7 1 ) ,
p . 10 .
In a di s cu s s i on o f Forga e l ' s que s t for wi s dom in
Y e at s ' s S ymb o l i s t p l ay " The S hadowy Wat e r s , " t he aut hor s
state :
98
I n an early manu s cript , the s our c e for f inal wi s d om
i s mag i c fru i t , " . . . grown up on t he Wandering/
I sland t hat is in t he ult imat e/ We s t . . . [ and ]
wat ered b y the/ Tear s o f the dark gods who rememb er e d
s t i l l / Why they w e re c a s t out o f t he ab ode o f / The
B le s s ed . . . , " but el s ewhe re it i s e i t he r app le
b lo s s om o r r o s e s .
In the s e e ar l y manu s cript s Forgae l s ends a man o f f t o
s t e al t h e app l e ( or r o s e ) b lo s s om s from t he Danaan i s land .
When t he y are br ought ab o ard h i s ship , Forgae l swoons and
" 0 swe e t odour o f
s t at e s in an early manu s c r i p t ,
no s t ri l s , / Give me s ome d ivi ne p a s s io n s / . . . t hat I may
forget how many/ Age s divide me from t he whi t e s le ap ( s i c )
when/ All t hing s s ha l l c ome t o an end
(p . 82 ) . "
76
Y e at s , Vari orum , p . 8 0 7 .
77
The Oc c u l t in
John S e ni or , The Way Down and Out :
Symb o l i s t L i t e rature ( I t ac a , New Y o rk :
C o rne l l Univer s i t y
P re s s , 1 9 5 9 ) , p . 8 .
78
Cook , p . 1 5 .
79
E l lmann , p . 1 2 5 .
.
80
s
,
P
o
ems
,
p . 44 9 .
Yeat
81
82
Cook , p . 8 3 .
Cook , p . 4 3 .
83
vi l l i e r s de L ' I s l e-Adam quot ed b y W . Y . Tindal l in
Indiana Un ive r s i t y
The L i t e rary Slmb o l ( B loomingt on :
Pre s s , 1 9 6 7 ) , p . ? 5 .
84
Art hur S ymon s , Dramat i s P e r s onae ( New York :
for Librari e s Pr e s s , 1 9 7 1 ) , p . 1 0 3 .
85
Books
Thi s image o f mag i c al hand s and c ard s i s e choed in
Y e at s ' s 1 8 9 7 s t or y "Red Hanrahan , " Myt hologi e s ( N ew York :
As i n "The Ho s t o f t he Air , " t here
C o l l i e r Boo k s , 1 9 5 9 ) .
The mag i c al nature o f
i s an o ld man p laying with c ard s .
t h e c ar d s i s p oi nt e d t o immedi at e ly : The y are the Tarot ,
" ' Spade s and D i amond s , Courage and Power ; C l ub s and He art s,
Knowle dge and P l e a sure ' " ( p . 2 1 3 ) .
The " Twinkling hand s "
o f t he old men in "The Ho s t o f t he Ai r " here creat e a
t ranc e - like s t at e f or t he s i x men and the mag i c a l appear­
an c e of a hare and hound , whi c h lead Hanrahan on hi s
s trang e j ourne y t o t he S idhe , beginning hi s Aengu s - l ike
que s t for t he i de al .
99
86
" The Love r Mo urn s for the L o s s o f Love . "
8 7 11
He G ive s His B e l oved Certain Rhyme s . "
88
" He Things o f Tho s e Who Have Sp oken Ev i l o f H i s
B e loved . "
S9
" He T e l l s o f a Val l e y Full o f Lovers . "
90
9l
cook , p . 4 8 .
" The Travai l s o f P a s s i on . "
92
" The Love r S p e ak s t o the He are r s o f Hi s Songs i n
C o ming Days . "
93
94
c o ok , p . 2 2 .
c 00 k ' p . 2 3 .
95
From a l e t t er t o J ohn Qu inn on
s idne l l , p . 3 0 1 .
Yeat s s e ems to lo ok up on t h i s very r omant i c
May 1 5 , 1 9 0 3 .
p e r i o d as a j aunt wi t h b ad he a lt h :
. . . much o f i t i s out o f my pre s ent mood . . . i t i s
t rue , b ut no l onge r true for me .
I have b e en in a
gr e at d e al b e t t e r health l at e l y , and t hat and c e rtain
o t he r t hing s have mad e me l ook up on t he world , I
t hink , w i t h s omewhat more d e f i ant e ye s .
The b o o k i s
t o o lyr i c al , t o o ful l o f a s p i ra t i o n s aft er remot e
thing s , t o o fu l l o f d e s i r e s .
What e ver I d o from t hi s
o ut w i l l , I t hi nk , b e more c reat ive . . . .
100
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