William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and along with Lady Gregory founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. Yeats was born in Sandymount, Dublin, to a wealthy Anglo-Irish family. His father was a lawyer and a well-known portrait painter. His mother came from a merchant family in Sligo, where Yeats spent his childhood holidays. He developed a fascination with Irish legends and the occult, which influenced his poetry and prose. He studied in Dublin and London, and became involved in the Irish literary revival. He published his first volume of verse in 1889, and established his reputation as a lyrical and visionary poet. He also wrote plays, essays, and autobiographical works. He was deeply involved in Irish politics and culture, and supported the Irish nationalist movement. He served as a senator of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1928. He had a tumultuous love affair with the Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne, who inspired many of his poems. He married Georgie Hyde-Lees in 1917, and they had two children. He died in France in 1939, and his body was reburied in Ireland in 1948. Yeats is widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative poets of the modern era. His poetry is marked by a complex symbolism, a rich musicality, and a distinctive style. He explored themes such as love, death, history, mythology, spirituality, and art. Some of his most famous poems include "The Lake Isle of Innisfree", "Easter 1916", "The Second Coming", "Sailing to Byzantium", "Leda and the Swan", and "Among School Children". He also wrote several plays based on Irish folklore and mythology, such as "Cathleen ni Houlihan", "The Countess Cathleen", "Deirdre", and "At the Hawk's Well". He was a mentor and friend to many other writers, such as Ezra Pound, James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, and W. H. Auden. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, and one of the foremost figures of Irish literature and culture.