Summary

The Irish poet William Butler Yeats is often considered the premier English-language poet of the 20th century, but he was also an important playwright, folklorist, critic, and politician. Yeats’s works vary from complex and highly symbolic to short and straightforward, making him popular in both high school and college literary classes. His most famous poems—including "The Second Coming," "Easter 1916," and "Among School Children"—are among the best known in the world. This heavily illustrated new volume is essential for high school and college students interested in this prolific poet.

Coverage includes:

• All of Yeats's important poems, as well as all his volumes of poetry
• All his plays and important drama-related topics, including Dublin's Abbey Theatre, which he helped establish
• His critical and other nonfiction writing, including his famous autobiographies
• Important themes in his work
• Friends and literary influences, including Maud Gonne and James Joyce
• Appendixes, including a chronology, bibliographies of primary and secondary sources, and more.

Specifications

Black-and-white photographs and illustrations. Index. Appendixes. Bibliographies. Cross-references. Chronology.

About the Author(s)

David A. Ross is a lecturer of English at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He has a B.A. in English from Yale University and a doctorate in English from Oxford University. He has worked for four years as a staff reporter at The New Haven Register.