Yeats: Elements of Modernism by Laura Matheny

"The Wild Swans at Coole"

2016-11-17 18:59:57 UTC

"Among what rushes will they build, / By what lake's edge or pool / Delight men's eye when I awake some day / To find they have flown away?" (27-30)
Although the nature and reflective mood of this poem has a romantic feel, the manner in which Yeats ends the poem is modernist. The disquieting tone along with the lack of resolution is an element of modernism. The speaker is unsure when the swans will leave the pond and if they will "delight men's eyes". The swans here can also be viewed as a metaphor for Yeats' poems.
Taylor Kaminski per. 4

"The Second Coming"

2016-11-17 19:01:41 UTC

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;" (3)
The use of semicolons helps fragment the poem and provide a sense of chaos, as literal shards of writing fall apart.
""The darkness drops again but now I know / That twenty centuries of stony sleep / were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle..." (18-20)
Yeats' use of enjambment (at least that's what I see here) contrasts the fragmentation earlier by allowing the words to run over the lines like a flood. This form of chaos clashes with the sharp, fragmented chaos, creating a chaos of chaoses...
Alex C Per. 4

"Long-Legged Fly"

2016-11-17 19:02:36 UTC

"Like a long-legged fly upon the stream/ His mind moves upon silence" (9, 10 and 29, 30)
By comparing historically great figures to flies, Yeats makes an unorthodox tribute to Caesar, Helen of Troy, and Michelangelo. Allusions to these equally important but unconnected characters also creates a disjointed timeline, an element of modernism. These lines conclude each stanza and the poem as a whole, but the lack of a conclusive ending (it leaves off in the middle of their meditations) and the lack of rhyme conveys a lack of resolution to the poem as a whole.

Beverly Shih Per. 4

"Why should not old men be mad" (

2016-11-17 19:05:54 UTC

"Young men know nothing of this sort, Observant old men know it well" (16-17). The speaker criticizes the younger generations with a condescending tone. His discontent with the outcome of society is seen in his appreciation for the old. Those who have lived through Ireland's struggle, and who have made it what it is today are seen as wise and experienced. On the contrary, those who have lost touch with their roots and fail to acknowledge the history within the older generations are ignorant. A major theme of modernism explores the speaker's loss of hope in the modern world. Here, the speaker feels that his complex understanding of the world separates him from modern society.
Vanessa Paus Period 4

"Meditations in Time of Civil War"

2016-11-17 19:09:01 UTC

"What if those things the greatest of mankind/ Consider most to magnify, or to bless,/ But take our greatness with out bitterness?" (37-40).

Taking a pessimistic approach to the change in society, the speaker adopts a questioning tone that ultimately creates a modernistic open ending, calling out this realization of true self-worth to the younger generation.

Hannah Qin Period 4

"Why should not old men be mad?"

2016-11-17 19:10:27 UTC

"Some have known a likely lad/
That had a sound fly-fisher's wrist/
Turn to a drunken journalist" (2-4).

The speaker takes on a pessimistic tone and describes the destruction of innocence over time. This follows the modernist idea of mourning the loss of hope, arguing that life is mercilessly cruel if a hopeful youth can become a ruined adult with an alcohol dependency.

Michaela Franzi (Period 4)

2016-11-17 19:11:48 UTC

Leda and the Swan

2016-11-17 19:12:02 UTC

"The broken wall, the burning roof and tower / And Agamemnon dead. / Being so caught up" ("Leda" 10-12).
Yeats presents the worst of humanity with results of war and the swan's rape. Using fragmentation of the different stories to present a pessimistic view on human nature is very modernist of Yeats.
Andy Worth Period 4

September 1913

2016-11-17 19:15:09 UTC

"Romantic Ireland's dead and gone, / It's with O'Leary in the grave" (7-8, 15-16, 23-24). Yeats very clearly denounces the modern Ireland at the end of every stanza in the poem. These lines are the culmination of every critique of traditional cultural values he presents throughout the poem and contribute to his Modernist message.

Kevin Zhu, Per. 4

A Coat (short one by "Ireland in Coming Times")

2016-11-17 19:16:39 UTC

"But the fools caught it, / Wore it in the world's eyes / As though they'd wrought it." (5-7)

Yeats criticizes average people for lack of originality in ideas and thoughts. This depicts a very negative, pessimistic outlook on society, and is critical of how people typically respond to poetry and art, even though that may be considered normal in their time. This strongly resonates with modernist poetry.

Will Kimball Period 4

"Meditations in Time of Civil War: Ancestral Houses"

2016-11-17 21:40:24 UTC

"Some violent bitter man, some powerful man/ Called architect and artist in, that they,/Bitter and violent men, might rear in stone" (17-19).

Yeats uses powerful diction through word choice such as "bitter" and repetition of the word "violent" to convey the violence of the poem. The poem talks about the Irish Civil war, and bringing in the violent diction conveys the modernist attitude Yeats has at the time, being disillusioned by the world, particularly its death and violence.

Juan Diego Riano Lopez, Per 6

2016-11-17 21:45:36 UTC

Sailing to Byzantium

2016-11-17 21:56:25 UTC

"Once out of nature I shall never take / My bodily form from any natural thing, / But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make / of hammered gold and gold enameling / to keep a drowsy Emperor awake; / or set upon a golden bough to sing / To lords and ladies of Byzantium of what is past, or passing, or to come." (24-31)

Yeats is using his transformation from body into a bird that shows his vision of Byzantium to be of one with "hammered gold and gold enameling (gilded covers) that makes Yeats realize that Byzantium is only a location that is said to be this perfect place for the old-cultured, is a state that covers the laziness and negligence of the people inside with material goods. Yeats also assumes that this was always what Byzantium was and will be, as realizes that his setting "upon a golden bough to sing" will not wake the "lords and ladies of Byzantium" to realization.
Charles Liu Period 6

"Meditations in Time of Civil War"

2016-11-17 22:00:39 UTC

""But take our greatness with our violence? (32)

"But take our greatness with our bitterness?" (40)

Although there are more parts to this poem, Ancestral Houses ends in questions for the last two stanzas. The element of modernism within this is the open ending, Yeats leaves the reader hanging. The purpose of the questions allows the intended audience, the younger generation, to really ask if they are living a glorious life. Yeats is a nostalgic person, always lamenting about how the past is better and his questions force the reader to ask whether or not "greatness" is actually great if one is bitter and violent.

Grace Wu Period 6

The Long-Legged Fly

2016-11-17 22:03:04 UTC

"That the topless towers be burnt/And men recall that face,/Move most gently if you must/In this lonely place." (11-14)

Yeats creates a lonely and disillusioned mood through the images of burning and loneliness. The Romantic grandeur he typically describes in association with Greek allusions is gone, replaced with an eerie silence. What was once grand and full of genius is now empty and desolate, demonstrating his disillusionment with the state of modernity.

Clara Too
Per. 6

"Adam's Curse"

2016-11-17 22:07:28 UTC

In this poem Yeats uses a distinct rhyme scheme, an element of Romanticism, at the beginning of the poem and then as the poem progresses the rhyme scheme deteriorates. Free verse is an element of Modernism. This shift represents Yeats' frustration with people not appreciating the hard work it takes to create art.

Gemma Morris p.6

"Meditations in Time of Civil War"

2016-11-17 22:07:57 UTC

"And maybe the great-grandson of that house, / For all its bronze and marble, 's but a mouse" (23-24).
Yeats conveys the speaker's pessimism about human nature using juxtaposition. Through "bronze and marble" imagery, which conveys wealth, he sets an expectation that those who live in the house will be elegant. However, he juxtaposes this imagery with that of a mouse to show that the actual inheritors are rodents who take advantage of others' hard work. This creates a mood of pessimism towards the present generation.

Megan Titus, Period 6