eauty, pain, and the mystery of life.
Early Dream of Love: In his early poetry, love was like a dream and full of imagination. His heroes searched for ideal beauty in the world of dreams. These poems were influenced by the romantic spirit of Shelley. Love was not real or human in this stage; it was only an unreal desire. The poems in “The Rose” (1893) and “The Wind Among the Reeds” (1899) show this mystical tone. The women in these poems are fairy-like and far away from the real world.
Love for Maud Gonne: When Yeats met Maud Gonne, his poetry found its living subject. He was twenty-three when he first saw her, and he loved her for life. She was tall, beautiful, and proud. She became the symbol of beauty, passion, and Ireland itself. His love for her was full of devotion and admiration. In “He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven”, he says,
“I have spread my dreams under your feet,
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
These lines show his humble love and worshipful heart. Though Maud never accepted his love, her image appears again and again in his verses.
Pain and Disillusionment: Maud Gonne’s refusal and later marriage to John MacBride broke Yeats’s heart. His later love poems became full of sadness and frustration. The poet could not forget her, but his love turned into a spiritual struggle. In “No Second Troy”, he asks,
“Why should I blame her that she filled my days with misery?”
He compares her to Helen of Troy, whose beauty caused war and destruction. Her beauty was like “a tightened bow,” noble yet dangerous. This poem shows his sense of loss and admiration together.
Memory and Ideal Love: Even in his later life, Yeats remembered Maud Gonne with deep affection. In “Among School Children,” he imagines her as a young girl and compares her to a mythic figure. He says,
“I dream of a Ledaean body, bent above a sinking fire.”
Here, Maud is joined with the image of Leda, mother of Helen. Yeats looks at schoolchildren and wonders if she was ever like them. The poem ends with the famous question,
“How can we know the dancer from the dance?”
It means that art and love have become one. Through memory, Yeats turns love into a spiritual and artistic vision.
Transformation of Love: Yeats’s love changes from personal desire to universal truth. In the beginning, it was romantic and passionate. Later, it became thoughtful and symbolic. He expresses not only love for Maud but also the pain of humanity. His love poems are rich in music, emotion, and symbolism. Even in “A Prayer for My Daughter,” written many years later, Maud’s shadow appears. He prays that his daughter may not be proud and restless like Maud Gonne. Thus, love remains the heart of his poetry.
In termination, Yeats’s poetry of love begins with dreams and ends with wisdom. His unrequited love for Maud Gonne gave him both inspiration and sorrow. Through love, he discovered the beauty and tragedy of human life. Therefore, Yeats stands among the most significant love poets in the English literary tradition.
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