Customer Reviews

Collected poems of W.B. Yeats

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

There isn't much question whether Yeats was a great poet, just where on the all time great list he falls. Whether you call him the greatest poet of the 20th century, or the greatest since Wordsworth, Milton or Shakespeare, his accomplishments are clear.

Beyond that, why should anyone buy this edition as opposed to any of the other available? First, the collected poems gives you a sense of his development and interests, not just the highlights of his greates poems. Second, and more importantly, this edition is well-annotated. The notes are thorough without being unduly interpretive--they tell you what an allusion refers to, not how it affects the meaning of the poem. The notes aim to be useful to any reader, regardless of background. As a result, western readers will come across odd sounding notes such as "Jesus Christ is the founder of Christianity" or "Hamlet is the hero of William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name." Still, you'll be thankful for such prosaic entries as they explain Irish myth and locate historical allusions. All in all, it's an edition that belongs on any poetry lover's shelf.

I trust it goes without saying that William Butler Yeats is one of the greatest English-language poets of all time. This volume contains his entire body of verse, and is a magnificent treasure trove that will delight and stun the reader for decades.

I give two stars to the cheap materials used to create this masterpiece. I literally had this book out of the Amazon box for a matter of hours before the cover started to curl of its own accord, as though possessed by a poetry-hating demon. The paper is low-grade and coarse, with an unappealing brownish tinge.

Despite my love of Yeats, I find that I unconsciously tend to keep this book on the shelf just to keep its ugliness out of site, and I am by no means an aesthete. If you can find a slightly nicer version, it is worth paying a little extra.

When I first started reading Yeats, I was very interested in Old Irish myths. Perhaps more importantly, I was also younger and more romantically inclined than I am nowadays. His early poetry seemed to possess an airy beauty, sweet in the best sense of the word and reminiscent of his contemporary Tagore. I felt bewitched.

Some time later, I read his poems again and felt deceived. They were whimsical, immature, unfinished. I could not understand why he was so highly praised. Whenever somebody told me he/she liked Yeats, I felt an embarrassment. I wondered if I had failed Yeats or if he was the deceiver.

However, when I approached him for the third time, I had a strange experience I can only compare with reading Nietzsche. I read a line or two, they seem too simple and crude. I read them a second time, they become opaque. A third time, they yield and I feel as if playing with a caleidoscope. Now at least I am wiser; I know I will be profoundly touched, annoyed and bored in turns, but I also know I will always return to Yeats, because a quarrel with him is better than a constant love for another poet.

I had never taken the time to enjoy Yeats' poetry before although I had read single poems on occasion. It is an experience not to be missed to sit and read his better-known poetry all in one sitting. The beauty of the words and imagery is then much more apparent. Yeats writes a lot about mysticism and the occult, and ancient Ireland comes alive as you read his beautiful words. I read that Yeats, although he wrote poetry all his life, would only put down three or four lines per day. He was such a perfectionist that he wanted to make sure that his lines were perfect. It seems such a tedious procss, but what beautiful words he wrote! His time could not have been better spent than in creating three beautiful and perfect lines per day. His poetry changed as he aged, but it kept getting better and better. His earlier poetry portrayed a lot about faeries and the dream world the he lived in himself when he was young. The lyrics were tuneful and romantic. As he aged, the romanticism changed considerably and his poems were harder-driven with very deep messages underneath the words. These are truly masterpieces, and Yeats comes by his reputation as one of the greatest English writing poets of all time.

A great compilation of Yeats works, while other compilations have excellent notes and essays regarding his works this one has many of his poems (and series of poems) all in one book. An outstanding book to own, beautifully compiled in this soft cover book (which has surprisingly held up quite well against years of battering as I carry it with me from time to time).

Yeats' poems should not be questioned, thus I do not.

Good about this edition is that it covers a great scope of his works. I think there's almost everything. Nice typeface used, font is nor small nor huge (exception for appendix). It is good to read, easy to find.

Bad thing is: paper. Yes, its paperback and this sort of books is always cheap. There was no hardcover available at the moment nor any book of such size either. Not to speak of any choice in Russia (Translations? No, thanks). Still, paper is roughly cut and, what makes things worse, I won't give a penny on whether this edition will survive more than 30 years. I'd get a better book later.

W. B. Yeats enjoyed a long, successful, and productive poetic career lasting from the late Victorian era through 1939. More notably, besides Thomas Hardy and in great contrast to, say, William Wordsworth and Alfred Tennyson, he is probably the only English poet who not only continued to write up until his death but also produced some of his best work in later years. Many, including me, indeed think his last work his best. He wrote some of the most famous poems of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and is certainly one of the greatest poets of the latter. His long career, coupled with the many personal, philosophical, political, and other changes he went through, ensured that his work can be conveniently divided into three distinct eras. The first has a self-consciously ornate style heavily influenced by Romanticism and pre-Raphaelite imagery. Some of his earliest works have cosmopolitan subjects, but most of the first era is concerned with Irish folklore and mythology. Yeats had a deep abiding interest in this material and is one of its most articulate and memorable exponents, playing a large role in its becoming an important part of Western culture. His second period is often described as being influenced by younger Modernist poets, but I see little connection between his work and theirs, particularly as he remained wed to traditional forms. However, it is certain that his work underwent a major change. Most obviously, he became more concise, turning exclusively to short, mostly lyrical works at once more direct and more allusive than early writings. These poems have great beauty that can be appreciated on a very simple level but also reveal complex meanings on close study. His subjects also branched out, notably including several great political works, though he retained a strong Irish focus. Yeats' third period may almost be seen as a mix of the first two. He returned to some early subject matter, but the style was more like the second era's. More importantly, his work became more and more personal, even at times confessional - as well as more explicitly sexual, very interesting considering his old age. This shows itself not least in the mystical thought that came to dominate his last few decades. He had always been interested the occult, but many of his poems just before and after his 1925 non-fiction work A Vision are heavily colored by what might almost be called a self-created mythology. Some deride this, finding it intellectually shallow or even simply crackpot, but it certainly led to many interesting and important poems and set him apart.

A collected edition is thus ideal for many reasons, his consistent excellence being most obvious. Perhaps no poet is more suited to being read in full, because it brings out several elements that would be overlooked, or even missed altogether, by reading Yeats sporadically. First, despite his three widely different periods, he always focused intensely on a small number of themes, love and Ireland being primary. Second and relatedly, unlike many poets, he is notable for constantly returning to a handful of metaphors - rose, gyre, tower, etc. -, constantly refining and expanding their meaning. It is fascinating to see how his use and understanding of these symbols developed and how their various uses play off each other.

There are several widely available collected editions that differ more in presentation than content. This features all the poems Yeats authorized, painstakingly edited to ensure accuracy - nearly four hundred in all over about 450 pages including the short closet drama The Shadowy Waters. As this suggests, Yeats was not especially prolific for someone with such a long career, but he was a consummate craftsman. The poems are laid out chronologically, following the order Yeats set out in his 1933 collected works plus later additions. We thus basically get every Yeats poem just as he wanted them to be read. It is an extremely valuable collection - a veritable goldmine for anyone who loves great poetry, Irish history and culture, or simply great literature period.

Whether this particular collected edition is ideal depends on what is needed. It includes many pages of notes with basic information about allusions and historical references. Anyone wanting to know only what one must be aware of to understand the poems will find them invaluable. On the other hand, anyone wanting detailed criticism or biographical exposition will be disappointed, especially as there is no scholarly introduction or biographical sketch. However, even some of the former may be annoyed by the format. The information is given as endnotes without identifying marks in the text. This is great for those without need for notes, as no marks or footnotes clog the page. Conversely, it is extremely frustrating to those who want them, as they must constantly flip to the back without knowing when there is a note. The notes also point out things that are extremely obvious to many people - e.g., "Jesus Christ is Son of God in the Christian religion" -, but the editor justifies this by saying Yeats has a worldwide audience, and what is obvious to some is not obvious to all. This is true but will hardly lessen annoyance for many. The editor also elects to repeat information rather than cross-referencing, which will also likely invoke ambivalent reactions. There are two appendices: Yeats' notes to his collected poems up to 1933, with further editorial notes, and musical notation for some of his poems that had been scored. The latter is mostly superfluous, the former extremely valuable. There are also indices by title and first line. Finally, it is easy to object to the book's division into "Lyric" and "Dramatic and Narrative," the latter with only about a dozen entries. It disrupts chronology and is also somewhat arbitrary; several poems in each section arguably belong in the other, and only one in the latter is significantly longer than those in the former. That said, this was Yeats' own system.

All told, this is an excellent edition for anyone wanting Yeats' poems in one book in a portable, readable, inexpensive format. Font size is ample, making for easy reading and giving plenty of room for annotations. Line numbers are also included. These are luxuries usually only available in expensive editions and greatly appreciated. On the negative side, the binding is quite cheap, and one must be somewhat careful with the book if it is to last through multiple readings over years. However, this is a small complaint for such a low-priced, inclusive edition. Those seeking higher quality paper can easily find a more expensive edition to suit them, but the content itself cannot be bettered, and the value is almost unbelievable.

This review refers to Finneran's Revised Second Edition (paperback) 8x5x1.25 inches in size.

Much mention made here of the quality of the paper upon which these priceless and comprehensive poems are here printed.

This is a reader's copy, something to carry and to read. It is not furnishings for your room. It is not furniture. It is not personal adornment. This is the book of Life, to be opened, to be read.

Yes your reading may take its toll upon the vulnerable, gentle binding. Yes, your reading may find one day pages browning, of the old paperstock similar to old paperback books. But this book is to be read, not closed and saved and never seen. Read this book.

If you wish a book for adornment more than for reading, a book which may also withstand intensive reading over a lifetime, please go for the more costly The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats Volume I The Poems. You will still use this humble, serviceable paperback book for your daily reading of Yeats, your nightly study of his lyric and lore.

This is the book you may write in with joy and no regrets. It even has extra sheets for such a notation, and generous margins for your personal annotation and other marginalia, the ennegrams which arise upon dreaming with Yeats.

I can add nothing to what has already been said regarding the need within the human soul to read Yeats, to know Yeats, to love Yeats, to feel Yeats nearby throughout our long, lonely pilgrimage here. I can only defend this particular copy of Mr. Yeat's complete selection of his poetry for his official and authorized canon.

You will find much which is useful here, from the great Mr. Finneran, including notes to the notes which Mr. Yeats himself wrote for his poetry. You will find the indexes you will need, of first lines, etc. You will not find someone to help you find from which particular poem those famous words we so often here, which have entered our daily speech, and which first appeared with Mr. Yeats, now used in so many cultural contexts, for instance: Things Fall Apart: A Novel. "The center will not hold . . ." For this you need to type in every word and do a search; perhaps this is done elsewhere, perhaps through the ambitious Kindle project at its own edition of this most valuable book: COLLECTED POEMS OF W.B. YEATS.

But above all, read this book, each day. Do not be ashamed by the humble appearance of its paper, any more than you would by the appearance of the poor old woman who becomes Ireland herself. This is the book you can live with, like the old boots you wear each day, which carry you through your work, which though scuffed and scratched and nicked and marked, get you to get the job done, generously, unknown, humble, generously.

Be not ashamed by this book. Read her, and you grow to love her, to know pride, and joy, and to love.

Read this now. And also see of course Our Secret Discipline: Yeats and Lyric Form.

Why is Yeats so clearly a great poet?

It cannot be because of his beliefs in a a strange occult and philosophy. It cannot be simply because he was at a certain time a voice for the freedom of Ireland. For there were many such voices most forgotten today.

It has to do with language and music certainly . Yeats wrote some of the most beautiful lyric poetry we have. "And we will wander hand in hand through hollow lands and hilly lands/ And pluck till time and times are done/ The silver apples of the moon/ The golden apples of the sun./

An incredible capacity for lines which remain in the memory." We must lie down where all the ladders start/ in the foul rag and bone shop of the heart/ And with those lines too a capacity for seeming to define the human situation in a way which repeatedly strikes true. " The best lack all conviction / And the worst are full of passionate intensity"

But along with this a power, magical, mystical memorable to summon up other worlds and bring us closer to lands of dreams beyond our own. " This is no land for old men "The momuments of unaging intellect" Byzantium.

And too some great sense of idyllic innocence in Ireland itself " I must go down to Innisfree" But also something eternal in the human heart and situation "But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you and loved the sorrows of your changing face"

The lines the incredible lines which reverberate in mind and which make us want to hold them with us forever as part of ourselves.

Before a reasoned, intelligent assessment of Yeats (or any other master poet such as Hardy, Frost,de la Mare, Wilbur, et al) can be made, one must ask the right preliminary question: What is Genius-level poetry? There are at least 6 primary components: 1)It withholds something from us at first, yielding its secrets slowly, like an attractive lover or an ocean (sand, shoreline, shallows, surfzone, shelf, offshore, blue depths);2)It surprises and satisfies simultaneously - it repays multiple re-readings: 'I knew that but I didn't know until now that I knew it'; 3) It is words set to life's music - it sounds, or sings, special, through appropriate rhythm and rhyme. Follow the music and the other senses follow along; follow the voice til you have no choice; 4)It is memorable, both in detailed words, metaphors, images, literary referents, phrasings, lines, sections/stanzas, and as a sum of things which exceeds the excellencies of the parts. It is memorizable. 5)It speaks to life's questions: what could be worse than answering questions no one is asking?; above all relevance synthesizes with reverence to create resonance. Its subject matter matters. Nothing is missing more in most poetry published today than lack of compression, resolution, depth: too much verse is a pretty pond acres wide, inches deep. Especially powerful verse has simplicity in perichoresis (interpenetration) with complexity or multiplicity, ambidextrously able to use telescope or microscope to bring the subject into focus for the reader. The best of Seuss appeals also to adults; the arcanest of Einstein, E=mc2, can even be grasped by children;Lastly,6) It fulfills its expectations and arrives: it reaches the reader at some point, in different ways at different times. Though woods are lovely, dark and deep;with miles to go before I sleep, there are still promises to keep. Yeats lovers will find all six of these criteria fulfilled consistently throughout the Collected Works; skeptics and seekers can objectively test Irish Airman Predicts His Death; Sailing to Byzantium; Song of Wandering Aengus; Innisfree and other typically anthologized masterpieces to see if they meet at least 4 of the 6 standards. I hope many new readers are pleasantly surprised and many old friends of Yeats come away with a new appreciation of what Ireland gave the world from 1865-1939. His 1923 Nobel Prize was not bestowed by biased eyes, but the award was nobly earned, though by so many undiscerned.