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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Introduction,
By
This review is from: Secret Rose Love Poems of W B Yeats (Hardcover)
This is a very fine introduction to the life and love poetry of W.B. Yeats. The book begins with an extensive, 25 page biography of Yeats that includes even his distressful discovery of masturbation at age 15, his hidden love for his distant cousin Laura Armstrong, and his frustrated love for Maud Gonne, the major character of his love poems. He proposed marriage to the cold-but-beautiful and very politically minded Maud, who refused him and married a soldier. The introduction gives examples of how this most important relationship was reflected in Yeats' poems. Yeats first sexual love was with Olivia Shakespear (while estranged from her husband) and was a brief affair. The end of this episode intensified his loss of Maud Gonne and intensified the passion in his poems also. After Maude's separation from her soldier husband, Yeats proposed again to Maude, was refused again, and then he did the creepy thing of asking Maude to allow him to marry her daughter Isuelt! At age 52 he married the 26 year old Georgie Hyde Lees, whom he called "George," and had a daughter and a son. Yeats exploration of Irish folklore under the guidance of Lady Gregory, and his exploration of mysticism with Georgie are also included in this focussed introduction. The 48 short poems published here are lovely, touching, and often sad, but have beautifully sculpted lines. For example,(on pg.31)"She laid them upon her bosom, Under a cloud of her hair, And her red lips sang them a love-song, Till stars grew out of the air." Illuminating notes (34 pages) are in the back of the book. The best way to read this book is first to read the introduction, secondly read each poem followed by the notes on each poem, and finally to reread the poem if you want to catch the subtleties.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely Book of Poetry!,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Secret Rose: Love Poems by W.B. Yeats (Hardcover)
I have long been a Yeats fan but I found this small (120 pages) hard-back book very interesting and beautiful. The first 25 pages or so is an introduction to the life of Yeats, explaining when, why and for whom he wrote his love poetry. Yeats is a very complex and often misunderstood poet but this book is a great way to begin understanding his life and works. After the introduction, each section of the book that follows begins with an explantion of the years the poems were written, the inspiration for the poems, and any symbolism within said poems.
I highly recommend this book and feel sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good handbook for students and general readers,
By
This review is from: Secret Rose Love Poems of W B Yeats (Hardcover)
Professor Norman Jeffares is an authority on Irish literature. He has lectured in Trinity College, Dublin and written and edited the works of many Irish writers, including Joyce, Yeats, Swift, Farquhar, Goldsmith to name a few. He has written two biographies of W. B. Yeats. In this collection, Norman Jeffares displays the depth and complexity of Yeats' romantic poetry and how they have progressed over the years.It is well known that Yeats led a movement that stimulated new understanding of Irish literature and nationalism in the late 1800s and early 20th centaury. Here, Jeffares focuses his attention on the contribution Yeats made towards romantic poetry. The book contains a useful introduction containing Yeats' biographical notes with important events and people who influenced his work. The poems in this anthology are presented in chronological order and categorised under three headings: romantic idealism (early poems); romantic realism (poems written over the next 15 years); and complex harmonies (poems inspired by his wife). This anthology is a good handbook for students and general readers interested in Yeats' romantic poetry.
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