Yeats

William Butler Yeats (June 13, 1865 – January 28, 1939) was an Irish poet and dramatist and a central figure of the Irish Literary Revival. Born in Dublin and raised largely in Sligo, Yeats drew on Irish legend, folklore, and mysticism early in his career and grew into a modern, symbolist poet. He helped establish the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1904 with Lady Gregory and others, a key venue for Irish drama and national culture.

Yeats’s work spans lyric poetry, plays, and prose, and his poetry often blends personal and political concerns with myth and history. Notable poems include The Lake Isle of Innisfree, The Second Coming, and Sailing to Byzantium; major collections include The Tower and The Winding Stair and Other Poems. His later verse is marked by an austere, ceremonial style and meditation on time, aging, and the poet’s role in history.

In 1923 Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his significant and influential contributions to poetry. He remained active in literary life in Ireland until his death in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, in 1939. Yeats’s work achieved lasting influence on modern poetry and Irish literary identity, shaping how Irish culture and myth are perceived in the broader English-language tradition.