Easter 1916 This poem is Yeats response to the events of the 1916 rising. – It is seen as a retraction of the earlier cynicism, expressed in September Yeats uses repetition and contrast – The refrain “a terrible beauty is born” – Pre-revolutionary Ireland vs post revolutionary Ireland We might expect Yeats to celebrate, given his admiration of past heroism. But his reaction is mixed. – This is captured in the refrain which suggests that the greatness of what has been achieved was purchased at a terrible cost…death and suffering.

1 This stanza expresses Yeats attitude before the rising. He can’t take these would-be revolutionaries seriously. – They seem unremarkable, leading ordinary lives. – They come “from counter or desk among grey 18 th century houses…” His attitude is reinforced by the “polite meaningless words” he would share with them as they passed by. He acknowledges his own duplicity towards them in ll. 9 – 12. – Whilst still speaking with them he considers how he will later mock them among his companions at the gentleman’s club. – He and his friends believed these would-be heroes to be no more than actors in a pantomime….playing a part without ever intending to actually see it through.

1 contd… His reference to “motley” evokes the colourful costume worn by a clown in a show. So, up to this point Yeats essentially tells us… – ’this is what I believed of them…this is how I behaved towards them’. His honesty is to be commended. The refrain brings about an immediate change in tone, however. It expresses the complexity of what actually happened. This is no simple literary flag-waving exercise. – The refrain acknowledges that the heroic deeds of the patriots came at a terrible price. – nothing will ever be the same again

2 Yeats describes some of the leaders of the rising in this Stanza. (four of them) Countess Markiewicz (pp 442) – Yeats contrasts the beauty and grace (loss) of her younger years with the growing nationalism (gain) of her later ones. See the contrast between the “sweet voice” and the “shrill voice”. There has been loss and gain here. Padraig Pearse (442) Thomas Mc Donagh – schoolteachers, poets (winged horse – pegasus – symbol for poetic inspiration) – Note McDonagh’s “sensitive…nature” and “sweet…thought” John McBride (Maude Gonne’s husband!) – Despite doing “most bitter wrong to some who are near my heart”, – Yeats acknowledges his contribution, his sacrifice – The revolution is no longer the “casual comedy” Yeats had assumed it to be.

2 contd…. McBride is somehow redeemed in Yeats’ eyes and transformed, just as the whole revolutionary project (and with it, the once- scorned middle classes) have been transformed. The refrain, once more, captures the sense of transformation, of contrast between loss and gain brought about by the whole enterprise.

3 Yeats constructs this stanza around a central contrast – the constantly changing face of nature The living stream The horse that comes from the road / the rider The birds that range from cloud to tumbling cloud. A horse splashing in the water The changing shape of a cloud moor hens calling out to one another – the unchanging reality of patriotic devotion. Hearts with one purpose…enchanted to stone Unchanging in the midst of the living stream of change. Characterised as a stone….strong but lifeless Pearse and his comrades have turned their backs on life in their single-minded devotion to the cause

3 contd There is an inflexibility about the patriots and their principles. Their hearts have been“enchanted to stone” by the cause. – Its as though the cause of Irish freedom is so powerful as to exert a kind of spell or enchantment over Pearse and his comrades. – This inflexibility comes at a terrible price – They die…..become lifeless…..like stones.

4 Yeats continues the imagery of hearts of stone. He suggests… – The patriots have blinded themselves to the richness of life in pursuit of their dream – but he refuses to judge them. Instead he believes his role is to remember, to name, “as a mother names her child”. he also raises an uncomfortable question. – Was this all really necessary? “Was it needless death after all?” England might have granted a measure of independence without the 1916 rising as promised in the Home Rule bill.

4 contd Yeats concludes that whether or not they were misguided…. – (and what if excess of love / bewildered them till they died?”) – They deserve their place in history. By listing their name he immortalises them in his verse. The rising transformed men he once scorned made fun of into heroes. Yet, the refrain, once again, reminds us of the complex, problematic aspects of the uprising. – “A terrible beauty is born”.

conclusion Key theme is the nature and impact of the 1916 rising. Very effective imagery and symbolism Use of repetition Use of questions to provoke reflection (3) Simple accessible language. A balanced, honest assessment of the rising including some difficult questions. A remarkably honest poem. Stanza one is painfully honest and self – revelatory.