Modernist Ireland; W.B. Yeats and James Joyce - Essay Example

?Modernist Ireland; W.B. Yeats and James Joyce Introduction William Butler Yeats and James Joyce were contemporary Yeats was a renowned poetand a playwright. He was an Anglo-Irish and one of the prominent nationalists who the most honoured Irish citizen till date. Joyce was also a very famous Irish novelist and poet. He is considered as one of the most influential writers illuminating the canon of the modernist avant-grade of the first half of twentieth century. Both these writers have faced the depression and the pang of the post-war eras of World War I and culminated the characteristics of modern writing which is far away from the romantic characteristics or values. The stream of consciousness technique, a very pertinent mark of modern literature was introduced and nurtured by Joyce. On the other hand, the contribution of Yeats to modern literature in general and poetry in particular, is immense. Inspired by Irish legends and occult, somewhere he drew his poetry close to the pre-Raphaelite poets and the great romantics like that of Spencer and Shelley. But after 1900s, a breakthrough in Yeats’ technique became more evident and he took the refuge of the physicality and realism, the two major facets of modern literature and developed his poetry on the foundation of cyclical theories of life placing himself far beyond his transcendental beliefs of youth. A serious attention towards the works of these writers or the literary luminaries of the modern literature from Ireland concludes to a point that both of them were pretty much concerned with their nation Ireland and were fascinated with its rich heritage and history. This is also one of the major reasons why these writers were concerned about mentioning the heritage, mysticism and the lost tale of Ireland repeatedly in their works. Articulation of Hopes and Fears in “The Dead” and “Easter 1916” “The Dead” by James Joyce was published in his collection bearing the title “Dubliners” in the year 1914. Apart from mastering the ‘stream of consciousness technique’, Joyce’s implementation and experimentation of the virtuoso techniques into modern prose imparted a new dimension to the use of language and the structure of the modern novel. “The Dead” is the longest and also the concluding story captivated in his illuminating collection of stories, “Dubliners”. “The Dead” is considered as one of the best articulation and craftsmanship yielded by Joyce in the collection and very fantastically, it narrates the complex and pungent aspect of daily life in the wake of the new generation and century that the people of Ireland encountered. The story “The Dead” revolves round the revelation of the fact in the life of its protagonist, Gabriel Conroy, who is recovered from his illusion of love towards his wife Gretta. The story of Gabriel and Gretta might seem, at the first place, as the story of momentary illusion in life and is concerned with life and death and life after death. This idea becomes more concrete with the lines which are presented as the realisation of Gabriel at the close end of the story, “His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead” (Joyce, “The Dead”). But a deep thought to the story would reveal the fact that the story, “The Dead” actually concerns every person present at the Morkan’s party and through Gabriel and his association, it indicates every entity in Ireland. The aura of ambiguity that halos around Gabriel throughout the story, and the repeated mention and the assertion of the point made by Gabriel that it’s time to initiate journey towards West and his vision at the concluding part of the story associated with the panorama of the snow falling through the universe, actually falls all over the Ireland. And at the greater realm, the microcosmic representation of Ireland has tried to connect it with the macrocosmic universe. The meaning of the westward journey is often connected metaphorically with death. Modern critics present an alternate view pertaining to the westward journey which is associated with rejuvenation of life. And the fall of snow is connected with the fall of death over Ireland. Critics also view that the fall of snow over Ireland indicates it’s cleansing which is expressed through universal phenomena that would enable expansion of soul and consciousness along with a renewal of life on every entity on whom it falls. “The Dead” clearly bears the typical features of the stories captivated in the Dubliners. It presents the depressed and the repressive socio-cultural milieu at the wake of the transition of century in Ireland. Far from being a mere naturalistic story, the immense autobiographical elements and the indication of the paralysed society and class of Dublin evokes author’s repeated concerns for Ireland and its society and the transition which he feels was witnessed through the turn of the new century in Ireland. Falling back to the glorious past is one of the major characteristics of modern writing which is quite evident in the prose by James Joyce. Also the implementation of the different kinds of narrative techniques developed and established the genre of modern writing. The same feeling and concern for the nation is evoked in Yeats’ poetry, “Easter 1916”. The poem is written describing the poet’s shattered emotions pertaining to the events of Easter Rising which took place at Ireland against the British rule on the eve of Easter Monday on 24th April in the year of 1916. The revolution was unsuccessful and many of the leaders of the uprising were executed during the upsurge. Despite being a staunch revolutionary, Yeats maintained a serious distance with the leaders of the movement because he always felt that Ireland can retain its true glory by following the path of non-violence only. This thought gets its clear expression in the first stanza of the poem where poet mentions, that only “polite meaningless words” were exchanged before the up rise which was indicative of a “mocking tale or gibe”. But this thought changes by the end of the stanza and the transition or the unexpected change which the nation and society of Ireland faced at the execution of the Irish leaders by the British, “All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born” (Yeats, “Easter 1916”). And at this note, the entire thought of the poem gets re-instated which is continued till the end of the poem. The end of the poem is marked by the commemoration of the names of the great Irish heroes who had fallen for their motherland and became instrumental in changing the course of Irish history metaphorically symbolised with the colour green, “I write it out in a verse - MacDonagh and MacBride And Connolly and Pearse Now and in time to be, Wherever green is worn, Are changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born” (Yeats, “Easter 1916”). Thus, one can easily find out the spirit of nationalism and the concern of the poet for the history and heritage of Ireland in the poem, “Easter 1916”. The spirit of nationality and the factors that indicate poet’s concern for the lost generation and glory of the great nation, one of the significant features of modern literature, can be found more precisely in the poem, “Easter 1916” than the prose “The Dead” by Joyce where the feeling of nationality finds its expression through metaphors and implicit symbols. Conclusion Both, the poem “Easter 1916” by W. B. Yeats and the prose “The Dead” by James Joyce celebrate the spirit of nationality and concern for the heritage nation of Ireland. Both the pieces are contemporary and therefore a comparative study of the incorporation of the characteristics of modern literature and the experimentation throughout the texts are very helpful to understand and study the evolution of modern literature. The expression of the nationalism and concern for the contemporary growing transition in the society, politics and class structure of Ireland finds more explicit medium in the poem “Easter 1916” than the prose by James Joyce, “The Dead”. But both the literary creations are universal and eternal that through the enigma and articulation of its aesthetics transcended the local barrier of Ireland and transported to the global paradigm. References Joyce, James & Fasano, Thomas. The Dead. Coyote Canyon Press, 2008. Yeats, W. B. “Easter 1916”. September 25, 1916. Easter Rising 1916. July 15, 2011. Bibliography Allison, Jonathan. Yeats's Political Identities: Selected Essays. University of Michigan Press, 1996 Joyce, James. “The Dead”. Mocking Bird. No Date. Creighton University. July 15, 2011. Read More