WORDS FROM A GREAT MIND

William Butler Yeats

Poet, playwright & cultural figure

Born: 13 June 1865
Died: 28 January 1939
Lived in: Dublin, London, County Sligo & France

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, playwright, and cultural organiser whose work moved from mythic lyricism toward a harder modern style. He helped found the Abbey Theatre, served in the Irish Senate, and received the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature.

A LESSER-KNOWN DETAIL

Soon after marrying Georgie Hyde-Lees, Yeats and his wife began experiments in automatic writing. Thousands of pages from those sessions fed the symbolic system behind his book A Vision.

Words by William Butler Yeats

“But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”

William Butler Yeats ↗

“Wine comes in at the mouth and love comes in at the eye.”

William Butler Yeats ↗

“Though leaves are many, the root is one.”

William Butler Yeats ↗