Easter 1916 | Yeats's use of history in Easter 1916

Easter 1916 | Yeats's use of history in Easter 1916

Q. Discuss Yeats's use of history in Easter 1916

Answer: W. B. Yeats was one of the notable poets of the 20th century. Easter 1916 was one of the best written poems in which he instills historical events. In this poem, Yeats reflected on the events of the Easter rising. In this poem, many of the events are explained with the echo of the revolt that happened in 1916 in the month of April. The revolt was against the rules of the British government in Ireland.

The use of historical events in 1916 was very important for the freedom of Ireland. W. B. Yeats exposed the theme of sacrifice and bravery of heroes who were martyred in that revolt in 1916. These historical events were the embodiment of the Irish identity.

One of the historical aspects used in the poem was the Easter rising. Yeats had portrayed the people who were related to the Easter rising. At the beginning of the poem, Yeats describes them as “polite, meaningless words” and “a drunken vainglorious lout”. However, in due course of the poem, the poet, Yeats, had changed his realization of these people. He had acknowledged their bravery and sacrifice. He had also acknowledged that there were heroic deeds that had transformed into the hiatus of their great honor. He had also mentioned that “a terrible beauty is born”. Through this transformation, W. B. Yeats advised that history could eternalize those heroic people and their eternal deeds. Thus, history could make those ordinary people archetypal personalities.

Yeats had used historical references in his poem, Easter 1916 references, only to make relevant the events of the Easter rising. He had mentioned such notable personalities who were a milestone in Irish history, such as Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone, who were involved in the violence against British rule, and they were also involved in the previous revolt against British rule. W. B. Yeats spoke of the Irish defense against British rule. W. B. Yeats made the importance of these people and the events related to the freedom struggle in 1916 to the long historical events.

Moreover, Yeats explored the crucial moment and the dichotomy of Irish freedom through the lens of historical phenomena. He had talked about those who participated in the Easter rising being mostly "ignorant" and "vague in their own land." This observation echoed the disillusionment of Irish society of the contemporary period.

W. B. Yeats gave the opinion that the Irish revolt and the sacrifice made the people of Ireland so proud and also gave them the national identity of Ireland. He had written "all changed, changed utterly: a terrible beauty is born". Here, Yeats hinted that history had the power to rebuild the consciousness of a nation. Thus, Yeats inspired a new bound unity and determination of Ireland through the Easter rising.

Hence, in the poem Easter 1916, Yeats explores the theme of sacrifice, heroism and the transformation of Irish identity. All these themes were very smoothly explained through the use of history. By explaining the historical events, W. B. Yeats emphasized the significance of the Easter rising in Ireland. He also highlighted the transformative power of historical events. Yeats suggests that history has the power to immortalize individuals and reshape the collective consciousness of a nation.

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