author
W. B.
A defining voice of modern Irish literature, this Nobel Prize–winning poet blended myth, politics, love, and spiritual searching into unforgettable verse. His work helped shape the Irish Literary Revival and remains central to the literary canon.
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About the author
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) was an Irish poet, playwright, and writer whose work helped lead the Irish Literary Revival. Born in Dublin and raised partly in County Sligo, he drew deeply on Irish folklore, mythology, politics, and personal experience.
Yeats co-founded Dublin’s Abbey Theatre and wrote both poetry and plays, including The Countess Cathleen and Cathleen ni Houlihan. His poetry evolved from romantic and folkloric beginnings toward a more direct, symbolic style that explored history, aging, love, violence, and spiritual belief.
He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923 and later served as a senator of the Irish Free State. His poems—including “The Second Coming,” “Sailing to Byzantium,” and “Easter, 1916”—have made him one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century.