Mythical Elements in Yeats - NJ

8/3/2019 Mythical Elements in Yeats - NJ

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Mythical Elements in Yeats’ The Second

Coming, Leda and The Swan and No second

Troy.

Introduction

• Yeats – Modernist Poet. Located In Irish Revolution – A situation of turmoil and

uprising. Uses Myths to recreate the bygone past- to comment on the present.

Maintains a LIBERAL position – does not come up with any solutions- a projection of the

contradiction between the contemporary and the myths. Referred to as Escapist –

portrays the disjunction in the society using the myths.

• Uses the structure and the ability of the myths to change in socio-cultural

contexts – uses this characteristic to question the preconceived notion

about revolution and the association of Divinity with Fight for Motherland –

Also, evokes the memory of the past to convey to them the turbulent

present.

• Poems in our context – NST, L&S and TSC- Use of myths to comment on

the turbulent situation. Revisits the past – not very supportive of the youthrevolution- a supporter of stability – against violence and wars. Myths –

assume the form of a glorious past – elaborates upon them to question the

whole idea of revolution.

Poems in context

The Second Coming

• Written in 1919 – Ireland in midst of a revolution and attempting to

breakout from England – Yeats uses the Christian Mythology and uses the myth

of Second Coming of Christ after every 2000 Years to redeem people.

• Tries to evoke the memory of Christ among the people – at the same time, inverts the

whole myth to portray the situation of conflict in the society. Instead of Christ- a Sphynx

like figure – invokes Terror, Fear which clearly stand opposite the Graceful figure of Christ

in the conceived myth. Through Sphynx – talks about the hypo critic nature of the religion.

Inverted myth – description of not the redemptive nature of religion but the face which

invade the religious beliefs and faith of the people and forced them to adopt other myths.

Plays with the myth to throw light not only on the political turbulence but also on the

Religious hypocrisy of the time. Yeats had given up the Christian Beliefs and had taken toother cults – a disarray which is visible in the poem – tries to depict the religious





No Second Troy • Like in L&S, yeats does not name any mythic character – he supposes that

myth is known t the reader – NST is more of a personal monologue as well

as a comment on the political scenario of the time. Uses the reference of

Helen to point towards his own obsession with Maud Gonne and thepassionate impulse of the Irish Youth for their country and for their own

self.

• Does not burden Helen or MG for destruction or the passions which they

aroused- instead, he takes it to be a part of their personality. (Why, what

could she have done, being what she is?) Drives back the conventional

segregation of women either as Madonna or as Whore.

• The myth of Helen- manifested in Maud Gonne – both being referred to as

enchantresses and set on pedestal as manifestations of unparalleled

beauty which brought about the aspect of violence in the personalities of

men.

• A poem which uses myth about Helen in a personal manner and reveals

his personal attraction with MG and its aftereffects.

CONCLUSION

• Myths – a careful use – yeats does ot challenge any authority neither does

he provide any solution.

• Depicts the turbulence as it was.

• Three poems – uses myths ot only to describe only one thing – variance –

from The political situations to Religious hypocrisy to his own personal life

– Myths help Yeats in effectively universalising his poems and grant a

sense of timelessness.

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Mythical Elements in Yeats - NJ