Towards an Approximation of Yeats’ Poetical Landscape in his Early Poetry

Abstract

This article discusses the development of William Butler Yeats’ poetical landscapes, in his early poetry. Understanding Yeats’ definition of symbols and his relation to Symbolism through the works of William Blake, I will analyse four different musical symbols across a selection of five poems taken from Yeats’ first two collections— “The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems” (1889) and “The Rose” (1893). In this sense, I present a common line from these selected poems based on a mythological character travelling to an other-worldly island, where an imbalanced dialogue is maintained with fairies. In accordance with late-nineteenth century landscape perspective, the relationship between soundscapes and Yeats’ musical symbols will be examined. By doing this, I week to interpret the convergence of Celtic imagery within the emergence of a magical soundscape.