The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats (Wordsworth Poetry Library)

A great compilation of Yeats works, while other compilations have excellent notes and essays regarding his works this one has many of his poems (and series of poems) all in one book. An outstanding book to own, beautifully compiled in this soft cover book (which has surprisingly held up quite well against years of battering as I carry it with me from time to time).

I had never taken the time to enjoy Yeats' poetry before although I had read single poems on occasion. It is an experience not to be missed to sit and read his better-known poetry all in one sitting. The beauty of the words and imagery is then much more apparent. Yeats writes a lot about mysticism and the occult, and ancient Ireland comes alive as you read his beautiful words. I read that Yeats, although he wrote poetry all his life, would only put down three or four lines per day. He was such a perfectionist that he wanted to make sure that his lines were perfect. It seems such a tedious procss, but what beautiful words he wrote! His time could not have been better spent than in creating three beautiful and perfect lines per day. His poetry changed as he aged, but it kept getting better and better. His earlier poetry portrayed a lot about faeries and the dream world the he lived in himself when he was young. The lyrics were tuneful and romantic. As he aged, the romanticism changed considerably and his poems were harder-driven with very deep messages underneath the words. These are truly masterpieces, and Yeats comes by his reputation as one of the greatest English writing poets of all time.

Why is Yeats so clearly a great poet? It cannot be because of his beliefs in a a strange occult and philosophy. It cannot be simply because he was at a certain time a voice for the freedom of Ireland. For there were many such voices most forgotten today. It has to do with language and music certainly . Yeats wrote some of the most beautiful lyric poetry we have. "And we will wander hand in hand through hollow lands and hilly lands/ And pluck till time and times are done/ The silver apples of the moon/ The golden apples of the sun./ An incredible capacity for lines which remain in the memory." We must lie down where all the ladders start/ in the foul rag and bone shop of the heart/ And with those lines too a capacity for seeming to define the human situation in a way which repeatedly strikes true. " The best lack all conviction / And the worst are full of passionate intensity" But along with this a power, magical, mystical memorable to summon up other worlds and bring us closer to lands of dreams beyond our own. " This is no land for old men "The momuments of unaging intellect" Byzantium. And too some great sense of idyllic innocence in Ireland itself " I must go down to Innisfree" But also something eternal in the human heart and situation "But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you and loved the sorrows of your changing face" The lines the incredible lines which reverberate in mind and which make us want to hold them with us forever as part of ourselves.

There isn't much question whether Yeats was a great poet, just where on the all time great list he falls. Whether you call him the greatest poet of the 20th century, or the greatest since Wordsworth, Milton or Shakespeare, his accomplishments are clear.Beyond that, why should anyone buy this edition as opposed to any of the other available? First, the collected poems gives you a sense of his development and interests, not just the highlights of his greates poems. Second, and more importantly, this edition is well-annotated. The notes are thorough without being unduly interpretive--they tell you what an allusion refers to, not how it affects the meaning of the poem. The notes aim to be useful to any reader, regardless of background. As a result, western readers will come across odd sounding notes such as "Jesus Christ is the founder of Christianity" or "Hamlet is the hero of William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name." Still, you'll be thankful for such prosaic entries as they explain Irish myth and locate historical allusions. All in all, it's an edition that belongs on any poetry lover's shelf.

When I first started reading Yeats, I was very interested in Old Irish myths. Perhaps more importantly, I was also younger and more romantically inclined than I am nowadays. His early poetry seemed to possess an airy beauty, sweet in the best sense of the word and reminiscent of his contemporary Tagore. I felt bewitched.Some time later, I read his poems again and felt deceived. They were whimsical, immature, unfinished. I could not understand why he was so highly praised. Whenever somebody told me he/she liked Yeats, I felt an embarrassment. I wondered if I had failed Yeats or if he was the deceiver.However, when I approached him for the third time, I had a strange experience I can only compare with reading Nietzsche. I read a line or two, they seem too simple and crude. I read them a second time, they become opaque. A third time, they yield and I feel as if playing with a caleidoscope. Now at least I am wiser; I know I will be profoundly touched, annoyed and bored in turns, but I also know I will always return to Yeats, because a quarrel with him is better than a constant love for another poet.