Literature Lectures - 6. William Butler Yeats (cont.)

Modern Poetry (ENGL 310) with Langdon Hammer Yeats's late poetry is discussed and interpreted. The poet's interest in human knowledge and its relationship to the body, particularly the aging body, is traced from "Leda and the Swan" to "Sailing to Byzantium," "In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz," "Two Songs from a Play," and "Vacillation." Yeats's late interest in the experiences of joy, madness, and "gaiety" is examined in "Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop." Yeats's de-mystifying attitude toward art in "The Circus Animals' Destruction" is contrasted with his celebration of art in "Lapis Lazuli." 00:00 - Chapter 1. Yeats on the Subject of Magic and an Introduction to Yeats's Late Poems 15:02 - Chapter 2. W. B. Yeats Poem: "In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz" 25:15 - Chapter 3. W. B. Yeats Poem: "Two Songs from a Play" 27:29 - Chapter 4. W. B. Yeats Poem: "Vacillation" 34:47 - Chapter 5. W. B. Yeats Poem: "Crazy Jane Talks With the Bishop" 42:06 - Chapter 6. W. B. Yeats Poem: "Lapis Lazuli" Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu This course was recorded in Spring 2007.