W.B. Yeats

The Tower, Easter 1916 — Ireland's national poet

The greatest English-language poet of the twentieth century. His career arc — from Celtic twilight to the spare, fierce poems of old age — is the most remarkable development in modern poetry. The Tower and The Winding Stair contain poem after poem of shattering force: Easter 1916, The Second Coming, Sailing to Byzantium, Among School Children.

Key works

• The Tower1928— Sailing to Byzantium, Among School Children — peak Yeats
• Easter 19161921— 'A terrible beauty is born'
• The Second Coming1920— 'Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold'

Connections

External