The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats by W. B. Yeats

Widely considered one of the greatest poets of all time, William Butler Yeats wrote some of the greatest and most memorable English language poetry in the twentieth century. In The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats by W. B. Yeats, published by Scribner, readers are invited to explore the spiritual and emotional core of Yeats’ works and experience his legacy as a poet.

The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats is an impressive compilation that brings together all of his poems, from “The Ballad of Father Gilligan” to “Under Ben Bulben.” Yeats presents his work through the full breadth of his career, spanning over fifty years in the formal English language and allusive Irish language. Through his full body of work, readers can learn what made Yeats the powerful, original poet he was.

Divided into four parts, this collection is a perfect way to experience Yeats’s range of poetic and intellectual styles and interests. The first part of the collection focuses on his early-period pieces, which explore his psychological and social struggles as a young man and his attempts to make sense of a rapidly changing world. The poems in this section also capture his profound and personal investigations into his inner life and struggles with his thorny path of spiritual development.

The second part of the collection showcases Yeats’s preoccupation with mythological symbolism and the complex power of language. Yeats mines an extensive and compelling lexicon from folklore, Celtic thought, and classical mythology to explore the human soul and its place in the cosmos. He also incorporates a wide range of other poetic styles, from lyricism to dramatic monologue, to reveal the underlying tensions and psychological insight of his worldview.

The third part of the collection highlights Yeats’s impressive range of poetic forms, expressions, phrasings, and themes. He often draws on several traditions—notably, Renaissance sonnets, Celtic metaphors, and even Nordic styles—to explore metaphysical truths and present his unique ideas on religious and cultural issues. Here, the reader can find his works in their original forms—luminous, insightful, and profound.

Finally, part four of The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats includes the works of his later years, where he turns reflectively to explore questions of spiritual autarky, intimate response to modernist experimentation, and the ultimate search for meaning in life. The reader can find evidence of Yeats’s maturing craft, as well as his growing disenchantment with cultural stagnation and the slow descent of empire and its culture.

The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats is a must for anyone interested in exploring Yeats’s masterful poetry and its varied themes and styles. Through this wide-ranging compilation, readers gain an understanding of the vastness and depth of Yeats’s work, as well as an appreciation for his distinctive and influential voice. As Yeats himself wrote: “My beauty was all I had to give—/ And so I gave it to my fans.” The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats is a testament to the power of his words and their resonance across the ages.