Yeats’ Mystical Poems: Love and Symbolism
The Song of Wandering Aengus
W.B. Yeats (1865-1939) – Irish Literature
“The Song of Wandering Aengus” (1899) reflects Yeats’s deep interest in mythology and mysticism. The poem tells the story of Aengus, who encounters a magical transformation. A fish he is cooking turns into a “glimmering girl” with apple blossoms in her hair. She calls him by name and then vanishes into the light.
Though old and weary from searching for her, Aengus remains determined. He dreams of finding her, kissing her, and being with her. He vows to search for her eternally, seeking the “silver apples of the moon” and the “golden apples of the sun.” This poem is often interpreted as an allegory for Yeats’s unrequited love for Maud Gonne, representing enduring passion.
The poem’s style is simple, characteristic of Yeats’s early work. It features:
- Repetitions
- Strong verbs (e.g., “peeled,” “hooked,” “dropped”)
- Vivid imagery: “white moths on the wing,” “moth-like stars flickering out,” “a little silver trout,” “a glimmering girl with apple blossom in her hair”
The silver and golden apples are potent symbols. The “glimmering girl” with apple blossoms is a clear representation of Maud Gonne. Yeats would continue to develop this complex use of symbolism in his later poetry.
He Bids His Beloved Be at Peace
W.B. Yeats (1865-1939) – Irish Literature
Written on September 24, 1895, this poem also showcases Yeats’s interest in mythology and mysticism, along with elements of Aestheticism.
Yeats connected this poem to the horses of Mannannan, a figure who ruled over the land of the dead in Irish mythology. These horses could travel over land and sea with equal ease and are often linked to the waves. The poem draws on Irish and other mythologies, associating:
- The North with night and sleep.
- The East (sunrise) with hope.
- The South (the sun at its peak) with passion and desire.
- The West (sunset) with fading and dreams.
A Woman Homer Sung
W.B. Yeats (1865-1939)
Written in 1910, this poem reflects Yeats’s view of the Homeric era as a time of true heroism, a quality he felt was lacking in his own time. The woman in the poem is widely believed to be Maud Gonne, the object of Yeats’s unrequited love, a former actress and passionate revolutionary.
The title suggests that Maud Gonne is comparable to a figure from Homer’s Iliad. For Yeats, the mythic significance of Gonne overshadowed her physical presence.
The poem vividly describes his feelings for her. The central theme is the sublimation of his physical desire into a spiritual and mystical experience through the act of mythologizing. “A Woman Homer Sung” represents Yeats’s attempt to connect the universal (the myth of Helen of Troy) with his personal experience.