L2L W. B. Yeats (ft. Carol Andrews, pt. I)

William Butler Yeats

The poetry of W. B. Yeats defies categorization. There are the bucolic scenes with “bee-loud glades,” the pointed commentary of Crazy Jane, and the horror of the beast slouching toward Bethlehem. There are the lyrical wishes for his daughter, the reflections of a rejected lover, and the mourning of the Easter dead. Yeats lived through difficult years … can his poetry somehow instruct us how to survive the current ugliness? Dr. Carol Andrews, associate professor emerita of literature and L2L scholar-in-residence, joins Leigh and P. T. for a two-part discussion of Yeats, his poetry, and possible lessons for today.

Poems discussed in this episode include:

• “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”
• “When You are Old”
• “No Second Troy”