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A famous poem by Yeats commemorating the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, who were executed by the British. The poem reflects on the transformation of their lives and the beauty of their sacrifice.
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Learn about the themes, symbols, and poetic devices of W.B. Yeats's poem "Easter, 1916", which commemorates the Irish rebellion of 1916. Read the full text, line-by-line explanations, and context of the poem.
- Summary
- Analysis of Easter, 1916
- Poetic Form
- About William Butler Yeats
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Easter, 1916 opens with Yeats remembering the rebels as he passed them on the street. Before the Rising, they were just ordinary people who worked in shops and offices. He remembers his childhood friend Constance Markievicz, who is “that woman”; the Irish language teacher Padraic Pearse, who “kept a school” called St. Enda’s; the poet Thomas MacDon...
Stanza One
The first stanzadescribes Dublin, where the revolutionaries lived and worked. Dublin is known for its “eighteenth-century houses,” rows of connected and identical four-story brick homes, each doorway made distinctive by “fan light” windows. Yeats himself lived in one such house, at 82 Merrion Square. In this stanza of Easter, 1916 not much happens other than remembering how he and the rebels exchanged pleasantries on the street or talked at the “club.” The club was a traditional gentleman’s s...
Stanza Two
In the second stanza of Easter, 1916, Yeats begins to name the rebels by their social roles. Their names will be listed directly in the fourth and final stanza of the poem. The people Yeats mentions in the text are actual historical figures. He remembers that Constance Markievicz, one of the leaders of the Easter Uprising. She is known to have designed the Citizen Army uniform. He states that she was sweeter before arguing for Irish independence. This is seen through the second instance of me...
Stanza Three
The third stanza of Easter, 1916 introduces an extended pastoralmetaphor. The rebels have hardened their hearts against the English, and have focused on “one purpose”—armed rebellion. The hearts of these rebels are compared to a stone that “troubles” a stream of history. Not only are the hearts representative of the entire person, but they are also referred to as stones. They are immovable, dedicated to one purpose. It is at this point that Yeats changes his tone towards the rebels. They are...
The stanzas ofEaster, 1916 intentionally have an irregular line length and meter. Stanzas 1 and 3 are divided into 16 lines, representing both the year 1916 and the 16 men who were executed after the Easter Rising. These stanzas also are scenic in character, invoking the landscape of Dublin city and the surrounding Irish countryside. Stanzas 2 and ...
William Butler Yeats(1865-1939) was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. He was considered Anglo-Irish, descending from English Protestant settlers. Considered one of the twentieth century’s great poets and visionaries, Yeats won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. Yeats knew many of the rebels involved in the Easter Rising. He himself was in En...
Learn about the historical and literary context of Yeats's poem that commemorates the leaders of the Easter Rising, a rebellion against British rule in Ireland. Read the full text, stanza-by-stanza summary, and poetic form analysis of this classic poem.
Easter, 1916 is a poem by W. B. Yeats describing the poet's torn emotions regarding the events of the Easter Rising staged in Ireland against British rule on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916. The uprising was unsuccessful, and most of the Irish republican leaders involved were executed.
A political poem that captures the conflict and change of Ireland in 1916, with a refrain of “a terrible beauty is born.” Learn about the historical context, the poetic techniques, and the personal connections of Yeats to the Easter Rising.
Read the poem by W.B. Yeats that commemorates the leaders of the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916. Learn about the historical context, the metaphors, and the annotations of the poem.
Easter, 1916. William Butler Yeats. Track 5 on Michael Robartes and the Dancer. The Easter Rising of 1916 was an small but significant armed rebellion that began in Dublin on Easter Monday of...
