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”