In "Celtic Twilight," W. B. Yeats recites several
accounts of encounters with the faerie folk and with the
people of Ireland of the time which gives us insight
into Irish folklore, myth and legend. One gets the
strong impression from reading "Celtic Twilight" that
Yeats actually believed in the existence of the faeries.
Not just as some myth or legend, but as actual beings
that exist in this world, though perhaps unseen by the
common man. He wrote each story in "Celtic Twilight" as
if it was something that actually happened, having been
related to him by the storyteller, or perhaps that which
he had seen for himself in some past time, now recalled
as he set pen to paper. Rooted in myth and belief in
magic, these stories are populated by a lively cast of
sorcerers, fairies, and nature spirits. The great Irish
poet heard these enchanting, mystical tales from Irish
peasants, and the stories' anthropologic significance is
matched by their timeless entertainment value. It is
interesting to note that Yeats was heavily involved in
occult studies and practices as part of the Madame
Helene Blavatsky's, Theosophical Society and later, the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and finally in 1912
the Ordo Templi Orientis. This would have certainly
influenced his outlook on life and his belief in, and
dare we say ability to see the unseen things of this
world. W. B. Yeats certainly influenced the world at
large with his writings. In 1923 Yeats was awarded the
Nobel Prize for Literature, and in 1934 he shared the
Gothenburg Prize for Poetry with Rudyard Kipling.
|
|