I have a question for anyone who might have some detailed knowledge of W.B.Yeats' works.

A few years ago I was reading a collection of his poems and stories and came across a short poem I thought very profound called "The Great Day". While I came up with my own interpretation of his words, I wanted to know what his meaning behind them was. Was he writing about a specific event in history ? God knows there was a lot going on in Ireland and around the world at that time. So far, I haven't been able to find any biographical information regarding that particular poem. Does anyone in the forum have any insight on this ?

Hi,

The poem was written towards the end of his life and is probably a typically nervous and mocking response to developments in Irish politics - this time the enactment of the Constitution of Ireland (bunreacht na hÉireann). Not his best work really, in my opinion, but that's only a question of taste. There's generally some value in his evocation of post-independence Ireland but honestly by the end of the 1930s Yeats was politically all over the place, even flirting with Italian fascism...

Slán,

Domhnall

_________________
Ultach mé agus Gaeilg Uladh a labhraim go measardha maith!

Go raibh maith agat , a Domhnall

I suspected it probably had something to do with the Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann and/or the resultant compromises that followed but wasn't entirely sure. There were certainly other similar events that had happened or were happening in the world around that time.
I agree, I wouldn't consider this particular work one of his more melliflous ones but, probably due to it's brevity and simplicity when compared to his other works, I found it to transcend any one specific event and could be applied to any number of significant sociopolitical "changing of the guards" past, present or future.
I have to admit, Yeats definitely thought on a much different, if not higher intellectual plane than myself and I often have great difficulty understanding much of his writing, but it sure sounds sweet when read aloud

Slán, Patrick

Yep, I suppose that's what makes him the poet when it comes to 20th century Irish poetry - his work resonates for us all in different ways.

Slán,

Domhnall

_________________
Ultach mé agus Gaeilg Uladh a labhraim go measardha maith!