Compilation of all the poems from The Wild Swans at Coole (1919) and Michael Robartes and the Dancer (1921) includes "The Second Coming," "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death," many others.

'But I, being poor, have only my dreams; / I have spread my dreams under your feet...' By turns joyful and despairing, some of the twentieth century's greatest verse on fleeting youth, fervent hopes and futile sacrifice.

Compilation of all the poems from "The Wild Swans at Coole" (1919) and "Michael Robartes and the Dancer" (1921) includes The Second Coming, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, many others.

Compilation of all the poems from The Wild Swans at Coole (1919) and Michael Robartes and the Dancer (1921) includes "The Second Coming," "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death," many others.

'A terrible beauty is born' WB Yeats's poignant words have come to immortalise the complex legacy of the Easter Rising, 1916. The poetry that emerged at this time of upheaval in Ireland gave voice to the thoughts of a generation. Yeats's poem, 'Easter 1916', sits alongside selected works of other major poets of the era. These include Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh and Joseph Plunkett, who were executed for their part in the Rising. In the aftermath of the Rising an outpouring of poetry also expressed the shock and grief of literary figures such as Padraic Colum, Francis Ledwidge, Eva Gore-Booth, James Stephens, Dora Sigerson Shorter and Seán O'Casey. Rebels, soldiers, honorary Irishmen, sympathisers and exiles all held up a mirror, in verse, to the events, beliefs and desires bound up in 1916.

"The Wanderings of Oisin" is a narrative poem by W. B. Yeats that delves into themes of aging, nostalgia, and the passage of time. Drawing from Irish mythology and legend, the poem follows the ancient hero Oisin, who returns to Ireland after spending three centuries in the mythical land of Tír na nÓg with the fairy princess Niamh. As Oisin recounts his adventures and reflects on the changes that have occurred in his absence, he grapples with a sense of displacement and loss in a world vastly different from the one he knew. Through vivid descriptions and lyrical language, Yeats evokes a sense of longing for a glorious past while also exploring the inevitable dissonance between memory and reality. The poem captures the tension between the desire for eternal youth and the reality of mortality, as Oisin comes to terms with the transient nature of life and the inevitability of change. "The Wanderings of Oisin" stands as a poignant meditation on the passage of time, the complexities of memory, and the enduring power of myth and storytelling.

This elegant hardback edition with gilded page edges presents Yeats' best loved work. This collection of masterful poetry demonstrates the extraordinary range and beautiful lyricism of Ireland's most accomplished poet, William Butler Yeats. The poems selected here cover love and regret, Irish folktales, beauty, politics, family and satire. From the romantic ideals of his youth to the innovative realist of his later years, this collection spans the breadth of Yeats' output.

Beautiful early writings by one of the 20th century’s greatest poets on the 150th anniversary of his birth A Penguin Classic The poems, prose, and drama gathered in When You Are Old present a fresh portrait of the Nobel Prize–winning writer as a younger man: the 1890s aesthete who dressed as a dandy, collected Irish folklore, dabbled in magic, and wrote heartrending poems for his beloved, the beautiful, elusive Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne. Included here are such celebrated, lyrical poems as “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” and “He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven,” as well as Yeats’s imaginative retellings of Irish fairytales—including his first major poem, “The Wanderings of Oisin,” based on a Celtic fable—and his critical writings, which offer a fascinating window onto his artistic theories. Through these enchanting works, readers will encounter Yeats as the mystical, lovelorn bard and Irish nationalist popular during his own lifetime. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.