William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeatswas an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms. Yeats was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and, along with Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn, and others, founded the Abbey Theatre, where he served as its chief during its early years. In 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth13 June 1865
CitySandymount, Ireland
CountryIreland
I have grown to believe that there is no dangerous idea, which does not become less dangerous when written out in sincere and careful English.
Only that which does not teach, which does not cry out, which does not condescend, which does not explain, is irresistible.
I wonder anybody does anything at Oxford but dream and remember
Our own acts are isolated and one act does not buy absolution for another.
What man does not understand, he fears; and what he fears, he tends to destroy.
Does the imagination dwell the most Upon a woman won or a woman lost?
A line will take us hours maybe; Yet if it does not seem a moment's thought, our stitching and unstitching has been naught.
What shall I do for pretty girlsNow my old bawd is dead?
I sigh that kiss you,For I must ownThat I shall miss youWhen you have grown.
I sigh that kiss you, For I must own That I shall miss you When you have grown.
It would need a great deal of wisdom to know what it is we want to know.
Things said or done long years ago,Or things I did not do or sayBut thought that I might say or do,Weigh me down, and not a dayBut something is recalled,My conscience or my vanity appalled.
Things said or done long years ago, Or things I did not do or say But thought that I might say or do, Weigh me down, and not a day But something is recalled, My conscience or my vanity appalled.
An intellectual hatred is the worst,So let her think opinions are accursed.