The Song of the Happy Shepherd (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: William Butler Yeats
- First Published: 1885
- Type of Work: Pastoral/meditation
- Genres: Poetry, Pastoral, Meditation
- Subjects: History, Language or languages, Science or scientists, Poetry or poets, Dreams, Beauty, Truth, Songs or songwriters, Shepherds
The Poem
“The Song of the Happy Shepherd” is actually a theme poem, a declaration of poetic independence. It appears at the beginning of his first volume, and William Butler Yeats intended it as a manifesto—a statement of his poetic creed and a guide to the kind of poetry he was writing and would write. In it, he established his relationship to the poetry of the past and asserted that the role of poetry would have to change in the modern world. He stated that poetry would have to become more divorced from the things of the world, closer to the truths of the heart, more a...
[The entire page is 1681 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
Related Topics
