Eternal Irish Rose

This thesis attempts to study the Romantic elements in the early poetry of W.B. Yeats. Yeats, one of the most eminent poet in modern literature, obtained a sustainted reputation. Early in his career Yeats determined to be a great poet and pursue the great unity both in his life and art. He experienced the transition period from Romanticism to Modernism absorbing many kinds of important aesthetic ideology and literary style. He achieved immensely in many fields of poetry, yet it is significant to examine his romantic spirit carefully since romanticism influenced him greatly while he influenced the modernism. This thesis, mainly focused on his early poetry, examined his romantic facet from three aspects. Thus this thesis consists of three chapters.Chapter one deals with the Arcadian world pursued and depicted continuously in his early period as those Lake school of romanticists advocate to do. It includes two parts: Arcadian world in nature and Arcadian world in fairytale.Chapter two studies the passionate national consciousness Yeats bore in his mind and showed in his early poetry as those later romanticists devoted their life to the movement of revolt. It is made up of two parts. In the first part, Yeats's process of studying Irish folklore will be introduced in detail. The second part will elaborate Yeats's early poems with the theme of Irish folklore.Chapter three examines the romantic imagery applicated in his early poetry. It mainly talks about two kinds of imagery: the imagery of nature and the imagery of woman.The conclusion, firstly sums up the romantic elements embodied in his early poetry from a deeper point of view. Secondly, it makes a general brief mention of his profound influence on the later poets both of Ireland and other countries. Lastly, it poses the necessity to make a further research on the great influence of Romanticism on Yeats.