Nation,World And Ideal:A Study Of Political Ethics Thought In William Butler Yeats' Drama

William Butler Yeats is the token of Irish literature,the leading figure of Irish Renaissance,one of the most important poets of the twentieth century,and one of the most influential playwrights ever.There are several key points about Yeats' plays:first of all,they are autobiographical.Yeats bases his writing upon real life.Parallels of the plots,characters and settings in his plays are found in reality.In this sense,Yeats's plays document his life experience.Second,nationalism is the important theme of Yeats's plays.As the backbone of Irish Renaissance,Yeats takes good advantages of the rich Celtic and Irish culture.Through the great efforts of Yeats and his compatriots,old traditions are resurrected,and they generate new ideas.Third,Yeats pays a keen attention to politics.As an Irish nationalist,Yeats employs his plays to enhance Irish people's aesthetics and morality,develop their understanding and recognition of Irish history and culture,and greatly promote the independence and emancipation of Ireland.Last but not least,the innovation of Yeats's plays is noteworthy.He tests and experiments new theatrical methods.The oriental expressionism,primitive ceremonial presentation and theatrical literariness of Yeats's plays make a profound impact upon the twentieth-century Western theater.Yeats's plays contribute greatly to the Irish independence and emancipation.From the perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism,his plays are the ethical presentation of the Irish politics at the turning point of the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries.At first,Yeats intends to proclaim revolt against the British through violent revolution,which has been a tradition for over 700 years.After many unsuccessful attempts,the playwright begins to re-examine his ideas,especially about the aesthetics and morality of common people.Then he utilizes cultural revival to enlighten the national recognition of common people,which embodies his cultural nationalistic ideals.Since the establishment of the Irish Free State,the tension between the Irish and the British has been assuaged,and Irish people starts to think about the future of their nation.At this time,Yeats proposes the concepts of "Unity of Being" and "Unity of Culture," and absorbs different kinds of cultural resources,in the hope of creating new culture that adapts to the development of Ireland.Correspondingly,Yeats creates the characters of political nationalists,cultural nationalists,heroes and cosmopolitans in his plays.This dissertation focuses on the depictions of their ethical identities,ethical conflicts,ethical choices,ethical teachings and ethical presentations in different kinds of ethical environment.There are altogether seven parts of this work.The Introduction reviews the major international and domestic research on Yeats,and introduces the research purpose and contribution of this dissertation.Yeats's drama is an important component of Irish Renaissance,a significant means of Irish independence and emancipation,and also an indispensable part of Irish and world theater.As the common world cultural heritage,Yeats's plays are well studied in both Chinese and foreign academia.However,there are still some issues worth further exploration.The research methodology of Ethical Literary Criticism provides a new point of view to approach Yeats's plays by delving into the characters' ethical choices and analyzing how they guide and teach morality to common people.This approach is an original critical theory proposed by the Chinese scholar,which will give Yeats studies a unique perspective,drive Yeats studies forward,and also offer the writing and criticism of Chinese theater and China's cultural renaissance some helpful information.Chapter ? discusses the ethical environment of Yeats's writings.Yeats is the canon of Irish culture.His writings are rooted in his one and only motherland.The Celtics and their culture are the most important historical traditions of Ireland.Since the British invaded Ireland,the Celtic culture has been oppressed,and people lost their freedom in politics,economy and religion.The British colonization stimulated Irish nationalism.The Irish waged violent revolutions against the oppression,in order to achieve independence and emancipation.Irish Renaissance was bom during this process,which attempted to increase the interior will power through cultural and historical enlightenment and recognition.Yeats's dramas played an important role in the Irish Renaissance.This chapter positions his dramas in the grand ethical backdrop of Ireland,to reconsider the relationship between the plays and the Irish society.Chapter ? focuses on three political plays,The Countess Cathleen,Cathleen ni Houlihan,and The Dreaming of the Bones.The main characters of the three plays,Countess Cathleen,Michael and Young Man,are all nationalists.When confronting romantic love,religion,family,marriage and history,they acquire new ethical identities and have to carry out new responsibilities.In a serious of ethical conflicts,these characters all make their decisions according to the collective will.In the plays,the characters speak the colloquial west Ireland dialect.The images of big doors,windows and the dawn,and the settings of the three plays highlight the ethical environment that compass the characters.The theatrical techniques also show the difficulties and anxiety of the characters,which reinforces the moral teachings of Yeats's plays.Chapter ? focuses on the moral teaching plays,in order to uncover how Irish nationalists enlighten common people through the cultural,romantic and religious plays.Yeats's play The Unicorn from the Stars marks the change from political nationalism to cultural nationalism.In the Irish political movement,Martin believes that neither economic conflicts nor destructive political fight can improve people's life.It is cultural enlightenment that can utterly change people's spirits.Yeats agrees with this point.He thinks that both of the development and independence rely on the education of common people.The romance plays proclaim the beauty and transcendence of love,the sacrifice of lovers and the harmony of body and soul.These values are partially from Yeats's personal life,but they are philosophized,which would help Irish people reflect on their own ethics.Yeats's religious plays explore Irish people's religious beliefs,and indicate their unique cognitive perspective,which enable people to understand the Irish values and Irish culture,and rethink about their ethical context.Chapter IV analyzes hero plays.Many protagonists of Yeats's plays,such as Cuchulain,Congal and Naoise,are originated from ancient Irish mythology and hero stories.These hero figures embody the playwright's political ideals,and establish moral role models for Irish people.Especially for Cuchulain,Yeats writes five plays to narrate his lifetime experiences and feats.His attitudes toward action,principles,promises,kinship and death are perfect examples for Irish people.Congal's rebellious spirit and Naoise's noble conscience are equally thought-provoking for common people.The goal for Yeats to revive Celtic hero legends is to form a system of ethical values and a stable ethical order.Chapter V discusses how Yeats fosters cosmopolitanism among his audience through his plays.From the will in Purgatory,it is obvious that Irish people stay superficial and narrow-minded after the founding of the Irish Free State.Therefore,Yeats employs the grand perspective and multicultural resources in A Vision,frequent uses of masks,dance and stage settings,and theatrical ceremony to broaden Irish people's visions and inspire their ethical emotions,so that they can pay attention to some universal issues with an open mind.The open form and poetic language of these plays give the readers and audience a comfortable rhythm,assisting them with their thinking and acceptance of the plays.The Conclusion summarizes the major argument of this dissertation.Yeats is vigilant about modern politics,but he is deeply involved in it.The political ethics navigates his play writings,and the themes of culture,romance,family and religion are centered around political ethics,for the ultimate purpose of the Irish independence,emancipation and development.Yeats's political ideal is to establish a hierarchical aristocratic republican nation.People from different social classes take their responsibilities accordingly.The well-educated nobility is responsible for inheriting the literariness of the society,which guarantees the societal stability.With their rich imagination,the commoners represent simplicity and honesty,who accomplish self-realization through labor and oral literature.Artists should combine the ration of the nobility and the sensibility of the commoners to create great art that people can benefit from.Yeats's ideal is based upon the long history of the domestic division in Ireland,but it conveys certain regressive ideas of conservatism and elitism.Yeats's drama is an important part of the modernization of European theater.Yeats accepts ancient Greek theatrical traditions,and he also absorbs some theatrical techniques from Maurice Maeterlinck's Still Drama,and the oriental Noh Drama,to utilize poetry,masks,dance,ceremonies,costumes and settings to reduce the effects of reproduction but strengthen those of presentation,which has a sense of expressionism.Yeats makes a great effort to strike a balance between politics and art,business and aesthetics.He creates an experimental type of drama that is distant from business and the public,and it has a deep influence on the later Expressionist Drama,Absurd Theater and the Theater of Cruelty.Yeats's drama depicts a wide range of Irish lifestyles,explores people's spiritual and cultural life in-depth,and leads to national emancipation in the end.At present,China is going through drastic social changes.Playwrights should start from daily life to delve into the cultural and spiritual construction.Yeats successfully synthesizes literariness and stage performance by learning from Noh Drama.Literariness for drama is as the root for a tree.On the other hand,stage performance should not neglected,since it helps the audience to understand the play.Chinese theater needs to meticulously deal with these two elements.Yeats's plays inherit Irish and European theatrical traditions,and also widely employ other thoughts and materials,which greatly innovates literature and culture.It shows that cultural renaissance is not only about traditions,but also depends on the ability to make good use of different cultural resources.The combination of the two aspects leads the renaissance to a more profound level.