Yeats' Views of Life and the Possibility of the Coming Back of the Soul after Death

doi:10.7176/jep/11-5-15

Abstract

This study aims at shedding light on Yeats as a philosopher, especially his views of life and the possibility of the coming back of the soul after death. The study aims at investigating Yeats’ philosophical attitudes as presented in Purgatory . Though the title denotes Christian implications, the study aims to prove that it is far away from Christianity. Rather, as the study argues, it is a summary of Yeats’ philosophic beliefs; especially his views of life and death. In Purgatory , Yeats interlinked between philosophy and literature magnificently. He employed modernist theatrical techniques by using light and sound techniques supported by symbols and imagery to express his themes. Yeats focused on the concept of purgation as presented in Purgatory The study concludes that Yeats’ Purgatory is a prediction of a degeneration in humanity in general, and of Irish society, unless people “purify” their race by choosing to be away from any form of corruption. In the play, the father killed his son because he is afraid that he would repeat the same crime that his father had done many years ago. This crime is discussed metaphorically it stands for many political meanings, Yeats warned people that if purgation is not performed wisely, it will lead to a failure of civilization and the rise of a state of anarchy. Therefore, Yeats’ Purgatory, as the study proved, is a metaphoric portrayal of the political, cultural and historical milieu of Ireland presented in a philosophical context. Key terms : Irish drama; Irish Theatre; Yeats’ occult and philosophy; New/Historicism; Purgatory . DOI : 10.7176/JEP/11-5-15 Publication date: February 29th 2020

Highlights

Purgatory is considered among Yeats' best plays, critics highlight its value since it is attributed as "one of Yeats's most accessible plays, as well as... of the best" (Knowland, 227)
Yeats draws on Irish “rituals” and rural customs, but he modernized them by his dramatic presentation and treatment which mixed Naturalistic and Symbolist attitudes where alienation was altered because of spiritual loss (Mc Ateer, 5)
The audience failed to transcend the metaphoric representation to get the hidden meaning and the philosophic vision behind it. This is because, as Richard Taylor argues “the audiences of Yeats day were not prepared for the level of innovations that Yeats introduced to the Irish drama, Taylor argues that Yeats' plays were "a head of its time" (Mc Ateer, 3)

Summary

Introduction

Purgatory is considered among Yeats' best plays, critics highlight its value since it is attributed as "one of Yeats's most accessible plays, as well as... of the best" (Knowland, 227). This play enables us to conceive Yeats as a philosopher who asserted the spirituality of the Irish identity as a major pillar by which the Irish identity should be marked. Perhaps it is important in this context to discuss the source of this play which was a dream that Yeats had. I, Yeats wrote that he had a brief play in his mind, that consists of a of tragic passion .This short play is about a dream that he was so afraid of. He aims in this play to embody this nightmarish dream

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