Table Of Contentre REIR re
imagining imagining
10
i land i land
VOLUME 10
E claire nally
n
v
Although W. B. Yeats is one of the most over-theorised authors in the i
s
Irish canon, little attempt has been made to situate his occult works in io
n
the political context of early twentieth-century Ireland. By evaluating
i
n Envisioning
the two versions of A Vision, published in 1925 and 1937, this book
g
provides a methodology for understanding the political and cultural i
r
impulses that informed Yeats’s engagement with the otherworld. The E
l
a irEl and
author suggests that the Yeatsian occult operates very firmly within the
n
political parameters of Irish nationalism, often as a critique of the new Free d
:
State, or as an alternative way of mythologising and inaugurating a new W
.
nation state. The occult, far from being free of all political considerations, B
.
registers the poet’s shifting allegiances, from the Celticism of the 1890s Y W. B. YEats’s occult nationalism
E
to his disenchantment with modern Ireland in the Free State. a
t
s
’
s
Through close readings of Yeats’s manuscripts and his primary and critical o
works, including a close assessment of the frequently neglected dramatic c
c
texts, the author seeks to force a rethinking of the critical reception of u
l
the Yeatsian occult through contemporary theoretical developments in t
n
postcolonialism, subjectivity, national identity and textual instability. a
t
i
o
n
a
l
i
Claire Nally was awarded her PhD by the University of Manchester in 2006. s
m
She is currently Research Associate on a project entitled ‘Consumer Cul
ture, Advertising and Literature in Ireland, 1848–1921’ at the University of
C
Sunderland. The project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, will result in a la
i
book (cowritten with the project director, Professor John Strachan), to be re
N
published in 2012. She has published material in The Irish Studies Review, The
a
l
Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, The Guardian and Textual Practice. ly
ISBN 978-3-03911-882-3
PETER LANG
re REIR re
imagining imagining
10
i land i land
VOLUME 10
E claire nally
n
v
Although W. B. Yeats is one of the most over-theorised authors in the i
s
Irish canon, little attempt has been made to situate his occult works in io
n
the political context of early twentieth-century Ireland. By evaluating
i
n Envisioning
the two versions of A Vision, published in 1925 and 1937, this book
g
provides a methodology for understanding the political and cultural i
r
impulses that informed Yeats’s engagement with the otherworld. The E
l
a irEl and
author suggests that the Yeatsian occult operates very firmly within the
n
political parameters of Irish nationalism, often as a critique of the new Free d
:
State, or as an alternative way of mythologising and inaugurating a new W
.
nation state. The occult, far from being free of all political considerations, B
.
registers the poet’s shifting allegiances, from the Celticism of the 1890s Y W. B. YEats’s occult nationalism
E
to his disenchantment with modern Ireland in the Free State. a
t
s
’
s
Through close readings of Yeats’s manuscripts and his primary and critical o
works, including a close assessment of the frequently neglected dramatic c
c
texts, the author seeks to force a rethinking of the critical reception of u
l
the Yeatsian occult through contemporary theoretical developments in t
n
postcolonialism, subjectivity, national identity and textual instability. a
t
i
o
n
a
l
i
Claire Nally was awarded her PhD by the University of Manchester in 2006. s
m
She is currently Research Associate on a project entitled ‘Consumer Cul
ture, Advertising and Literature in Ireland, 1848–1921’ at the University of
C
Sunderland. The project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, will result in a la
i
book (cowritten with the project director, Professor John Strachan), to be re
N
published in 2012. She has published material in The Irish Studies Review, The
a
l
Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, The Guardian and Textual Practice. ly
PETER LANG
Envisioning Ireland
Reimagining Ireland
Volume 10
Edited by Dr Eamon Maher
Institute of Technology, Tallaght
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Claire Nally
Envisioning
Ireland
W. B. Yeats’s
Occult Nationalism
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche
National bibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at
http://dnb.d-nb.de.
A catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Nally, Claire, 1979-
Envisioning Ireland : W.B. Yeats’s occult nationalism / Claire Nally.
p. cm. -- (Remagining Ireland ; 10)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-3-0353-0075-8 (alk. paper)
1. Yeats, W. B. (William Butler), 1865-1939--Knowledge--Occultism. 2.
Yeats, W. B. (William Butler), 1865-1939. Vision. 3. Occultism in
literature. 4. Occultism--Ireland--History. 5. Ireland--In literature.
6. Mysticism in literature. I. Title.
PR5908.O25N35 2009
821'.8--dc22
2009029025
ISSN 1662-9094
ISBN 978-3-0353-0075-8
Cover image: ‘The Two Trees’ © Anne Burns of Anne Burns Photography
© Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2010
Hochfeldstrasse 32, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
[email protected], www.peterlang.com, www.peterlang.net
All rights reserved.
All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.
Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without
the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution.
This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming,
and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.
Printed in Germany
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
List of Illustrations ix
List of Abbreviations xi
Introduction
‘A Secret Mystical Propaganda’: The Castle of Heroes 1
Chapter one
‘In a Time of Civil War’:
Anglo-Irish Identity, National Conflict and A Vision 31
Chapter two
Forging and Forgery: The ‘Giraldus’ Portrait in A Vision 81
Chapter three
Imperial Politics, Leo Africanus and Discarnate States 129
Chapter four
The ‘Secret Society’ of Theatre: Yeats’s Middle Plays 169
Chapter five
Yeats’s ‘fanatic heart’:
The Golden Dawn, Secrecy and Anti-Semitism 221
Conclusion 273
Bibliography 275
Index 305
Acknowledgements
My sincere thanks go to the Arts and Humanities Research Council for
the financial support which enabled me to commence this project and to
the Yeats International Summer School for providing me with a bursary
to undertake a study trip to Sligo in the summer of 2003. I would also like
to thank Margaret Mills Harper for advice and suggestions in relation to
my work. Thanks also to the staff at the National Library of Ireland, and
especially Elizabeth Kirwan, for advice relating to the Yeats papers, as well
as A. P. Watt Ltd for permission to reproduce unpublished material from
the Yeats Papers in Dublin. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to
Professor Murray Pittock and Professor Terry Eagleton for their constant
support, encouragement and valuable criticism. I would also like to thank
Professor Tony Crowley, who has always maintained a rigorously critical
but sympathetic approach to my work. Liam Harte and Angela Smith have
also contributed a great deal of help and corrective advice.
My parents, John and Vivienne, have always given me the love, patience
and faith I needed. To both of you, a thousand thank yous. To Ian, thank
you for the laughter, and finally to Stephen, with love and gratitude.
