Rites and Rhymes

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Abstract

This chapter considers the influence of Golden Dawn and Rosicrucian ritual on William Butler Yeats’s early poetry and prose, including The Secret Rose (1897) and The Wind Among the Reeds (1899). Through his creation of the Castle of Heroes, an invented mystery religion, Yeats experimented with ideas of death and rebirth more commonly associated with A Vision (originally published 1925). However, in exploring Yeats’s early work through the lens of ‘continuing bonds’ derived from grief theory, this chapter suggests that early Yeats was engaged in an act of ancestral reclamation, through the intersection of occultism and fairy lore.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of W. B. Yeats
EditorsLauren Arrington, Matthew Campbell
Place of PublicationOxford
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP)
Chapter27
Pages414-428
Number of pages15
ISBN (Electronic)9780191882593
ISBN (Print)9780198834670
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Jun 2023

Publication series

NameOxford Handbooks
PublisherOxford University Press

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