William Butler Yeats’ “Easter 1916″
In the first stanza, the attitude of the poet towards the people he is describing is indifferent, even contemptuous. How is that attitude modified in the rest of the poem?
In the beginning, Yeats describes a people that were merely subjects of a “mocking tale or gibe”, the focal point of a collection of “polite meaningless words”. As the poem continues, this indifferent attitude toward these people is nurtured with descriptions of individuals, a woman whose days were “spent/ in ignorant good-will”, a man who “might have won fame in the end”, and also “a drunken vainglorious lout”. Throughout all these descriptions, it becomes clear to the audience the attitude that the author takes towards it’s subject matter. The contemptuous feeling is evident throughout the beginning of the poem.
However, the poem begins to take a turn in direction, towards a feeling more of admiration, than that of indifference. With more reflection, it seems as if the speaker begins to recognize these people previously thought of as a “mocking tale” with more understanding to the act they accomplished. While the poem is about the sacrifice of life these people performed, the words within the poem give honor to these people, making their sacrifice more than a life lost. Through these words “a terrible beauty is born”. There is no shame in giving a life for a cause, and the speaker recognizes their names, just as a “mother names her child.” The honor is given and “we know their dream”. There is a radical shift in attitude from the beginning until the end of the poem. No longer are these people mentioned in passing, but instead their memory is honored for the overall goal they attained. Through their sacrifice, they could be an example for others, and this attitude is expressed towards the end of the poem. It’s as if the author wanted the audience to follow in the though process that many people had at the time. At first, the sacrifice of death seemed pointless and foolish, but as it developed, more and more began to notice the tremendous impact that this sacrifice ultimately had. This is evident in the progression of the poem, where Yeats begins with an attitude of indifference, and ultimately ends with this sense of admiration and awe.
