W.B. Yeats
Greatest English-language poet of the 20th century
Most quoted
"Why should I blame her that she filled my days With misery, or that she would of late Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways, Or hurled the little streets upon the great, Had they but courage equal to desire?"
— from No Second Troy, 1916
"We are one of the great stocks of Europe. We are the people of Burke; we are the people of Grattan; we are the people of Swift, the people of Emmet, the people of O'Connell, the people of Charles Stewart Parnell."
— from Speech, 1922
"Things said or done long years ago, / Or things I did not do or say / But thought that I might say or do, / Weigh me down, and not a day / But something is recalled, / My conscience or my vanity appalled."
— from Vacillation, 1933
All quotes by W.B. Yeats (350)
I have always believed that poetry should be a form of magic, a way of transforming the world.
I am trying to write a poetry that will be as clear and as precise as mathematics.
I have always been a seeker after truth, and I believe that truth is to be found in art.
I am trying to create a poetry that will be as powerful and as moving as a great symphony.
I have always believed that art should be a celebration of life, and not a lament.
I am trying to write a poetry that will be as simple and as profound as a folk song.
The world is a dream, and we are all dreaming it.
I have always believed that poetry should be a form of prayer, a way of connecting with the divine.
I am trying to create a poetry that will be as passionate and as intellectual as the great philosophers.
I have always been a man of faith, and I believe that faith is essential to art.
I am trying to write a poetry that will be as beautiful and as terrible as the human heart.
I have always believed that art should be a form of rebellion, a way of challenging the status quo.
I am trying to create a poetry that will be as timeless and as universal as the stars.
The world is a stage, and we are all actors upon it.
I have always believed that poetry should be a form of prophecy, a way of foretelling the future.
I am trying to write a poetry that will be as wise and as profound as the ancient scriptures.
I have always been a man of vision, and I believe that vision is essential to art.
I am trying to create a poetry that will be as powerful and as moving as the sea.
I have always believed that art should be a form of healing, a way of mending the brokenness of the world.
An intellectual hatred is the only hatred I can be proud of.
Contemporaries of W.B. Yeats
Other Literatures born within 50 years of W.B. Yeats (1865–1939).