The Poems of W.B. Yeats

In this multi-volume edition, the poetry of W.B. Yeats is presented in full, with newly-established texts and detailed commentary. In this volume, Yeats's poetry of the first decade on the twentieth century is brought into sharp focus, revealing the extent of his efforts to re-fashion a style that had already made him a well-known poet.

Peter McDonald is an Irish poet and critic. He has published eight books of poetry, including his Collected Poems (2012), and four books of criticism, including Sound Intentions: The Workings of Rhyme in Nineteenth-Century Poetry (2012). He has edited several critical collections, and is the author of numerous articles on nineteenth- and twentieth-century poetry. He has taught at the Universities of Cambridge, Bristol, and Oxford, where he became Christopher Tower Student and Tutor in Poetry in 1999. Since 2016, he has been Professor of British and Irish Poetry at the University of Oxford.

A Note From the General Editors Acknowledgements Chronology of WB Yeats's Life and Publications, 1899-1910 List of Abbreviations Introduction THE POEMS 185 The Song of Heffernan the Blind: A Translation 186 The Shadowy Waters (1900) 187 The Withering of the Boughs 188 Under the Moon 189 ['I walked among the Seven Woods of Coole'] 190 Baile and Aillinn 191 Yellow Haired Donough 192 ['Do not make a great keening'] 193 The Blood Bond 194 Spinning Song 195 The Folly of Being Comforted 196 The Players ask for a Blessing on the Psalteries and on Themselves 197 The Arrow 198 Red Hanrahan's Song about Ireland 199 The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water 200 In the Seven Woods 201 The Old Age of Queen Maeve 202 Adam's Curse 203 The Happy Townland 204 O Do Not Love Too Long 205 ['I heard under a ragged hollow wood'] 206 Old Memory 207 Never give all the heart 208 Song from Deirdre I 209 The Ragged Wood 210 The Harp of Aengus 211 The Shadowy Waters 212 ['Come ride and ride to the garden'] 213 Against Witchcraft 214 Song from Deirdre III 215 Song from Deirdre II 216 ['The friends that have it I do wrong'] 217 Maid Quiet 218 ['O Death's old bony finger'] 219 An Appointment 220 ['Accursed who brings to light of day'] 221 His Dream 222 All things can tempt me 223 At Galway races 224 Reconciliation 225 No Second Troy 226 Words 227 ['My dear is angry that of late'] 228 On a certain middle-aged office holder 229 A Friend's illness 230 On George Moore 231 The Coming of Wisdom with Time 232 To a Poet, who would have me Praise certain Bad Poets, Imitators of His and Mine 233 Upon a House Shaken by the Land Agitation 234 The Fascination of What's Difficult 235 ['Irishmen, if they prefer'] 236 King and No King 237 A drinking song 238 On those that hated 'The Playboy of the Western World', 1907 239 A Woman Homer Sung 240 Peace 241 Against Unworthy Praise 242 These are the Clouds 243 The Mask 244 ['But every powerful life goes on its way...'] 245 Brown Penny Appendix 1: Contents of W.B. Yeats's Volumes of Poetry, 1899-1910 Appendix 2: Prefatory Material by W.B. Yeats in Collections of Poetry, 1899-1910 Index of Poems Index of First Lines