Popular poems by William Butler Yeats

Born in Dublin on June 13, 1865, William Butler Yeats was the first Nobel Literature laureate from Ireland. Considered as one of the most important poets of the 20th century who wrote in English, Yeats' works include plays, poems, short stories and novels revolving around the Irish folklore and mythology which are widely read even today. His first work of verse was published in 1877; he is also known for co-founding the Irish Theatre (later known as the Abbey Theatre) along with Lady Gregory. Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923 "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation", reads a statement on Nobel Prize's website. He died on January 28, 1939 at the age of 73.

Remembering WB Yeats on his birth anniversary today, here we share some lines from his most popular poems. Read on!

'Among School Children' was inspired by Yeats' visit to a convent school as a Senator in 1926. He begins the poem by describing the school and children, but soon he thinks of how his muse Maud Gonne must have been when young and how she would be now. He then turns his thoughts inwards and ponders about old age and life.

In 'Sailing to Byzantium', Yeats signifies his journey as a spiritual one. The speaker in the poem lives in a place the young neglect the old and so he travels to the holy city of Byzantium in search of eternity.

Yeats' 'The Stolen Child' is inspired from Irish legends. It's about a child who is being lured to a happy place, far away from the real world which is full of sufferings.

'A Prayer For My Daughter' is considered as one of his most popular Modernist poetry works. Yeats married Georgie Hyde-Lees in 1917; as the title suggests, he wrote this poem for his daughter Anne who was born in 1919 at the time of the Irish War of Independence. In this poem he gives his advice to his daughter who would grow up in a cruel world.

In this poem W.B. Yeats writes about the helplessness an Irish soldier feels while fighting for their country's independence right after World War 1.

Probably one of W.B. Yeats' shortest poems, in this he writes about human's attitude about life and death and compares that to an animal's ignorance.

In this poem, Yeats expresses his thoughts of leaving the urban city to live a simple and peaceful life in a little place called Innisfree.

Yeats' poem 'Leda and the Swan' is inspired by Greek mythology. It recounts the incident when Zeus, the King of Gods, was so attracted to princess Leda that he disguised as a swan and raped her. After this incident, Leda later gives birth to a child who became Helen of Troy and brought an end to the Greek civilisation through the Trojan War.