William Butler Yeats（1865-1939）

    Born in Ireland in 1865, William Butler Yeats published his first works in the mid-1880s while a student at Dublin's Metropolitan School of Art. His early accomplishments include The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems (1889) and such plays as The Countess Kathleen (1892) and Deirdre (1907). In 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He went on to pen more influential works, including The Tower (1928) and Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems (1932). Yeats, who died in 1939, is remembered as one of the leading Western poets of the 20th century. 

    William Butler Yeats was born on June 13, 1865, in Dublin, Ireland, the oldest child of John Butler Yeats and Susan Mary Pollexfen. Although John trained as a lawyer, he abandoned the law for art soon after his first son was born. Yeats spent much of his early years in London, where his father was studying art, but frequently returned to Ireland as well. 

    In the mid-1880s, Yeats pursued his own interest in art as a student at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. Following the publication of his poems in the Dublin University Review in 1885, he soon abandoned art school for other pursuits.

   After returning to London in the late 1880s, Yeats met writers Oscar Wilde, Lionel Johnson and George Bernard Shaw. He also became acquainted with Maud Gonne, a supporter of Irish independence. This revolutionary woman served as a muse for Yeats for years. He even proposed marriage to her several times, but she turned him down.  He dedicated his 1892 drama The Countess Kathleen to her.

   Around this time, Yeats founded the Rhymers' Club poetry group with Ernest Rhys. He also joined the Order of the Golden Dawn, an organization that explored topics related to the occult and mysticism. While he was fascinated with otherworldly elements, Yeats's interest in Ireland, especially its folktales, fueled much of his output. The title work of The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems (1889) draws from the story of a mythic Irish hero.

In addition to his poetry, Yeats devoted significant energy to writing plays. He teamed with Lady Gregory to develop works for the Irish stage, the two collaborating for the 1902 production of Cathleen Ni Houlihan. Around that time, Yeats helped found the Irish National Theatre Society, serving as its president and co-director, with Lady Gregory and John Millington Synge. More works soon followed, including On Baile's Strand, Deirdre and At the Hawk's Well.

    Following his marriage to Georgie Hyde-Lees in 1917, Yeats began a new creative period through experiments with automatic writing. The newlyweds sat together for writing sessions they believed to be guided by forces from the spirit world, through which Yeats formulated intricate theories of human nature and history. They soon had two children, daughter Anne and son William Michael. 

    The celebrated writer then became a political figure in the new Irish Free State, serving as a senator for six years beginning in 1922. The following year, he received an important accolade for his writing as the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. According to the official Nobel Prize website, Yeats was selected "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation."

    Yeats continued to write until his death. Some of his important later works include The Wild Swans at Coole (1917), A Vision (1925), The Tower (1928) and Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems (1932). Yeats passed away on January 28, 1939, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. The publication of Last Poems and Two Plays shortly after his death further cemented his legacy as a leading poet and playwright.

  威廉·巴特勒·叶芝（1865年6月13日~1939年1月28日），亦译“叶慈”、“耶茨”，爱尔兰诗人、剧作家和散文家，著名的神秘主义者，是“爱尔兰文艺复兴运动”的领袖，也是艾比剧院（Abbey Theatre）的创建者之一。叶芝的诗受浪漫主义、唯美主义、神秘主义、象征主义和玄学诗的影响，演变出其独特的风格。叶芝的艺术代表着英语诗从传统到现代过渡的缩影。叶芝早年的创作具有浪漫主义的华丽风格，善于营造梦幻般的氛围，在1893年出版的散文集《凯尔特的薄暮》，便属于此风格。然而进入不惑之年后，在现代主义诗人艾兹拉·庞德等人的影响下，尤其是在其本人参与爱尔兰民族主义政治运动的切身经验的影响下，叶芝的创作风格发生了比较激烈的变化，更加趋近现代主义了。

   叶芝出生于距离爱尔兰首都都柏林不远的山迪蒙，是一位肖像画家的儿子。他的童年分别在父母陪伴下度过，他祖父的房地产业在爱尔兰的斯莱戈郡。叶芝早期学习绘画，是伦敦艺术家和作家团体中年轻的一员，关注期刊《黄皮书》。他写了《摩沙达》（1886），一部诗歌戏剧；《乌辛的流浪》（1899）。

  1896年回到爱尔兰之前他又写了另外四部作品。他的父亲“约翰·巴特勒·叶芝”是亚麻商人杰维斯·叶芝的后裔。这位商人卒于1712年，他的孙子本杰明娶了基尔岱尔郡的望族之女玛丽·巴特勒。约翰·叶芝结婚的时候正在学习法律，但是很快他便辍学，转而学习画肖像画。他的母亲（即威廉·巴特勒·叶芝的祖母）苏珊·玛丽·波雷

 克斯芬来自斯莱果郡（County Sligo）上一个盎格鲁－爱尔兰裔家族。出生后不久，便迁至位于斯莱果的大家族中，他本人也一直认为是斯莱果郡孕育了自己真正的童年岁月。巴特勒－叶芝家族是一个非常具有艺术气息的家族。诗人的哥哥杰克后来成为一位著名的画家，而他的两个姐妹伊丽莎白（不是女王）和苏珊则均参加过著名的“工艺美术运动”。

  为了父亲的绘画事业，叶芝的家庭后迁至伦敦。起初，叶芝和他的兄弟姐妹接受的是家庭教育。诗人的母亲由于非常思念故地斯莱果，经常给孩子们讲家乡的故事和民间传说。1877年，威廉·叶芝进入葛多芬小学（Godolphin），并在那里学习了四年。不过威廉似乎并不喜欢在葛多芬的这段经历，而且成绩也并不突出。由于经济上的困难，诗人全家于1881年底迁回了都柏林。起初住在市中心，后来搬到位于郊外的皓斯（Howth）。 

  叶芝不仅仅是艾比剧院的决策者之一，也曾担任爱尔兰国会参议员一职。他十分重视自己的这些社会职务，他是爱尔兰参议院中有名的工作勤奋者。叶芝曾于1923年获得诺贝尔文学奖，获奖的理由是“用鼓舞人心的诗篇，以高度的艺术形式表达了整个民族的精神风貌（inspired poetry，which in a highly artistic form that gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation）”。被诗人艾略特誉为“当代最伟大的诗人”。 

  在皓斯的时光是诗人重要的发展阶段。皓斯周围是丘陵和树林，相传有精灵出没。叶芝家雇了一个女仆，是一个渔人的妻子，她熟知各类乡野传奇，娓娓道来的神秘冒险全都收录在后来出版的《凯尔特黄昏》里。

  1881年10月，诗人在都柏林的伊雷斯摩斯·史密斯中学（Erasmus Smith）继续他的学业。他父亲的画室就在这所学校附近，于是诗人经常在那里消磨时光，并结识了很多都柏林城的艺术家和作家。在这段时间里，叶芝大量阅读莎士比亚等英国作家的作品，并和那些比他年长许多的文学家、艺术家们讨论。他于1883年12月从这所中学毕业，其后他便开始了诗歌地创作。1885年，叶芝在《都柏林大学评论》上发表了他的第一部诗作，以及一篇题为《赛缪尔·费格森爵士的诗》的散文。从1884年到1886年，他就读于位于基尔岱尔大街的大都会艺术学校（Metropolitan School of Art），也就是如今爱尔兰国家美术与设计学院的前身。 早期作品《茵纳斯弗利岛》是叶芝在早期的代表作。该诗集中表现了诗人对资本主义文明的厌弃和对田园牧歌生活的无限向往，具有逃避现实的唯美倾向和鲜明的浪漫色彩。

  在开始进行诗歌创作之前，叶芝便已经尝试将诗歌和宗教观念、情感结合起来。在它的后续作品中，他在描述自己童年生活的时候曾说过“……我认为……如果是一种强大且悲天悯人的精神构成了这个世界的宿命，那么我们便可以通过那些融合了人的心灵、对这个世界的欲望的词句来更好地理解这种宿命。”

  叶芝早年的诗作通常取材于爱尔兰神话和民间传说，其语言风格则受到拉斐尔前派散文的影响。

  叶芝的家庭于1887年重新搬回伦敦。1890年，叶芝和欧那斯特·莱斯（Ernest Rhys）共同创建了“诗人会社” （Rhymer’s Club）。这是一个由一群志同道合的诗人们组成的文学团体，成员们定期集会并于1892年和1894年分别出版过自己的诗选。叶芝的早期作品还包括诗集《诗集》、《神秘的玫瑰》和《苇间风》。事实上，“诗人会社”的文学成就并不高，叶芝几乎是唯一取得了显著成就的诗人。

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

我要起身走了，去茵尼斯弗利岛，

用泥土和枝条，建造起一座小屋； 

我要有九排云豆架，一个蜜蜂巢， 

在林间听群蜂高唱，独居于幽处。

于是我会有安宁，安宁慢慢来到。 

从晨曦的面纱到蟋蟀歌唱的地方； 

午夜一片闪光，中午有紫霞燃烧， 

暮色里，到处飞舞着红雀的翅膀。 

我要起身走了，因为我总是听到， 

听到湖水日夜轻轻拍打着湖滨； 

我站在公路，或在灰色的人行道， 

我心灵深处总听见那波涛声声。

    诗歌第一句“I will arise and go now”，像是诗人下定决心要去执行一个完美的计划—启程前往那个叫做Innisfree的岛屿(亦被译为“茵梦湖岛”)……这句话听起来多么熟悉，活脱脱是“来次说走就走的旅行”那个烂俗口号被美化之后的模样。

  其实，整首诗歌的语言都是波澜不惊，自由纯真。在即将到来的独自隐居生活中，诗人说，他将亲手DIY一个屋子，再种上九排豆子，养一窝蜜蜂；他就那样静静地看燃烧的紫霞和红雀的翅膀，听蜜蜂嗡嗡、蟋蟀歌唱和湖水拍打着岸边的声响。

  诗里透出的平静与诗人年龄极不相衬，因为写这首诗时叶芝年仅23岁。但是，诗歌读来没有沉沉暮气，也不让人觉得颓丧。诗中的趣味和情怀、以及对内心平静的追求，在近一个半世纪后今天这个喧嚣的时代，读来依然令人倾心不已。

  对遁世隐居的描写历来是人们的梦想和诗人的题材，比如陶渊明的“采菊东篱下，悠然见南山”，海子的“我有一所房子，面朝大海，春暖花开”，或者美国作家梭罗笔下的“瓦尔登湖”。

  连岛主·Sean这样在俗世里挣扎着讨生活的人也爱那拍岸的湖水，也爱紫霞燃烧和鸟语花香，也恐惧繁华都市里满目的荒凉......也有一颗建岛遁世的狂想和野心，也爱这首诗中的一切。其实，如果不是韵脚会别扭，Sean肯定会把诗中的地名换掉，篡改为本岛的岛歌。