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A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick
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'OUT OF A MEDIUM'S MOUTH':
YEATS'S ART IN RELATION TO MEDIUMSHIP,
SPIRITUALISM,
AND PSYCHICAL RESEARCH
By
SPYRIDON
ILIOPOULOS, B. A., M. A.
Thesis
for the degree Ph. D
submitted
of
UNIVERSITY
OF WARWICK
Department
English
of Comparative Literary Studies
and.
41
October' 1.985
I
C0NTENTS
page
V
PLATES
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SUMMARY viii
ix
ABBREVIATIONS
1
INTRODUCTION
1
Subject the Thesis .'
of
towards
Attitudes
A. Survey Critical
of
2
the Subject
14
Plan the Thesis
of
Notes tolntroduction
19
22
CHAPTER 1: YEATS'S SPIRITUALISTIC PAPERS
23
Records Seances
of
24
1912
30
1913
31
1914
33
1915
36
1916
'Correspondence' 37
Leo Africanus
with
37
Essays
38
'The
Poet the Actress'
and
40
'Clairvoyant
Search for Will'
41
Correspondence
Friends Associates
with and
Writings 41
by Others
ii
page
Henry Bergson's 'Presidential Address'
to the SPR 42
The 'Note-book Stainton Moses' 42
of
Notes to Chapter 46
1
CHAPTER
2: YEATS AS A 'SPIRITUALIST' AND 'PSYCHICAL
51
RESEARCHER'
Background 52
Information
The 'Leo Case' 59
73
The Radcliffe Experiments
79
The Alleged Miracle Mirebeau
at
81
Conclusion
85
Notes to Chapter 2
AS AN
CHAPTER 3: THE WORDS UPON THE WINDOW-PANE
91
EXAMPLE
107
Notes to Chapter 3
110
CHAPTER 4: RESPONSIBILITIES: AFIRST ATTEMPT
127
Notes to Chapter 4
CHAPTER 5: THE WILD SWANS AT COOLE: GHOSTLY
129
PRESENCES
138
Notes to'Chapter 5
CHAPTER 6: 'EGO DOMINUS TUUS': YEATS, LEO AFRICANUS,
140
AND THE PROCESS OF SELF-TRANSFORMATION
167
Notes to Chapter 6
CHAPTER
7: SPIRITUALISTIC SCENARIOS IN MICHAEL
174
ROBARTES AND THE DANCER
194
Notes
to Chapter 7
199
CHAPTER 8: FROM THE TOWER TO LAST POEMS
.
iii
page
Notes to Chapter 8' 226
230
CONCLUSION
233
Notes to Conclusion
234
NOTE ON A PPENDICES
237
APPENDIX A: Records Seances
of
A: 1 'Report Seance', May 9,1912 237
of
A: 2 'Seance held Cambridge House', June
at
5,1912 242
A: 3 'Seance Peters', October 26,1912 247
with
[with]
A: 4 'Second Seance Peters', October
253
27,1912
A: 5 'Third Seance Peters. October 27,
with
257
1912
6 265
A: 'Peters' Seance", October 30,1912
270
A: 7 'Seances Madame Bissontst, May 1914
at
jecord
274
A: Seance] May 7,1915
8
of
,
277
A: 9 'Seance Mrs Harris', July 8,1915
with
281
A: 10 'Seance Mrs'Wriedt's', July 20,1915
at
Record
283
A: 11 Seance] July 22,1915
of
,
[Lady
A: 12 Gregory Converses 'Hugh
with
284
Lane, July 25,1915
A: 13 'Sitting Mrs Leonard', December
with
285
27,1916
289
APPENDIX B MS headed 'Leo Africanus'
:
322
APPENDIX C Essays
:
"
322
C: 1 'The Poet the Actress'
and
C: 2 'Clairvoyant Search for Will' 330
"
iv
page
APPENDIX D: 'Note-book
Stainton Moses'- 340
of
BIBLIOGRAPHY 353
P LATE S
page
Plate 1: Page 1 'Seance held Cambridge
of at
House',
June
5,1912
24
P1ate, 2s Page 'The
12 Poet
of the Actress'
and 38
Plate
3: The first
Leo's letter 69
page to Yeats
of
Plate
4: The first
Yeats's
page to
of
postscript
Leo
72
FI
ACKN0WLEDGEMENTS
deep
I to my gratitude
First foremost, express.
wish
and
the University
J. R. Mulryne
Professor of
to
my supervisor,
Warwick, for his guidance and skilled
unfailing
of
the
Certainly, many and often
editorial assistance.
this thesis
the
of would
of preparation
painful phases
his
have to patience.
without
come nothing
to Professor Arnold Goldman
of
I
am also grateful
'Yeats, Spirit-
Keele,
the University
on
of whose essay
Research' in George Mills Harper'
Psychical 5
ualisM,
and
Yeats the Occult(19750916) has been
and a major stimulus.
Professor Goldman his ideas
shared with me and papers
with generosity.
Thanks to the helpful Senator
correspondence of
Michael Yeats, I have been to information
able obtain
to,
Yeats
about, and access unpublished material,
without this thesis have been
which
would not possible.
Grateful
M.
is to Professor
acknowledgement
made
Byron Raizis
the University Athens, for he has
of
of
been
a influence
positive he
with
since encouraged me
his
favourable
Yeats.
criticism
of my published work on
I
should thank
also the Guillermo
mathematician
vii
Pastor for long discussions the between
on relationship
science and psychical research.
To the following I for
people am grateful various
kinds Mr John Goode, Senior Lecturer in
of assistance:
English the University Warwick, Dr Andrew Horton,
at of
Associate Professor Film Literature the University
of and at
New Orleans, Dr Ruth Gounelas Mrs Liana Sakelliou.
of and
Moreover, I to thank the the National
wish staff of
Library Ireland, the Society for Psychical
of as well as
Research.
Finally, I to Xanthi, for
am grateful my wife without
her I have this
patient assistance would not completed
thesis, her keen I have trusted
and without sight would not
my magnifying
glass.
I
SUMMARY
The this thesis is to that, despite
aim of show a number of
frowned ignored W. B. Yeatsts
critics who either upon or
interests, his
encounter;
psychical consideration of mediumistic
his
between 1911 1916 is indispensable to the
and study of
his
Indeed, Yeats's
art. unpublished records of seances and
his direct
other spiritualistic papers often present us with
inspiration towards
sources of and point an understanding
his
their in
of subsequent elaboration some of celebrated
works.
('Yeats's Papers'
Chapter 1 2 Spiritualistic
and
and
'Yeats "Spiritualist" "Psychical Researcher"')
as a and
information
material
supply general as regards unpublished
'controls',
describe Yeats's involvement
and with medium's,
'spirit-visitors'.
and
Chapter 3 ('The Words-upon the Window-pane as an
Example')' deals Yeats's sources and
with spiritualistic
his
their dramatic in his only
elaboration seance-play,
he direct setting
work where made use of a spiritualistic
the typical frequent
and of personae who seance-rooms.
Although Yeats's discussed-in
a chronological
other works are
this is here, for it
contains
order,, play given priority
his
themes
art.
some major, and motifs which pervade
A First Attempt',
Chapters4 51-('Responsibilities:
and
deal
'The Wild Swans Coole: Ghostly Presences') with
and at
his
Yeats's to introduce of
aspects
attempts some major
his
interests into his by 'invoking'
psychical poetry
in
dead by the such
poems
and adopting persona of a medium
'To Shade' 'In Memory Major Robert Gregory'.
as a and of
6 (""Ego Leo Africanus,
Chapter Dominus Tuus": Yeats,
the Process Self-transformation') deals
separately
and of
Swans
Wild
'Ego Dominus'Tuus'', from-The
with another poem
Coole. to Yeats ts his oý site's
with
at -in relation encounter ,
the the
'ghost. ' Leo Africanus,; his formulation of
of and
the 'Daemon'.
concept of
Chapters7 8 ('Sp. iritualistic Scenarios in Michael
and
Robartes the Dancer' 'From The Tower to Last Poems')
and and
Yeats's later theme's,
examine use of motifs, and central
to research.
situations particular spiritualism and psychical
Yeats's
Finally, the Conclusion that,
although
suggests
'great
investigations did the
question
psychical not answer
whether the be immortal his
soul or not', mediumistic
images,
scenarios
encounters provided with symbols, and
his determined his literary
which enriched art and often
tactics.