W.B. Yeats and the Muses

273 Pages·2010·2.06 MB·English

by  Joseph M. Hassett

W.B. YEATS AND THE MUSES
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W.B. YEATS AND
THE MUSES
JOSEPH M. HASSETT
1
3
GreatClarendonStreet,OxfordOX26DP
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Contents
ListofPlates vi
Acknowledgments vii
Abbreviations x
ManuscriptMaterialAbbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
1. WhiteWomanThatPassionHasWorn:
OliviaShakespear 11
2. WheretheBlessedDance:FlorenceFarr 37
3. TheAppleontheBoughMostOutofReach:
MaudGonne 65
4. TheLivingBeauty:IseultGonne 103
5. OutofaMedium’sMouth:GeorgeHyde-Lees 131
6. InSearchoftheMuse:MemoriesofLoveandLyrics
forImaginaryPeople 157
7. AFoolish,PassionateMan:MargotRuddockand
EthelMannin 169
8. Fury:DorothyWellesley 185
9. GoldenCodgerandSiren:YeatsandEdith
ShackletonHeald 199
Finale 209
Endnotes 213
Bibliography 235
Index 245
List of Plates
1. OliviaShakespear,fromLiteraryYearbook,1897. 10
2. FlorenceFarrinASicilianIdyll. 36
3. MaudGonne,c.1890–92. 64
4. IseultGonne,c.1918. 102
5. GeorgeandW.B.Yeats,1920. 130
6. MargotRuddock,fromAh,SweetDancer. 168
7. EthelMannin. 180
8. DorothyWellesleyandYeats,atPennsintheRocks,c.1936. 184
9. EdithShackletonHealdandYeatsatChantryHousein
1937or1938. 198
Acknowledgments
Thisbookwouldbeimpossiblebutforthefactthatitsauthorstandsonthe
shoulders of giants: Roy Foster, author of the incomparable W.B. Yeats:
ALife;JohnKelly,generaleditorofthemagnificentlyeditedandannotated
ongoingeditionofYeats’sletters;WarwickGouldandDeirdreToomey,
editor and long-time research editor of Yeats Annual; Ann Saddlemyer,
author of the informative Becoming George; and Stephen Parrish, Ann
Saddlemyer, Phillip L. Marcus and Jon Stallworthy, general editors of
TheCornellYeats.
To explore any area of Yeats’s life or work in detail is necessarily to
marvelatFoster’sabilitysimultaneouslytomastersignificantdetailand
articulateitinthecontextofbroaderthemes.TheannotationsinKelly’s
edition of the letters never fail to enlighten, fascinate, and amuse. The
extraordinarydevotionandscholarshipofWarwickGouldandDeirdre
Toomey make the Yeats Annual an essential source of context and
depth. The Cornell Yeats provides scholars with the great gift of easy
accesstoYeats’smanuscripts.
Ihavebeenparticularlyfortunatetohavehadtheenormousbenefitand
pleasure of conversing with Roy Foster, John Kelly, Warwick Gould,
Deirdre Toomey and Ann Saddlemyer about all things Yeatsian – and
beyond. I have benefited from the generosity and kindness of the late
MichaelandAnneYeatsovermanyyears,andthecourtesyofGra´inneand
Caitr´ıonaYeats.
IamgratefultoBernardO’Donoghueforhisinsightandsuggestions;
Hermione Lee whose pointed questions always signaled the need for a
deeper analysis; Patrick Crotty who invited me to lecture at the Yeats
International Summer School while the ideas in the book were taking
shape; the students at the school for their comments and suggestions;
AndrewMcNeilliewho,ascommissioningeditor,supportedtheideaof
this book from its inception; Jacqueline Baker and Ariane Petit, who
saw it to completion; scholars and writers who shared their ideas and
friendship,includingJamesPethica,ChristineKelly,A.DavidMoody,
TonyGibbs,andColinSmythe.IameternallyindebtedtothelateGus
MartinforshowingmehowsatisfyingYeatsscholarshipcanbe,andto
thelateDerryJeffaresforhisveryhelpfulassistanceatthebeginningof
theroad.
viii Acknowledgments
Special thanks are due to the President and Fellows of St. John’s
College, Oxford for their hospitality and support. Custodians and
librarianshavebeenuniformlyhelpful,inparticular,Dr.IssacGewirtz,
BergCollection, New YorkPublic Library;Katherine Reagan, Cornell
UniversityLibrary;TeresaBurk,RobertW.WoodruffLibrary,Emory
University;ErinChase,TheHuntingtonLibrary;DenaWilliams,Lilly
Library, University of Indiana; Richard Temple, Shannen Chu, and
Tansy Barton, Senate House Library, University of London; Laura
Ruttum, New York Public Library; Colette O’Daly and Ma´ıre ni
Chonalla´ın, National Library of Ireland; Dr. B.C. Barker-Benfield,
theBodleianLibrary,UniversityofOxford;VerityAndrews,University
ofReadingLibrarySpecialCollections;KristinJ.Nyitray,StonyBrook
UniversityLibraries;MarcCarlson,MilissaBurkart,andBrendaBrown,
McFarlin Library, University of Tulsa; and Eva Guggemos, Beinecke
Rare Book and Manuscripts Library, Yale University. I am grateful to
Dr. Eva Hesse and The Lady Elizabeth Clyde for their courtesy and
assistance.
Certain poetry, prose, and unpublished writings by W.B. Yeats
appearbypermission ofAPWattLtdonbehalf of Gra´inne Yeats, and
Scribner,adivisionofSimon&Schuster,Inc.Thepoem‘Portraitd’une
Femme’ by Ezra Pound from PERSONAE, copyright (cid:1) 1926 by Ezra
Pound,isreprintedbypermissionofNewDirectionsPublishingCorp.
‘LettertoEvaHesse,November5,1954’byEzraPound,fromPREVI-
OUSLY UNPUBLISHED MATERIAL, copyright (cid:1) 2010 Mary de
Rachewiltz and Omar S. Pound is reprinted by permission of New
DirectionsPublishingCorp.BernardShaw’sletterof29March1894to
Elizabeth Robbins is quoted with the permission of the Society of
Authorsonbehalfof theBernardShawEstate.‘TheShadowofNoon’
byIseultGonneisquotedbykindpermissionofChristinaBridgewater.
I am also grateful to the following holders who have granted access to
previously unpublished material: John Quinn Papers, Manuscript and
Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and
Tilden Foundations; the National Library of Ireland owner of the
unpublished draft of Per Amica Silentia Lunae and Yeats’s P.I.A.L.
Notebook; and McFarlin Library, University of Tulsa (Marc Carlson,
SpecialCollectionsLibrarian).
Iamgratefulforthehelpofagreatmanyindividualswhoassistedme
in obtaining permissions, including Jane Cram, Ruth Tellis, Declan
Spring,LisaDowdeswell,and,especially,EmilyKitchinofAPWattLtd
and Yessenia Santos of Simon & Schuster, Inc. for their gracious and
Acknowledgments ix
diligentassistance.IamdeeplyindebtedtoLeslieGibbsforhercareful
attentiontothetypescript.
Every effort has been made to establish contact with the holders of
originalcopyrights;incaseswherethishasnotbeenpossible,Ihopethis
generalacknowledgmentwillbetakenassufficient.