Eastern-Hearted Once Again: Yeats’s Eastern Interests and Mysticism

William Butler Yeats is a literary pillar of twentieth-century modernism. He was interested in the mystical and mythical elements of the dominant world cultures. Accordingly, he interpreted history in a context that broadly negotiated with magic, the occult, theosophy, alchemy, astrology, mythology, mysticism, and religion. He was not attracted to any specific culture, even though he was an enthusiastic poet of his Celtic culture, particularly in his early work. His dual Anglo-Irish identity did create a severe conflict in his personality; however, that conflict was fruitful, as it led him to consider most of the significant cultures during his lifetime. His Romantic background and affinity further led him to the Romantic East, then exemplified by the charming stories and magic of the Arabian Nights. The Eastern influence in Yeats’s work extended to include the mystical visions found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism or Cabbala, and Islam or Sufism. He saw his own Celtic culture as rooted in the East; and his love of that culture brought him into a direct opposition with modernity and motivated him, along with Lady Gregory and J. M. Synge, to launch the Irish cultural revival.