William Butler Yeats's Life and Poetry: A Humanistic Psychological Analysis-by Devi Nina Bingham

Humanistic psychology "...sees creativity as a means of compensating for areas of the personality that are otherwise lacking" (Adler, 1956, referenced by May, 1975, & Frager, Fadimen, 1984). With this bold assertion in mind, I shall evaluate William Butler Yeat's poetry through the Humanist perspective. One may argue that Yeats is one of the greatest poets of the 20th century because of the ways in which his themes, symbols, and metaphors, as well as his fanciful, introspective manner, reveal the breadth of his personal experience and highlight the events that were taking place in Ireland at the time. However, Yeats' main goal in writing poetry was to use it to express himself—his thoughts, opinions, and longings.

Certainly, Yates sought to convert his existence into art, but not in a common day-to-day way. Instead, he used stories from Irish and Greek mythology, and the popular concepts of Spiritualism to speak for him. Yates mixed these subjects with more common stories from English literature, and politics of the time to illustrate his perspective through prose. But was his creativity “compensating for what was lacking in his personality?”

Yeats developed a deep attachment to Ireland at an early age and turned nationalist primarily in opposition to British colonial authority. He became a senator for two terms to serve the Ireland he loved and wanted to protect. His early writings included tales of mythology and mythical figures and praised the grandeur of Ireland. He thought that poetry might be utilized to inform the public, as well as to assess and comment on political events. An artist may escape reality via their work, according to Maslow's Humanist theory of creativity. Furthermore, when effort and higher mental processes are combined, great works of art are the result (Maslow, 1968). Yeats used poetry as a means of escaping the harsh reality of a world that was at war both locally, and nationally.

Despite Yeats' early rejection of Christianity, his lifelong study of mythology, spiritualism, and the occult shows a deep fascination with the paranormal. He built a sophisticated spiritual system in the 1920s and 1930s. By deciphering a mystical collection of symbols, he developed his Spiritualist philosophy, which he then documented in A Vision. His desire to discover mystical truths is comparable to that of psychologist Carl Jung, who created sophisticated theories of creativity that claim that a universal Collective Consciousness provides the inspiration for what he called "visionary art" (quoted by May, 1975). In accordance with Jung's theory, the artist is accountable for disseminating their creations to the general populace since, once connected to the Collective Unconscious, they can access heavenly regions and begin to channel divine thoughts.

Yeats' protracted artistic career began as a romantic poet. His early poems were self-reflective in tone and subject, centered on the desire for love and Irish folklore. His early poetry follows conventional rhyme schemes, meters, and romantic verse forms. The love undertones of Yeats' early poems were inspired by his failed engagement with Maud Gonne. The Adler theory of compensation makes the most sense in this situation. Yeats lacked the means to convince his muse to wed him; his several proposals of marriage were turned down, yet he persisted in expressing his passion for her in poetry. Adler's argument holds that he was so upset by her rejection that he wrote about his sentiments in public, making up for the fact that he would experience unrequited love for most of his life.

People's understanding of themselves and the outside world grows as they age. This may be seen in Yeat's poetry, which evolved from idealistic to pragmatic and straightforward over time. Yeat's poetry evolved with him. The English translation of the German word gestalt is "An integrated whole." As his self-awareness increased, Yeats discovered the personal gestalt he had been seeking in a happy marriage and becoming a parent.

We can all agree that art can be therapeutic. In fact, some art therapists don't even do any psychoanalysis on their patients, instead helping them express their emotions via their creations. Can creating anything through writing, music, or art provide the same results as psychotherapy? Does the unconscious mind have the ability to guide us, much like a therapist, so that the artist might be cured via their art?

Yeats is an example of a person who used creativity to make up for personal shortcomings. But he was politically engaged and wrote about politics, which shouldn't be viewed as a consolation but rather as a direct confrontation with the concerns surrounding Irish independence. His poem "Easter 1916" is a reflection on the British killing of 700 Irish nationalists in Dublin. Yeats was described as "an indisputably great national poet who during a period of anti-imperialist resistance articulates the experiences, the restorative vision of a people suffering under the domination of an offshore power" by Said (1993). Yeat's creative concentration had expanded to include contemporary issues rather than just his own limited perspective. It is usual for artists of all stripes to use their work to make social remarks, and some even believe it is the responsibility of the artist to do so. Did Yeats have a sense of fullness or completion known as a gestalt towards the conclusion of his life?

We need to consider the comments Yeats made in the latter period of his life in order to respond to this. At the height of his renown, the poet passed away in the month of January 1939 on the French Riviera at the age of 73, but not before leaving behind three poems that captured his lingering melancholy. A work on his involvement in the 1916 Easter slaughter called "Man and the Echo" is rife with remorse. In "The Circus Animal's Desertion," he mocks his attempt to use poetry to make a statement. Additionally, he derides his fondness for younger ladies in "Politics." In the Atlantic (2014), Jennie Rothenburg Gritz writes, "All these years later, the three poems are still profoundly unnerving. Yeats was after all an Irish senator, Nobel Prize laureate, and co-founder of his nation's national theater. What hope is there for everyone else if a man like him could look back on a career of achievements and write them off as worthless vanity?”

We may observe a prolific artist who was still secretly at battle with himself based on Yeats' own testimony. He was still consumed by the same forbidden and longed-for love that he had when he first met married lady Maude. He feels gloomy about the overall impact of his poetry and worries that his poems may have sparked the rebellion in 1916. His artistic ability was not a sufficient remedy to rid him of his feelings of inferiority. Like most great artists, he is obviously highly critical of his work and regrets his own inadequacies. Therefore, in Yeat's instance at least, his art did not exonerate the creator of the emptiness he felt on the inside.

Modern readers may find Yeats' poetry to be a perplexing fusion of mysticism, Irish history, and personal contemplation. However, Yeat's goal was always to make his secret romantic desires and longings for a better country known. According to Humanistic psychology, Yeats and other high-caliber performers like them do so for a number of reasons. They could be making up for a lack of something. They can be using their work as an escape from reality. They could be trying to get in touch with the divine. They could be communicating messages from higher worlds. They could be aiming for an "integrated whole," or gestalt. Yeats is still recognized as one of the most relatable poets of all time, despite his critical assessment of himself at the conclusion of his life.

                                      Works Cited

 Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward A Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

 

Said, E. (1993). Yeats and Decolonization. Culture and Imperialism., (New York: Vintage), pp.220-239. Yeats, W.B. and Postcolonialism – Postcolonial Studies (emory.edu)

Perls, F. S. (1969). Gestalt Therapy Verbatim. Real People Press, Lafayette, California.

Gritz, J. R. (2014). The Deathbed Confessions of William Butler Yeats. The Atlantic. The Deathbed Confessions of William Butler Yeats - The Atlantic

 

Fragar, R., & Fadiman, J. (1984). Personality and Psychotherapy. Cambridge : Harper & Row.

 

May, R. (1975). The Courage To Create. Cambridge : Harper & Row.