ABSTRACT
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was, in the opinion of many judges, the greatest modem poet of the English language. He was born, the son of the artist John Butler Yeats, in Dublin, but spent most of his childhood in County Sligo in the West of Ireland, where his grandfather had been a rector in the protestant Church of Ireland. After studying for a while in Dublin, where he was exposed to the influence of the Irish nationalist movement and the associated revival of interest in Irish folklore, Yeats migrated to London. Here he formed many friendships with the poets and artists of the Decadence, took a leading role in the founding of the Rhymers' Club, and dabbled enthusiastically in theosophy, magic, spiritualism, and other exotic and esoteric traditions.
