Research Paper on:
'Coole Park and Ballylee, 1931' by William Butler Yeats

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
loveliness" (lines 41-42). While Yeats came after what is generally regarded as the Romantic era, an assessment of this statement demonstrates that it is an accurate representation of Yeats and  his contemporaries, rather than simple posturing. Looking to the context of the poem demonstrates Yeats version of romanticism, which is embedded in his love of the Irish country. First  of all, it is instructive to define what is meant to the term "romanticism" and how this term applies to literature. The German post-Kantian philosophy, which was central to many  of the characteristic ideas of European romanticism, assimilated various functions, which had previously been the sole prerogative of Divinity (Abrams, et al, 1968). The pivotal concept that originated during the  Romantic era was that the mind, itself, was the creator of the universe that it perceives (Abrams, et al, 1968). Reflecting this concept, the Romantic era saw the beginning of  an introspective mode of writing that, rather exploring society at large, looked inwardly to use literature as a way of exploring personal space. This is what Yeats sets out to  do in "Coole Park and Ballylee, 1931," as he explores metaphorically the manner in which he relates to the land surrounding his estate. The title places the poem geographically in  the Irish countryside. Thoor Ballylee was Yeats famous summer home, and Coole Park refers to the nearby estate of Yeats life-long friend Lady Augusta Gregory (Randall, 2000). Yeats begins  by describing the pristine beauty of the landscape outside his window, with its abundant life. From the beginning of the poem, there are numerous classical references. For example, the last  line of this stanza asks, "Whats water but the generated soul" (line 8). According to the website of the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco (PGILM), this line refers to