THE ROSE IMAGERY IN W. B. YEATS’S POETRY

Abstract

This thesis aims at studying the imagery of rose in the poetry of W. B. Yeats. Of his different kinds of symbols, the rose is one of his most significant poetic materials. The rose symbolizes Maud Gonne for Yeats. We usually associate the rose with Maud Gonne and her beauty, but this thesis seeks to expand the meanings of the rose in his poetry to include not only Maud Gonne but also nostalgia, Irish nationalism, and the destructive force. Yeats, while staying in London, thought this place was uncomfortable. It may be because Sligo was his emotional and artistic home, where he had spent his childhood, serving as a crucial root for his poetic development. In “The Mountain Tomb” the rose represents his nostalgia for his home. In many of early poems, Yeats makes use of the rose to describe his love for Maud Gonne and her beauty. For example, this is well delineated in two of his poems “The Secret Rose” and “The Rose of Peace.” And Yeats was a patriot. His nationalism was caused by Maud Gonne’s patriotism. This Irish nationalism finds expression in poems such as “The Lover tells of the Rose in his Heart,” “To Ireland in the Coming Times,” and “The Rose Tree.” Finally, the rose represents destructive force, which is caused by Maud Gonne. She does not always symbolize the positive aspects of the rose, such as eternal beauty or nationalism. Such poems include “The White Birds,” “The Rose of the World,” and “The Rose of Battle.” In conclusion, Yeats’s rose has diverse meanings though they look so simple at a glance: the rose represents Maud Gonne, nostalgia, Irish nationalism, and a destructive force in his poetry. Thus, Yeats expands the imagery of the rose in his poetry. Therefore, understanding the rose imagery is an important way to understand his poetry better.