Book Description

This book presents a broad survey of the Dutch reception of the work of William Butler Yeats during his lifetime. Yeats' important, wide-ranging oeuvre marks the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. The response to his poetry, drama and prose exemplifies the Dutch reception of English romanticism as well as modernism, and reveals the workings of canon formation. The author has investigated the early days of Dutch Anglistics, showing that teachers of English were of little influence in the Yeats reception. Instead, the Dutch sympathy for the Irish cause and a taste for romantic literature prove to be essential factors in arousing enthusiasm for his early writings. Apart from the well-publicised performances of The Only Jealousy of Emer, Yeats' modern work was given little attention. Although poets like A. Roland Holst, P.N. van Eyck and J.C. Bloem were very well acquainted with Yeats' oeuvre and accumulated impressive collections, reading modern Yeats largely remained a private affair.