Mythologies

by W.B. Yeats

The only edition currently available of Yeats's retellings of the ancient stories of Ireland, Mythologies is comprised of three classic collections: The Celtic Twilight, The Secret Rose, and Stories of Red Hanrahan.Yeats traveled all over Ireland in search of authentic folklore and folk traditions, and many of the pieces are introduced with engaging accounts of the storytellers who shared the legends that had been passed down through their families. Yeats's fascination with the occult infuses several of the stories, and Mythologies includes a section of essays presenting the poet's speculations on the supernatural, as well as his theories about Irish mysticism.

Such recent bestsellers as How the Irish Saved Civilization and Angela's Ashes demonstrate the popularity of books about the Irish and Ireland. Mythologies will appeal to this audience -- and to every adult and child who enjoys the magical power of a well-told tale.

Genres: Mythology, Poetry, Fiction, Irish Literature, Classics, Ireland, Short Stories

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years Yeats served as an Irish Senator for two terms. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and along with Lady Gregory and Edward Martyn founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Nobel Committee described as "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." He was the first Irishman so honored. Yeats is generally considered one of the few writers who completed their greatest works after being awarded the Nobel Prize; such works include The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1929).

Yeats was born and educated in Dublin but spent his childhood in County Sligo. He studied poetry in his youth, and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. Those topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889, and those slow paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser and Percy Bysshe Shelley, as well as to the Pre-Raphaelite poets. From 1900, Yeats' poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, as well as with cyclical theories of life.
--from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was all great until I got to "Per Amica Silentia Lunae" which was a jumble and made my brain hurt trying to parse my way through it. I should get a medal for finishing it. I can't decide if Yeats was truly gifted or utterly whacked.

Just FYI, there is much more to this book than fairies and the occasional ghosts. Rosa Alchemica, The Tables of the Law, and The Adoration of the Magi point toward apocalyptic visions (with a lovely esoteric creep factor running through it all). In The Stories of Red Hanrahan you get a traveling teacher who has been given a chance to commune with immortals and blows the invitation, making him a wandering outcast needing to work his way back, and in The Secret Rose (which was my favorite) true, eternal wisdom is hidden, sought after, given, and often cast off by those who are not able to understand it.

This is certainly a simplistic overview and I'll speak to it more fully when I have a block of time. For the moment -- recommended, but this is another case of looking beneath the obvious.

back with more soon.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having skirted the chasm of Dark Lord/Cat!Harry fanfic, I wandered off after a cup of tea. Still considering the cheap and troubled waters of fandom, it occurred to me I hadn't had a leather-bound book in my hands in quite some time and was currently shoving furniture around in an room filled with Persian poetry, ancient warfare, and the autobiographies of men and woman of fame.

So I sat down with William Butler Yeats, whose 'Mythologies' was approximately the right size and weight. I will not lie, it was a feast after far too long with a bag of chips. Gorgeous writing, of course. His delving stays away from sense and yet skewers sensibility. Humanity examined. Scenery detailed, while the presented characters are often little more than wax figures with a ragged bit of witchery around their bony shoulders. Culture laid bare and all that. Seriously, was there any child in the history of Ireland that was not molested? 'Off with the fairies' indeed. Over and over, you read the symptoms of shock, sexual abuse and PTSD; that isn't the touch of the Little People, people.

This is a compilation of three previous books, and the second part, The Secret Rose, is far and away best. It presents as less chopped and piecemeal than the first section, Celtic Twilight, which was edited so savagely the original book would be a better choice, while yet giving a full accounting of what it is to be Irish; the third section, Stories of Red Hanrahan, depends upon a less-than-attractive character, and as such falls flat.

You can always find some interesting tidbits in the liner notes, in old books. He's a total bastard towards the Lady who put her time in editing, writing, copying out and duenna-ing him about the Irish skyline. Lady Who? Yes, precisely. She gets a note page with her name on it, and the occasional offhand 'oh, my friend mentioned to me' now and then. Just stripped her out -- was it him, or the publisher who made that decision? Bastard. Goes on to makes a very snide case for reading his edition of what it appears were well-covered folktales, bashing the more recent versions in print like a scorned lover.

Highly recommended!

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a collection of three of Yeats' pamphlet-esque collections of Irish folklore - Celtic Twilight, Secret Rose and Stories of Red Hanrahan - this seems like it should be great. But a weird thing happened on the way to its collection: Yeats grew up. As happens to many of us, as he matured Yeats grew more conservative; he quit the Golden Dawn, the occult society, and sidled towards more conventional religion. By the time he put this collection together, he was embarrassed by some of its more flowery ideas, and the end result is that he edited all the fun out of it. See my review of Celtic Twilight, and then consider this: neither of the quotes in that review made it into this book.

It's not worthless; Yeats collecting Irish folklore will never be worthless. But the original is exhilarating, bursting with ideas; this is more stodgy. It's just not as cool.

[Paul H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, at least now I know why Joyce mocked the Irish revival stuff so mercilessly.

[ThePrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a weird and strange collection of stories. The first part, Celtic Twilight, was interesting enough, dealing with a time gone-by in Ireland when folks believed there to be a 'second sight', and all the strange sights and happenings that came with such a gift (a curse?). The Secret Rose was probably the best section, in that it was pure story, and seemed to fall more in line with traditional Gaelic myth and folklore. After that, it got incredibly bizarre. The Stories of Red Hanrahan and following three collections of stories were far more mystic and intertwined reality with fantasy far too much. Mortals wrestling with immortals, secret alchemy societies, the recompense for entertaining demons in the guise of Greek gods and such, it felt like the sort of thing you might write after a fever dream or not quite right in the head. The last section was just mind-boggling nonsense.

I knew that Yeats was involved in occultish things for a great deal of his life, and it comes across very starkly here. Before this, the only Yeats I had read was his poem 'The Second Coming', which has very Christian connotations and imagery. However, these compositions are enough for me to not want to plunge my hands into the waters of Yeats again.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

dreamy and interesting but very much a ramble at times!

[Daniel J Truman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly this volume edits down some great parts of the Celtic Twilight otherwise it's lovely

[Carlos Puig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernardo O'Higgins tenía ascendencia irlandesa, pero no nace de ahí mi simpatía por ese país. Lo que me atrae y me gusta de Irlanda es su carácter independentista y republicano, el verde característico de sus tierras, la cerveza Guinnes, sus antepasados celtas, San Patricio y la tradición monástica, entre otras razones.

En este libro de Yeats se reúnen 5 colecciones de relatos donde se puede apreciar la riqueza imaginativa del alma irlandesa y las virtudes literarias y poéticas de su autor. Relatos donde la magia y la vida simple y cotidiana se funden, donde personajes típicos del mundo rural conviven con criaturas mágicas, dioses antiguos y espíritus diversos.

También integran algunos de estos relatos el ambiente medieval, donde lo pagano y lo cristiano no se separan tan claramente, además del misticismo cristiano y visiones esotéricas que tensionan al narrador y a otros personajes.

Relatos que nos sumergen en un mundo maravilloso altamente imaginativo y develador donde se abordan temáticas universales de profundo sentido humano, con una riqueza simbólica y narrativa que provoca asombro y deleite.

Sin duda, la lectura de este bellísimo libro incrementa mi cariño por Irlanda y su riqueza cultural y literaria.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in the mood for some weird Irish folk stories so I picked up my copy of William Butler Yeats’ Mythologies, and it certainly did not disappoint in the “weird” department.

This book is actually several works jammed together into one volume, and they have precious little to do with each other. The first work, “The Celtic Twilight,” is a series of short anecdotes of odd stories Yeats has heard from various rustic persons around Ireland. “The Secret Rose” gets into tales that in form are a bit more recognizable as fairy-stories. “Stories of Red Hanrahan” is a series of short fairy-tales concerning the life of the titular poet, which is full of odd and magically inflected misfortunes. After that things get bizarre, with a batch of stories about alchemy and mysticism and religion, followed by some of Yeat’s philosophizing on the same subjects and also art.

Overall this was a dreamy, interesting read, if a bit hard to follow at times. I feel like I don’t have the background in weird mysticism stuff required to follow the stories at the end of it, although I could probably fix that. The fairy-tales were fun in a rustic, sometimes nonsensical way.

Originally posted at Sidhe and alchemy.

[Chester J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5
Starts out with a lovely collection of folk tales, then a rather arbitrary but nicely written collection of other short stories, and finally descends in the final fraction into an almost incomprehensible rant about spirits. Very enjoyable all the same, and contains my favourite poem of all time.

[Fausto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Linda recopilación de fábulas, cuentos y leyendas de Irlanda que permite conocer un poco más la vasta cultura de ese país. Una grandiosa escritura del Nobel de Literatura 1923 Yeats que abarca una increíble cantidad de historias e idiosincracia del pueblo, de su manera de afrontar esas historias y de como afectaba a sus actividades diarias

[Ryan Ginley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the proper folklore bits. Towards the end it gets into just people he knows and things that happened him (which is still interesting enough), but then into just random thoughts on things which gets a bit convoluted. almost like random chapters from a religious text

[Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4 -- Really enjoyed.

[Jay Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. Like reading the footnotes to a Yeats poem

[Susi Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astoundingly universal tales. A life-changer.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was on an esoterica kick when I started on Mythologies and so was primed for some of the more bizarre portions in the second half of the collection. I was further assisted by the book's sections being arranged in order by increasing opaqueness. Starts off with a find retelling of various traditional Irish folk stories in The Celtic Twilight (which shares it name with the revival movement of Irish literature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries). The Secret Rose stories read as parables and are my favorite of the bunch; each is worth returning to to absorb something new. The Stories of Red Hanrahan are melancholic, at times apocalyptic, and generally seem to mourn the passing of an age in Ireland. Rosa Alchemica, The Tables of the Law, and The Adoration of the Magi, are all narrative, fictional, and conflicting musings on the esoteric traditions of Yeats' time. Interesting if you're into that sort of thing; I imagine tiring if you are not. I'll admit to giving up by the time I reached Per Amica Silentia Lunae, which is stream of consciousness philosophy and metaphysics--not for the faint of heart.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going through such records as exist of books I've read has impressed upon me the influence Michael Miley has had. No one, with the possible exception of grandmother Lajla, has directed me to more books, some as gifts, some a loans, some simply by talking them up. In addition to strongly encouraging a nascent interest in comparative and Asian religions as early as the summer after high school graduation, Michael has also led me to study parapsychology, occultism, Latin American histories, philosophy and literature.
Although I'd been exposed to Yeats in high school and to his reading of some of his own poems on WFMT radio here in Chicago, it was Michael, himself an accomplished imitator of the great writer, who got me to pursue the author beyond school assignments, particularly his prose works--poetry being more something to read aloud and in company.
This collection of traditional Irish folktales, charmingly and sometimes chillingly retold by Yeats, is an excellent introduction to his prose work.

[Marossa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me agrada el Yeats narrador porque que se sumerge en sus creencias más profundas y trae a la realidad el mundo mitológico. Me han gustado especialmente las historias de Hanrahan el rojo, La rosa alquímica y PER AMICA SILENTIA LUNAE; Anima mundi, composición con la que cierra, me encantó, es justo lo que yo esperaba encontrarme en este libro. He estado leyendo mucho a Yeats y no me ha decepcionado, aunque prefiero su prosa de madurez porque llega más allá de la narración testimonial y alcanza la reflexión filosófica y mística que caracteriza su poesía; logra muy bien la confluencia de ambos. Me gustaría que hubiese escrito más ensayos. Ya quiero leer su autobiografía.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Mythologies, Yeats gives a report of many stories that he had collected over the years--especially stories concerning Irish mythology. I found over and over a theme of anxiety in these stories--anxiety from a Christianized Ireland because of the power that the traditional mythology still had over the people in the stories. Furthermore, Yeats lays out a portion of his own beliefs on the role of the artist or the poet as well as a metaphysics. Although I found his views of the role of the artist profound, I found, for the most part, his metaphysics jumbled and incoherent.

[Monica]

This looks very so interesting. Shame on me for no having red one tale. I'm sure I'll enjoy it more than the airheads I'm reading about in Beattie's "Love Always". y t

[Phinehas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading for the essays that make up the last quarter of the book alone, but the whole thing is great.

[Phoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are great little poems and short stories. Yeats completely believed in the existence of faeries! I love that.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, fun collection if you're interested in the tie in between myth and literature; illuminating too if you like Yeats' earlier work as this shows where he gathered a lot of his foundation.

[RP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really finished. Will continue to go back to this again and again. Chilling, lovely, strange, and fun.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dunno. I did not derive a single moment's pleasure from reading this.

[Tiina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Õhuke kogumik Iirimaa-temaatilistest lugudest.

[Varia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some cool stuff to tie in with Freudian & Jungian psychoanalysis.

[Keri Kresler · Rating 5 out of 5]

D