Metapoetry in Selected Works of W.B. Yeats

Year 2025, Issue: 31, 49 - 62, 21.03.2025

Ayşegül Azaklı

Abstract

This study examines selected works of William Butler Yeats within the framework of metapoetry, a concept that simply refers to poetry written about poetry. The analysed works include “The Balloon of The Mind,” “Coole Park and Ballylee, 1931,” “Adam’s Curse,” “The Circus Animals’ Desertion,” “Ego Dominus Tuus,” “A Coat,” and “Meditation in Time of War.” Additionally, W.H. Auden’s “In Memory of W.B. Yeats,” written in tribute to Yeats, is also analysed in this context. Focusing on the metapoetic self-reflexivity in these works, this study explores Yeats’ poetic consciousness manifests through his engagement with the creative process. It further investigates traces of the poet’s ongoing engagement with his own psyche and creative process. By employing metapoetic elements, Yeats not only reflects on the nature of poetry and the act of creation but also exposes the tension between traditional poetic forms and modernist experimentation. The study also examines how metapoetry can emerge not only in explicitly metapoetic works but also in more seemingly ordinary poems, reflecting Yeats’ significant engagement with this concept. In doing so, it emphasizes how metapoetic themes deepen the self-questioning power of poetry and illuminates the essence of the creative process.

Keywords

Metapoetry, William Butler Yeats, modernist poetry, self-reflexivity, automatic writing.

Thanks

I extend my gratitude to my academic supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Yiğit Sümbül, for his valuable insights shared during the poetry courses.

W.B. Yeats'in Seçme Eserlerinde Metaşiir

Abstract

Bu çalışmada, en sade haliyle şiir hakkında yazılan şiir olarak tanımlanabilecek metaşiir kavramı çerçevesinde William Butler Yeats’in seçme eserleri incelenmiştir. İncelenen eserler arasında sırasıyla “The Balloon of The Mind,” “Coole Park and Ballylee, 1931,” “Adam’s Curse,” “The Circus Animals’ Desertion,” “Ego Dominus Tuus,” “A Coat,” “Meditation in Time of War” yer alırken, W.H. Auden’ın Yeats’in anısına yazdığı “In Memory of W.B. Yeats” şiiri de bu bağlamda ele alınmıştır. Bu çalışma, metapoetik özdüşünümselliği ve bunun Yeats’in şiirlerinde kendini nasıl gösterdiği üzerine odaklanırken, aynı zamanda şairin şiir yazma sürecinde karşısına çıkan psikografiye dair izler de irdelenmiştir. Yeats’in metapoetik unsurları kullanarak şiirin kendi doğasına ve yaratım sürecine dair yaptığı sorgulamalar, bu metinlerde geleneksel şiir anlayışı ile yenilikçi bakış açıları arasındaki gerilimi gözler önüne sermektedir. Çalışmada ayrıca, metaşiirlerin yalnızca belirgin metapoetik eserlerde değil, daha sıradan şiirlerde bile nasıl ortaya çıkabileceği, Yeats’in bu kavrama verdiği önemle birlikte incelenmiştir. Bu sayede, metapoetik temaların, şiirin kendini sorgulama gücünü ve yaratıcı sürecin özüne dair derinlemesine bir anlayış sunduğu vurgulanmaktadır.

Keywords

Metaşiir, William Butler Yeats, modernist şiir, özdüşünümsellik, psikografi.

Thanks

Bu çalışma, akademik danışmanım Sayın Doç. Dr. Yiğit Sümbül'ün şiir dersleri kapsamında sunduğu fikirlerden ilhamla şekillenmiştir; değerli katkılarından dolayı kendisine teşekkür ederim.

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