DISCOVERIES; A VOLUME OF ESSAYS By William Butler Yeats CONTENTS Prophet, Priest and King Page 1 Personality and the Intellectual Essences 5 The Musician and the Orator 9 A Banjo Player 10 The Looking-glass 11 The Tree of Life 12 The Praise of Old Wives’ Tales 15 The Play of Modern Manners 16 Has the Drama of Contemporary Life a Root of its Own 18 Why the Blind Man in Ancient Times was made a Poet 20 Concerning Saints and Artists 24 The Subject Matter of Drama 27 The Two Kinds of Asceticism 30 In the Serpent’s Mouth 32 The Black and the White Arrows 33 His Mistress’s Eyebrows 33 The Tresses of the Hair 35 A Tower on the Apennine 36 The Thinking of the Body 37 Religious Belief necessary to symbolic Art 39 The Holy Places 41 THE CUTTING OF AN AGATE By William Butler Yeats CONTENTS PAGE Thoughts on Lady Gregory’s Translations I. Cuchulain and his Cycle 1 II. Fion and his Cycle 12 Preface to the First Edition of the Well of the Saints 36 Discoveries Prophet, Priest and King 49 Personality and the Intellectual Essences 56 The Musician and the Orator 61 A Guitar Player 63 The Looking-glass 65 The Tree of Life 67 The Praise of Old Wives’ Tales 71 The Play of Modern Manners 73 Has the Drama of Contemporary Life a Root of its Own? 76 Why the Blind Man in Ancient Times was made a Poet 79 Concerning Saints and Artists 85 The Subject Matter of Drama 89 The Two Kinds of Asceticism 94 In the Serpent’s Mouth 97 The Black and the White Arrows 99 His Mistress’s Eyebrows 100 The Tresses of the Hair 103 A Tower on the Apennines 104 The Thinking of the Body 106 Religious Belief Necessary to Religious Art 109 The Holy Places 113 Poetry and Tradition 116 Preface to the First Edition of John M. Synge’s Poems and Translations 139 J. M. Synge and the Ireland of his Time 146 The Tragic Theatre 196 John Shawe-Taylor 208 Edmund Spenser 213 THE TREMBLING OF THE VEIL By W. B. YEATS CONTENTS PAGE Book I Four Years 1887-1891 3 Book II Ireland after the Fall of Parnell 83 Book III Hodos Camelionis 135 Book IV The Tragic Generation 157 Book V The Stirring of the Bones 225 RESPONSIBILITIES AND OTHER POEMS By William Butler Yeats