Easter 1916

1
Easter 1916
by William Butler Yeats
Giovanni Inglisa
2
Easter 1916
Too long a sacrifice Can make a stone of the
heart. O when may it suffice? That is heaven's
part, our part To murmur name upon name, As a
mother names her child When sleep at last has
come On limbs that had run wild. What is it but
nightfall? No, no, not night but death. Was it
needless death after all? For England may keep
faith For all that is done and said. We know
their dream enough To know they dreamed and are
dead. And what if excess of love Bewildered them
till they died? I write it out in a verse
-- MacDonagh and MacBride And Connolly and
Pearse Now and in time to be, Wherever green is
worn, Are changed, changed utterly A terrible
beauty is born.
I have met them at close of day Coming with vivid
faces From counter or desk among
grey Eighteenth-century houses. I have passed
with a nod of the head Or polite meaningless
words, Or have lingered awhile and said Polite
meaningless words, And thought before I had
done Of a mocking tale or a gibe To please a
companion Around the fire at the club, Being
certain that they and I But lived where motley is
worn All changed, changed utterly A terrible
beauty is born. That woman's days were spent In
ignorant good will, Her nights in argument Until
her voice grew shrill. What voice more sweet than
hers When young and beautiful, She rode to
harriers? This man had kept a school And rode our
winged horse. This other his helper and
friend Was coming into his force He might have
won fame in the end, So sensitive his nature
seemed, So daring and sweet his thought.
This other man I had dreamed A drunken,
vain-glorious lout. He had done most bitter
wrong To some who are near my heart, Yet I number
him in the song He, too, has resigned his
part In the casual comedy He, too, has been
changed in his turn, Transformed utterly A
terrible beauty is born. Hearts with one purpose
alone Through summer and winter, seem Enchanted
to a stone To trouble the living stream. The
horse that comes from the road, The rider, the
birds that range From cloud to tumbling
cloud, Minute by minute change. A shadow of cloud
on the stream Changes minute by minute A
horse-hoof slides on the brim And a horse
plashes within it Where long-legged moor-hens
dive And hens to moor-cocks call. Minute by
minute they live The stone's in the midst of all.
3
William Butler Yeats (Dublin 1865-France 1939)

• Irish nationalism (revived the
  Cuchulainns myth)
• His literary output can be subdivided into 3
  periods (Romantic, modern-political, new style)
• Unrequited love for Lady Maud Gonne

Mural showing Cuchulainn hero
4
The Revolutionary Leaders(THEYVE BEEN EXECUTED)

• PATRICK PEARSE (poet and revolutionary leader,
  began the riot marching on the Post Office and
  taking control of it)
• JAMES CONNOLLY (James Connolly, who based himself
  on the ideas of Internationalism and the class
  struggle, became a mythic figure of the rising)
• THOMAS MACDONAGH
• THOMAS J. CLARCKE
• SEAN Mac DIARMADA
• JOSEPH PLUNKETT
• EAMONN CEANNT
• JOHN MACBRIDE

they signed the proclamation of independence
? more images ?
5
Images portraying the revolutionary leaders
Their names are among the heroes of the Gaels
The 7 major leaders
6
James Connolly

• He lived and breathed the world of the working
  class
• He studied the writings of Marx and Engels ? he
  fought for socialism
• He wanted Ireland to become a REPUBLIC based on
  the public ownership by the Irish people of the
  land, and instruments of production, distribution
  and exchange.
• He aimed to strike a blow that would break the
  ice and show the way, even at the cost of his own
  life. He thought that To fight and lose was
  preferable than to accept and capitulate
• Cruelly executed

7
Patrick Pearse

• The mural depicts a CELTIC WARRIOR with sword and
  shield he wears a costume with Celtic
  ornamentation.
• The words are those of MISE EIRE, A POEM BY
  PADRAIG PEARSE, one of the signatories of the
  Proclamation of Independence, and leader of the
  Easter Rising in Dublin, 1916. It reads

I am Ireland,I am older than the Old Woman of
Bearra,Great is my glory,I who gave birth to
Cuchulain the brave,Great is my shame,My own
familyHave sold their mother.I am Ireland,I am
lonelier than the Old Woman of Bearra.
Chamberlain Street, Derry, 1985
8
The phases of the rising

• The rising began when a small group of men with
  weapons over their shoulders took control of the
  Post Office
• They expected to be joined by a much larger group
  of protesters soon
• There was only about half the number of Revelers
  at the Post Office as there should have been.
• The rebellion lasted a little bit over a week.
  The British soldiers surrounded the rebels and
  the Revelers had to admit defeat

? consequences of the riots ?
9
After the Rebellion
? Sackville Street The Easter Rebellion left the
centre of Dublin devastated ?
Interior General Post Office in Dublin ?
10
The Proclamation of the Irish Republic

• In the name of God and of the dead generations
  from which she receives her old tradition of
  nationhood
• We declare the right of the people of Ireland to
  the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered
  control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and
  indefeasible
• We place the cause of the Irish Republic under
  the protection of the Most High God, Whose
  blessing we invoke upon our arms

11
The Wearing of The Green
INSTR
VOCAL
? fishbone map ?
Oh Paddy dear, and did you hear the news that is
going roundThe shamrock is forbid by law to grow
on Irish groundNo more Saint Patrick's Day we'll
keep - his colors can't be seenFor there's a
cruel law against the wearing of the green.I
met with Naper Tandy and he took me by the
handAnd he said, "How's poor old Ireland and how
does she stand?"She's the mosy distressful
country that ever yet was seenFor they're hangin
men an' women for the wearing of the greenAnd
if the color we must wear is England's cruel
RedLet it remind us of the blood that Ireland
has shedThen pull the shamrock from your hat,
and throw it on the sodAnd never fear, "'twill
take root there, tho' under foot 'tis
trod".When the law can stop the blades of grass
from growing as they growAnd when the leaves in
summer-time, their color dare not showThen I
will change the color, too, I wear in my
caubeenBut 'til that day, please God, I'll stick
to wearing of the Green.
THE SHAMROCK It is one of Ireland's national
emblems, and is used mainly by the Nationalist
tradition.
The GREEN represents Ireland, the "Emerald Isle",
and its beautiful green countryside. The green
landscape is the result of underlying limestone
and frequent rains and mists
ST PATRICK is the patron saint of Ireland because
he is credited with converting Ireland to
Christianity in the 5th Century AD
RED CLENCHED FIST. The Clenched Fist is perhaps
the strongest loyalist emblem in existence. it is
very often seen on loyalist paramilitary murals,
and is often depicted with barbed (filo uncinato)
wire surrounding it, which is the official symbol
of the Loyalist Prisoner's Aid group.
12
Fishbone Map on The Wearing of the Green
Language
Music
Symbols
creates a sing-song effect
close to people
the shamrock
Text
Associated with the 1916 Easter Rising due to the
seasonal decoration in churches during that
period
was meant to be danced
St. Patrick
rich in imagery
the Irish green ground
emphatic

The Wearing of the Green
the Emerald Isle
belonging to diff. religions nurtures hatred
the carnages
the fight between Republicans and Loyalists
the green derives from limestone
St. Patrick converted people to Christianity
Context
is green due to frequent rains
the British conquer of Ireland
the British brought protestant religion
Green ribbon
Irish History
Irish Landscape
Irish religion