William Butler Yeats Biography

One of Ireland's finest writers, William Butler Yeats served a long apprenticeship in the arts before his genius was fully developed. He did some of his greatest work after he was fifty. Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland, on June 13, 1865. His father was a lawyer-turned-Irish painter. In 1867 the family followed him to London and settled in Bedford Park. In 1881 they returned to Dublin, where Yeats studied the Metropolitan School of Art. Yeats spent much time …

…thought the selections in the anthology were too individualized, reflecting only Yeats' own interests and attitudes. While vacationing in Mallorca, Yeats became seriously ill. Yeats died on Jan. 28, 1939, in Roquebrune, France. His body remained buried there throughout World War II, but in 1948 it was brought back to Ireland for burial in County Sligo. In a poem composed in his memory, W.H. Auden wrote, "Earth, receive an honored guest; William Yeats is laid to rest."