This brand new collection, impeccably edited by James Pethica, presents a comprehensive selection of Yeats's major contributions in poetry, drama, prose fiction, autobiography, and criticism.

A mystical dreamer and leader of the Irish Literary Revival, romantic and modernist, Nobel prizewinner, dramatist and, above all, poet, W.B.Yeats starts writing with the motive of putting his 'very self' into his poems. T.S.Eliot, one of many who affirms the Irishman's greatness, described Yeats as 'one of those few whose history is the history of their own time, who are part of the consciousness of an age which cannot be understood without them.' For anyone concerned in the literature of the twentieth century, Yeat's poetry claims to be read. This volume combines poetry from the nostalgic charming early lyrics by which he is still best remembered, to the marvelous later work, which put beyond question his position as the principal poet of his age. From mastery tellings of old Irish myths and legends to eloquent meditations on the clamors and rewards of youth and old age, these elegant, occasionally playful songs of love, nature and art stand in dramatic comparison to the obscure and angry poems of life in a nation changed by war and disturbance. In the affluent and frequent imagery of the rose, the gyre and the tower the reader can trace Yeats's quest to join intellect and artistry in one fascinating ideal. Included in this edition, the play "Countess Cathleen" tales place in a historically in Ireland during a famine. The idealistic Countess of the title sells her soul to the devil so that she can save her tenants from starvation and from damnation for having sold their own souls. After her death, she is redeemed, as her motives were altruistic and ascend to Heaven.

I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams ... Some of the most famous lines in Irish poetry come from the pen of William Butler Yeats, poet, patriot, dramatist and senator. This illustrated collection of forty of his best-loved works, on Love, Politics, Old Age, Myth and Legend includes people, places and events that were important to him.

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'Tread softly because you tread on my dreams' is one of the most well-known and repeated lines of poetry ever written. Less haunting, but still so relevant: 'Life is a long preparation for something that never happens.' W B Yeats was one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. Winner of a Nobel prize, he was also a political figure, and, as is evident from his earlier work, fascinated by Irish folklore and the occult. He was also deeply affected by the First World War and the Anglo-Irish and Irish civil wars. It is a testament to the greatness of Yeats' poetry that he attempts to bear witness to these emotional and historical forces. This perfectly pitched collection includes some of the greatest poetry of the 20th century.