Torres Ribelles, Francisco Javier
Predetermination and nihilism in W. B. Yeats's theatre
TORRES RIBELLES, Francisco Javier. “Predetermination and nihilism in W. B. Yeats's theatre”. Revista alicantina de estudios ingleses. No. 05 (Nov. 1992). ISSN 0214-4808, pp. 143-153
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/5454
DOI: 10.14198/raei.1992.5.12
ISSN: 0214-4808
Abstract: 
This paper puts forward the hypothesis that Yeats's theatre is affected by a determinist
component that governs it. This dependence is held to be the natural consequence of his
desire to create a universal art, a wish that confines the writer to a limited number of themes, death and old age being the most important. The paper also argues that the determinism is positive in the early stage but that it clearly evolves towards a negative kind. In spite of the playwright's acknowledged interest in doctrines related to the occult, the necessity of a more critical analysis is also put forward. The paper goes on to suggest that underlying the negative determinism of Yeats's late period there is a nihilistic view of life, of life after death and even of the work of art. The paper concludes by arguing that the poet may have exaggerated his pose as a response to his admitted inability to change the modern world and as a means of overcoming his sense of impending annihilation.
Keywords:Yeats, William Butler, Literatura irlandesa, Teatro, Determinismo, Nihilismo
Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Filología Inglesa
info:eu-repo/semantics/article