“When your King gave me medal and diploma, two forms should have stood, one at either side of me, an old woman sinking into the infirmity of age and a young man’s ghost.”

A review of “The Autobiography of William Butler Yeats” in 100 words by Catherine Stover

When W. B. Yeats accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923, he began his speech with lines that sounded Shakespearian. But they weren’t. In his autobiography, he describes giving his lecture without notes, feeling inspired by his former colleagues “as if they were present” to share his dreams for Ireland.  Readers who wish to learn how and why he developed mystical ideas will be disappointed. Yeats doesn’t clarify, defend, or teach. Instead, he shares some memories of the first 58 years of his life. He is, dare I say, sometimes boring. And yet, his unique light shines throughout this poignant book.

Work cited:

Yeats, William Butler. The Autobiography of William Butler Yeats. Doubleday Anchor Books, 1958, pp. 373-4.