A Preface to Yeats

Malins, Edward; Purkis, John

List of illustrations and maps. Foreward to the Second edition. Acknowledgements. List of Abbreviations.
Part 1: Historical and literary background. Chronological table. 1. Biographical summaries
. 2. The history of Ireland as it concerned the poet. 3. The poet's reading. 4. A vision. Part 2: Critical survey
Introduction. Early years - the 1880s. "The Stolen Child". "Cuchulain's Fight with the Sea". "The Players Ask for a Blessing on the Psalteries and on Themselves". "The Magi". "On a Political Prisoner". "The Second Coming". "Meditations in Time of Civil War - Part IV". "Sailing to Byzantium". "The O'Rahilly". "The Circus Animals' Desertion". Part 3: Reference section Yeats' family, friends and acquaintances. Gazetteer. Yeats' symbols, their origins, connections and attributes. Common Irish (Gaelic) place names. Derivations and pronunciation. Further reading. General Index. Index to Yeat's works