Yeats and the Occult

Course Code:  CL 233 NE (online-English)

Course Dates: Commences October 2011

Instructor: Amy Clanton

Description:

“I believe in the practice and philosophy of what we have agreed to call magic, in what I must call the evocation of spirits, though I do not know what they are, in the power of creating magical illusions, in the visions of truth in the depths of the mind when the eyes are closed”—W.B. Yeats

William Butler Yeats: Nobel Laureate, Irish Senator, and magician. Yeats is perhaps the most renowned poet to openly declare his occult practices and beliefs and their essential influence upon his work, declaring in 1892, “The mystical life is the center of all that I do and all that I think and all that I write”. This course will allow students to read both major and lesser-known works of William Butler Yeats in the context of the occult ideas that influenced him. The course will begin with a general introduction to Yeats’s life and work and his early interest in Theosophy. We will then study Yeats’s involvement with Irish folklore and the Irish Literary Renaissance, including his efforts to found a school of Celtic Mysteries. We will continue with his work with the Golden Dawn, a practice that lasted nearly thirty years. The final section of the course will be devoted to his spiritualist collaboration with his wife in the creation of his treatise A Vision. Readings include selections from Yeats’s essays, poetry, plays, and fiction, as well as works by other prominent writers and occultists in his milieu. Course instruction will take the form of readings, recorded lectures with accompanying Powerpoint presentations, and discussion via online forum. Student progress will be evaluated through response papers, forum posts, oral evaluation, and a research paper.

Prerequisites: WE 101 (any language) Introduction to  Western Esotericism OR WM 120 NE History of the Golden Dawn

Exceptions will be made only in those cases where students can demonstrate a firm background knowledge of the concepts covered in the prerequisite course. If you believe this applies to you, please contact us prior to enrolment.

Suggested Complementary Courses:
WE 271/334 The Celts in the Esoteric Imagination
WE 231 & 232 History and Phenomenology of Rosicrucianism
WM 220 Theory and Practice of the Golden Dawn

CL 141 European Gothic Literature
CL 142 American Gothic Literature

Languages: English only. Our English language requirements do apply to this course.

Delivery: Online only.

Students may also choose to audit this course.
Scholarships apply for this course.

 

Week 1	Eastern Esotericism Selections from Ideas of Good and Evil Selections from The Key to Theosophy, Blavatsky “The Indian Upon God”
Week 2	Irish Myth and Folklore I Selections from The Celtic Twilight Selections from Gods and Fighting Men, Lady Augusta Gregory The Wanderings of Oisin
Week 3	Irish Myth and Folklore II “The Stolen Child” “Fergus and the Druid” “To Ireland in the Coming Times” “The Hosting of the Sidhe” “The Everlasting Voices” “The Unappeasable Host” “Into the Twilight” “The Song of Wandering Aengus” “He Mourns for the Change…”
Week 4	The Golden Dawn and Yeats's Celtic Mysteries “Rosa Alchemica” “The Secret Rose” “The Two Trees” “To his Heart, Bidding it have no Fear” “The Poet Pleads with the Elemental Powers” “Byzantium”
Week 5	A Vision Selections from YeatsVision.com, Neil Mann “Leda and the Swan” “The Second Coming” “Phases of the Moon” “The Saint and the Hunchback” “Two Songs of a Fool” “The Double Vision of Michael Robartes”
Week 6	A Vision Selections from YeatsVision.com, Neil Mann Supernatural Songs
Week 7	-Research Paper Due -Oral presentation of Research Paper -Learning Journal Due