September 1913

Question 1

Expresses Yeats frustration over how violence…

Answer 1

…is not the way forward, however peaceful Ireland is “With O’Leary in the grave” and all that is left is violence.

Question 2

September 1913 was a significant date where…

Answer 2

…workers were shut out of their factories as their employers did not want to agree to better working conditions/wages.

Question 3

Form: It was a …

Answer 3

…Ballad, and has a clear chorus and was a popular form in Irish culture.
It’s one of Yeats most sarcastic poems.
Simple ABAB rhyme scheme, as simple structures and strong rhyme carry political messages well…

Question 4

John O’Leary. Died…

Answer 4

…in 1907.

Question 5

John O’Leary was the founder…

Answer 5

…of Young Republic Brotherhood.

Question 6

John O’Leary was highly influential for Yeats.

Answer 6

Taught him revolution could be won through art.

Question 7

John O’Leary………..

Answer 7

…grandfatherly/father figure to Yeats.

Question 8

Drastic change from later poems…

Answer 8

…more naive Yeats.

Question 9

Stanza 1: Lambasting against the…

Answer 9

…apathy of business owner in Dublin, and he is disgusted by the business owners, as they are undermining the true romantic Ireland.

Question 10

Stanza 1: “But fumble in a greasy till”

Answer 10

Suggests they are corrupt/untrustworthy. Absolutely scorning the greedy business owners.

Question 11

Stanza 1: “And add the half pence to the pence, And prayer to shivering prayer”.

Answer 11

Suggests that money and religion are all they care about. “Pence is such a small amount, emphasises their greed. They have forgotten to care about Ireland.

Question 12

Stanza 1: “For man were born to pray and save”.

Answer 12

Laced with irony, as “save” could either mean saving money or people.

Question 13

Stanza 1: “Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone, It’s with O’Leary on the grave”.

Answer 13

O’Leary was considered by Yeats to be the last bastion of man who had no sense of self-interest. He happily went into exile, but was not interested in making a martyr of himself as some of those in Easter may have done.

Question 14

Stanza 2: “they have gone about the world like wind” .

Answer 14

Simile. Their homes are both everywhere and nowhere. These figures are no longer tangible. You may know a name, but not really what it did.

Question 15

Stanza 2: “but little time had they to pray”

Answer 15

Suggests the best prayer is action.

Question 16

Stanza 2: “for whom the hang mans rope was spun, And what, Gold help us, could they save”.

Answer 16

Hyperbole or exaggerated imagery for dramatic effect. Saying that all those who died for Ireland deaths only fuelled this greed.

Question 17

Stanza 3: “Was it for this the wild geese spread”.

Answer 17

Metaphor for the Irish men who went abroad to fight wars for other nations.

Question 18

Stanza 3: repetition of “for this”

Answer 18

Emphasises Yeats desperation towards the current situation in Ireland.

Question 19

Stanza 3: In the 3rd stanza, as…

Answer 19

…Yeats becomes more desperate, the rhyme scheme is compounded.

Question 20

Stanza 3: “For this Edward Fitzgerald died”.

Answer 20

One of the leaders against the 1798 revolution against the British. Died during the revolution.

Question 21

Stanza 3: “Robert Emmet”.

Answer 21

In 1805, he led a small uprising in Dublin. Hanged for it.

Question 22

Stanza 3: “Wolfe Tone”.

Answer 22

Sailed to France in 1798 to try and bring back a small French army to help Ireland. He was arrested, but committed suicide the day before he was due to be hanged.

Question 23

Stanza 3: “All that delirium of the brave”.

Answer 23

“Delirium”. Suggests that they sacrificed their lives for nothing. Easter - “ignorant good will”, “in memory”.