On The Woman-bird Marriage Archetype In Yeats' Plays

Yeats is a famous national poet in Ireland and a national drama writer who promotes the modernization of Irish drama.In Yeats' play,it contains a recurring woman-bird marriage archetype.This kind of archetype comes from Greek and Christian mythology,which has two basic models of Leda and the swan or Virgin Mary and the pigeon.In Yeats' play,these two basic models also produce two variants as Leda and the pigeon or Virgin Mary and the swan.This paper will use the myth-prototype theory,combine with close reading of text,summarize all woman-bird marriage archetype in Yeats' play.At the same time,we will use the biopolitics theory and animal theory of Foucault and Agamben,find out the meaning of woman-bird marriage archetype in Yeats plays.Which means human beings are neither animals nor gods,but the combination of the two.People both have animality and humanity.irrational and rational,self-being and self-making.By observing Yeats' attitude towards the different types of woman-bird marriage archetype in each periods,we can discover the development of Yeats' understanding of human nature.In Yeats' early years,he advocated the rational part of human nature,repelled the irrational ones.Later Yeats try to combine irrational and rational parts in human nature,same as animality and humanity.But he eventually thought this is not a realistic way.In his later years,Yeats' understanding of human nature entered a new stage,he believes that the perfect human nature should be both irrational and rational,self-being and self-making,having animality and humanity at the same time.At this point,Yeats completed his ponder about human nature,and convey his ideal about achieve the harmony of individual,men and women,or the whole society.Yeats thought that we can combining the irrational and rational part of human nature,making one man both self-being and self-making,mix animality and humanity.By this way,individual,men and women,or the whole society will progressing in conflict,having peace in contradiction,and finally becoming completed.This paper has three chapters.The first chapter tells the story of the Greek mythology and Christian mythology about woman-bird marriage,analyzes the biopolitics and animal theory contained therein,and classifies four kinds of prototype characters that appear in Yeats' plays.In the second chapter,this paper will analyzes two basic patterns of the woman-bird marriage archetype in Yeats' plays,takes On Baile's Strand,The Dreaming of the Bones and The Countess Cathleen as examples.Though those plays,we will get Yeats' understanding on human nature in his early years.The third chapter will using Cathleen Ni Houlihan,The Shadowy Waters,The Land of Heart's Desire,The King of the Great Clock Tower,A Full Moon in March,Purgatory and The Death of Cuchulain as examples,analyzes the two variants of woman-bird marriage archetype in the Yeats' play.It is a remarkable fact that there are three different stages of Virgin Mary and the swan model in Yeats' play.Through the analysis of woman-bird marriage archetype,we will know the development of Yeats'understanding on human nature and the perfect humanistic pattern in Yeats' mind.