Yeats’s Daimonic Birds and Beasts of Apocalypse

Much from George and W.B. Yeats’s channelling sessions left little or no trace in A Vision yet provided important material for the poet. The Daimon, an antagonist spiritual counterpart, though unclear in A Vision, was a vital concept to Yeats, and could be symbolised in bird or animal form; similarl...

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Main Author: Neil Mann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Firenze University Press 2024-08-01
Series:Studi Irlandesi
Subjects:
Online Access:https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/bsfm-sijis/article/view/15385
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author Neil Mann
author_facet Neil Mann
author_sort Neil Mann
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description Much from George and W.B. Yeats’s channelling sessions left little or no trace in A Vision yet provided important material for the poet. The Daimon, an antagonist spiritual counterpart, though unclear in A Vision, was a vital concept to Yeats, and could be symbolised in bird or animal form; similarly, the dove and swan that appear in the annunciations to Mary and Leda embody the daimonic on a macrocosmic scale. Another daimonic beast at both individual and world level is the unicorn; one related to the new religious age is the sphinx, which embodies a complex conjunction of ideas, including the reawakening of ancient ways of thought. The Daimon brings crisis to human life, and the daimonic beasts are associated with crisis in world history, the irruption of the irrational divine.
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spelling doaj-art-de0a3849adbf449aaa86ba3e65d974c72025-08-20T03:05:15ZengFirenze University PressStudi Irlandesi2239-39782024-08-0114173710.36253/SIJIS-2239-3978-1538514222Yeats’s Daimonic Birds and Beasts of ApocalypseNeil MannMuch from George and W.B. Yeats’s channelling sessions left little or no trace in A Vision yet provided important material for the poet. The Daimon, an antagonist spiritual counterpart, though unclear in A Vision, was a vital concept to Yeats, and could be symbolised in bird or animal form; similarly, the dove and swan that appear in the annunciations to Mary and Leda embody the daimonic on a macrocosmic scale. Another daimonic beast at both individual and world level is the unicorn; one related to the new religious age is the sphinx, which embodies a complex conjunction of ideas, including the reawakening of ancient ways of thought. The Daimon brings crisis to human life, and the daimonic beasts are associated with crisis in world history, the irruption of the irrational divine.https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/bsfm-sijis/article/view/15385avatardaimonmillenniumsphinxunicorn
spellingShingle Neil Mann
Yeats’s Daimonic Birds and Beasts of Apocalypse
Studi Irlandesi
avatar
daimon
millennium
sphinx
unicorn
title Yeats’s Daimonic Birds and Beasts of Apocalypse
title_full Yeats’s Daimonic Birds and Beasts of Apocalypse
title_fullStr Yeats’s Daimonic Birds and Beasts of Apocalypse
title_full_unstemmed Yeats’s Daimonic Birds and Beasts of Apocalypse
title_short Yeats’s Daimonic Birds and Beasts of Apocalypse
title_sort yeats s daimonic birds and beasts of apocalypse
topic avatar
daimon
millennium
sphinx
unicorn
url https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/bsfm-sijis/article/view/15385
work_keys_str_mv AT neilmann yeatssdaimonicbirdsandbeastsofapocalypse