'No poet in our day has written more about his family and friends than Yeats, and no one has succeeded in expanding them to heroic proportions.'INTRODUCTIONI will begin this essay through a brief history of the life of William Butler Yeats in order to understand the social and historical context from which he created his works. I will then go on to explain the broad development of Yeats's poetic form, style and technique, showing in particular how his works can be separated into two distinct periods, providing a brief account of each period's influences on his themes, its context and subtexts. I will then address these points while “commenting on a small group of poems” in particular… I will provide a detailed analysis drawing appropriate generalizations. BRIEF HISTORY William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin on June 13, 1865, living his life through the transition from the Victorian to Modernist era. At the age of two, William and his family followed his father, a Pre-Raphaelite painter, to London where he lived from the age of two to sixteen. It was a difficult time for his family, especially his mother, who longed for her native Ireland. Therefore, through his stories, his songs as well as his holidays, William was instilled with a very strong sense of Irish patriotism. William returned to Ireland in 1881 where he enrolled at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. Over the next five years he developed a fascination with literature as well as the occult and the supernatural. William first published poems in 1885 in The Dublin University Review and founded the Dublin Lodge of the Hermetic Society in 1886. In 1887 his family returned to London where Yeats moved to concentrate more than ever on literature. Over the next few years, William focused primarily on identifying and expanding Irish heritage. He collaborated on Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry with George Russell and Douglas Hyde and injected Celtic influence into his works such as The Wonders of Oisin and other poems. William finally returned to Ireland permanently in 1896. Over the next decade he continued various literary exploits, including his involvement in the Irish Literary Revival and the co-founding of the Abbey Theatre. In addition to his roles as an Irish poet, playwright, and mystic, William became involved in politics, serving as a senator, which brought him fame in the political sphere..