Last Poems and Plays
- London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd, 1940
London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd, 1940. First edition. Fine/Near Fine. A Fine copy of the book in a Near Fine dust jacket. A very sharp copy of the book. Dust jacket a bit toned at the spine and extremitites, small chips at the spine ends, but a lovely copy overall. The dust jacket design by Thomas Sturge-Moore is repeated in blind on the front board.
Last Poems and Plays, published just five months after the Nobel Prize winning author’s death, contains nineteen poems and the two plays. The Death of Cuchulain was the last in a series of plays dedicated to the life and adventures of the Irish mythological warrior and demigod Cú Chulainn. Purgatory, the last play performed during Yeats’ lifetime, was a tragedy whose minimalist production was inspired by Japanese Noh theater. In classic Yeats style, he blends symbolist, pre-raphaelite, celtic revival modes with themes of life and death to produce beautiful “ballad rhythms and dialogue structure with undiminished energy” (Britannica). Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.
Last Poems and Plays, published just five months after the Nobel Prize winning author’s death, contains nineteen poems and the two plays. The Death of Cuchulain was the last in a series of plays dedicated to the life and adventures of the Irish mythological warrior and demigod Cú Chulainn. Purgatory, the last play performed during Yeats’ lifetime, was a tragedy whose minimalist production was inspired by Japanese Noh theater. In classic Yeats style, he blends symbolist, pre-raphaelite, celtic revival modes with themes of life and death to produce beautiful “ballad rhythms and dialogue structure with undiminished energy” (Britannica). Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.