Where There is Nothing cover

Where There is Nothing

Rating 3.7
Word count
116K words
Chapters
12

Tags

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Where There is Nothing by W. B. YeatsAuthor: Yeats, W. B. (William Butler), 1865-1939,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Dec 20, 2011

Editor's review

Yeats's Where There is Nothing is an often overlooked play that shows the poet's exploration of drama. Centered on faith, sacrifice, and spiritual striving, it is rich in symbolism and reflects Yeats's enduring mysticism and his concern with Irish culture. Though not among his major works, it offers a unique perspective on the development of his thought and is suited to readers interested in Irish literature, modern drama, or the full range of Yeats's writing. Read it alongside Yeats's poetry and dramatic theory, and attend to the symbolism and philosophical reflection in the dialogue. As an English-language public-domain ebook, it is freely available, but it requires a reasonable command of English. Overall, this is a text for quiet, repeated reading rather than light entertainment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Literary scholars interested in the full range of Yeats's dramatic writing
  • Readers studying Irish literature and the Irish literary revival
  • Readers with English proficiency who enjoy symbolist drama

Not a good fit for

  • Beginners looking for Yeats's signature poetry
  • Readers with limited English who need a Chinese translation
  • Readers who prefer tightly plotted, highly entertaining plays

Reading tips

  1. Start with Yeats's life and the Irish literary revival before entering the text
  2. Read alongside Yeats's poems to trace the continuity of his symbolism
  3. Consult criticism on the play afterward to deepen your understanding of its themes

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

FAQ

Is this a poetry collection or a play by Yeats?
It is a play by Yeats, written in English and in the public domain as an ebook. It is not his best-known work and is better suited to readers with a research interest in his dramatic writing.
What background do I need to read it?
A good command of English and a basic familiarity with Yeats's symbolism and Irish cultural context are recommended, as they make the text's deeper meanings easier to grasp.
What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?
Project Gutenberg provides free ebooks. This edition is the original English text in the public domain, free of copyright restrictions and convenient for free access and scholarly citation, but it has no Chinese annotations or introduction.

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About the author

William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) was an Irish poet and playwright and a major figure in twentieth-century English-language literature. The collection holds thirty-eight of his works, including poetry collections, prose and plays, among them Responsibilities, and other poems, The Wind Among the Reeds, The Wild Swans at Coole, The Celtic Twilight, The Trembling of the Veil, and the multi-volume The Collected Works in Verse and Prose of William Butler Yeats. His verse is concise and musical, often drawing on Irish myth, folklore and Celtic culture, and blending symbolism and reflection with the lyric tradition; his style moved from an early romantic and aesthetic manner toward a later, firmer and more austere voice. His writing is closely associated with the Irish literary revival and has deeply influenced modern English poetry. Public information is limited, and this introduction is based mainly on the works held in the collection.

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