"Under Ben Bulben" is a

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

written by Irish poet

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

Composition

It is believed to be one of the last poems he wrote, being drafted when he was 73, in August 1938 when his health was already poor (he died in January 1939).

Publication

"Under Ben Bulben" was first published in July 1939, six months after Yeats' death, as the first poem in the collection ''Last Poems and Two Plays'' in a limited edition released by his sister. The trade edition ''Last Poems & Plays'', published in 1940, added the content of ''New Poems'' and three poems printed in ''On the Boiler''. It also made "Under Ben Bulben" the final poem, a convention followed until the 1980s when it became clear that the original arrangement better reflected the poet's intentions.

Context

Ben Bulben Benbulbin (), sometimes Benbulben or Ben Bulben, is a steep-sided and flat-topped mountain in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called "William Butler Yeats, Yeats Country". Benbulbin, high, formed ...

is a large flat-topped rock formation in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

, Ireland. It is famous in Irish legend, appearing in '' The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne'', and was the site of a military confrontation during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

. The phrase "Mareotic Lake", which appears in the second line of the poem, is used in the classical religious work '' De Vita Contemplativa'' to refer to Lake Mariout in Egypt which was the location of the

Therapeutae The Therapeutae were a religious sect which existed in Alexandria and other parts of the ancient Greek world. The primary source concerning the Therapeutae is the ''De vita contemplativa'' ("The Contemplative Life"), traditionally ascribed to the ...

, a community of religious hermits.

Phidias Phidias or Pheidias (; , ''Pheidias''; ) was an Ancient Greek sculptor, painter, and architect, active in the 5th century BC. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the statues of ...

, mentioned in part IV of the poem, was one of the most influential sculptors in classical Athens. The

Parthenon Frieze The Parthenon frieze is the low-relief Mount Pentelicus#Pentelic marble, Pentelic marble sculpture created to adorn the upper part of the Parthenon's Cella, naos. It was sculpted between and 437 BC, most likely under the direction of Phidias. O ...

was probably sculpted under his direction.

Yeats's gravestone

Yeats is buried in the churchyard of

Drumcliff Drumcliff or Drumcliffe () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. It is north of Sligo, Sligo town on the N15 road (Ireland), N15 road on a low gravel ridge between the mountain of Ben Bulben and Drumcliff Bay. It is on the Drumcliff River, o ...

e Church in Sligo, which stands at the foot of Ben Bulben. The last three lines of the poem are used as the epitaph on Yeats' gravestone, and they were composed with that intention:

Cast a cold eye On life, on death Horseman, pass by!

Cultural influences

The title of Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

's first novel, '' Horseman, Pass By,'' as well as the title of French writer Michel Déon's book '' Horseman, Pass By!'' , are derived from the last line of this poem. The poem, read by actor

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

, opens and closes an album of Yeats's poems set to music, entitled ''Now and in a Time to Be''.

References

External links

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Under Ben Bulben Summary
at eNotes {{W. B. Yeats Poetry by W. B. Yeats